Idealization of nature in Romantic poetry (0)

Idealization of Nature in Romantic Poetry
One of the main characteristics of romanticism in general is the constant praising of nature and connecting it with almost everything. As the second half of the 18th century was the time of the industrial revolution, urbanization and mankind’s distancing from nature in every way, it is not surprising that as a result it became more and more important to and valued by people – it had suddenly become something remote and far from everyday life, somewhat a luxury .
The utmost way this luxury manifests in romantic poetry is nature’s ability to help whoever takes the time to value its divinity get in touch with themselves and get away from everything that might influence their way of acting . Nature provides the ideal atmosphere and surroundings to do this – in the opinion of romantic poets , it is the very best place to come to when in need of solitude or an answer to personal or social conflicts. It is far from civilization, everything is pure, primitive, simple , untouched by man. This can be seen in Coleridge ’s “To Nature” (see below ), where the author “builds his altar in the fields and the blue sky shall be his fretted dome”.
Romantic poets often expand upon this idea of nature providing a tranquil environment by actually bringing it to life and making it into something capable of having plans, ideas and actions . Nature can therefore not only create the place, but also perform certain actions, like dancing, breathing, thinking, planning , all to help the person in search of himself feel more in touch with nature by giving them a sense of company, a feeling that they are not alone but with a friend. This kind of personification is used in Wordsworth ’s “Lines written in early spring ”:
/…/
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
/…/
The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
/…/
The author describes flowers breathing and plants reaching higher and higher to get more air and sunlight. In addition to this, Wordsworth’s “Daffodils” shows how the jocund flowers are dancing and fluttering, tossing their heads:
/…/
Beside the lake, beneath the trees ,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze .
/…/
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
/…/
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
/…/
As one of the main functions of all religions in general is that they offer emotional and moral support to the believer and nature in romantic poetry is thought of as a creator and something capable of helping man find inner peace and emotional clarity, it is not difficult to connect the two. In various poems , nature is seen as something divine to turn to when in need of help, sometimes even referred to as God. It seems to have limitless powers over men, being able to put ideas into their heads and take their breath away and forget about all else by showing them unimaginably beautiful sceneries.
Coleridge’s “To Nature” is a good example to illustrate the way romantic authors saw nature as something divine and holy.
/…/
So will I build my altar in the fields,
And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be,
And the sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields
Shall be the incense I will yield to Thee,
Thee only God ! and thou shalt not despise
Even me, the priest of this poor sacrifice
/…/
Use of the word altar indicates that Nature is something holy, something to pray towards. Also, it is referred to as God, in fact , the authors only God, which proposes the idea that Coleridge truly does see love of nature as a religion and respects it deeply.
Certain differences can be specified when comparing Nature in romantic poetry to God and the way people want to connect themselves with Nature/God: for example, as much as God is thought of as something ideal, an amount of respect remains towards him and not accepting one’s un-divine qualities and longing to resemble God can be seen as an insult in many religions. Regardless to this, man has always wanted to be ideal and because Nature in romantic poetry is seen as divine and God-like, therefore ideal, it adopts certain qualities that people want to possess. It becomes a holder of the ethical values that are thought of as essential by mankind and thus is seen as the ideal being and becomes a representative of a goal to reach.
Romantic poets often bring nature as a good example of what a person should act like and which moral values possess. It is something to look up to and its ways something to follow . However , I find that this kind of idealization at times is exaggerated and used as an excuse –to me, some of the poems seemed to exploit people’s wanting to adopt the ways of Nature. For example, in the poem “Loves Philosophy ” Percy Shelley tries to convince or even, I dare to say, inveigle a woman to love him by describing how every element in nature is also connected with one another and there can be no part left alone. He presses on the fact that the woman should follow Nature’s ways:
/…/
See! the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister flower would be forgiven,
If it disdained it's brother ;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea;--
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?
The woman is forced to abandon her own principles because Nature feels something other – it is as good as to say if nature does this, so must you.
As much as I find the idealization of nature in romantic poetry a bit exaggerated, I have nevertheless enjoyed reading most of the poems. Romantic authors do not really try to make up new and magnificent qualities for nature, rather than show the simple ones that it already has from a new and better perspective that helps the reader re-evaluate their thoughts and see a new kind of beauty in something that they are already familiar with.