romantic poetry

1204387

'The simple life that Nature yields' (Crabbe). Write an essay on the importance of nature in any

part of the Restoration to Romantic period.

It can be said that Romanticism and nature are synonymous. The Romantic poets of the

18th and 19th century posses the ability to transcend everyday life through their passionate

relationship with nature. The characteristics of the picturesque satisfied the emotional and

intellectual demands of the time , it can be said that it is neo­classical, and that it looks back onto 1

a simpler time of traditional idealistic landscape. The Romantic movement recognised the power

of nature in its mountains, waterfalls and caves. The poets of this period were devoted and

connected to the picturesque in a multitude of ways.

Joseph Warren Beach argues that if we are to consider the way in which Romantic poets

express their absolute devotion to nature we must first take into account the complexity of

meanings attached to the term, and how for the poet the various meanings support and reinforce

one and other . Beach is suggesting a deeper understanding must be established in order to to 2

assess the use of nature as a poetic tool, the romantic poets explored their relationship with

nature through their writing, creating a plethora of natural description, thus each poem

possessed deeper connotations all different to its author. Wordsworth for instance recognises a

spirit in the natural world and explores his vision through his idealised descriptions of

landscapes, while Shelley explores: the imaginative, the effect nature has on feeling, and the

ability to feel emotions through the earth itself. The sublime and pastoral imagery explored by

poets of this period are not only a kind of escapism but a spiritual essence or divinity that allows

them to overcome their quotidian lives.