Yew Again

For my final post of the semester, I would like to briefly review Jessy Fijak's post from April 6 available here.

I want to very respectfully disagree with the conclusion of this post. Jessy asserts that, "I think he is suggesting that humans and nature are not separate entities. Rather, that they are united and should work together."

In my opinion the message is the exact opposite, that humans and nature are in fact very separate, disparate objects. However I do agree that there is and should be a working and complimentary relationship between both man and nature as represented by the tree and traveler. And I think the Yew tree is meant to symbolize and demonstrate just that.

In researching the Yew Tree to better understand the text I came across an interesting text which discusses the historic understanding and meaning of Yew Trees, especially in older times. But most important from this text to me was the notion that there is this two-way relationship.

It is not so much that they are separate entities, but rather, they compliment each other. On the one hand, humans seek shelter and wisdom - both of which seem to be provided by the Yew; at the same time, the Yew needs humans to avoid the loneliness of being an immobile tree. So rather than viewing these two as one in the same, we should look at both man and nature as separate entities that have a mutually beneficial relationship.

Imagination

In reading Kubla Khan the first thing that came to mind was my favorite band: The Beatles. This entire poem seems like Coleridge's personal magical mystery tour.

Further research indicates that this poem's author claims that it was written in an opium-induced stupor. Well that certainly explains some of the imagery that Coleridge conjures up in these lines.

I want to focus on the imaginative aspects of this poem. From the beginning, Coleridge describes this glorious place of wonder and beauty, using especially descriptive language to do so ("gardens bright with sinuous rills", "enfolding sunny spots of greenery"). This rich, evocative language helps the reader to try and visualize the types of things that were going on in the mind of Coleridge while his mind wandered off into another world. To be frank, though, I had a hard time really visualizing what he was describing.

That other aspect I want to discuss briefly is this "pleasure dome." While the majority of the descriptive language is in reference to natural components of nature such as rivers or trees, the pleasure dome receives similar adoration. It is interesting that the author chose to juxtapose the traditional "nature" with what is ostensibly a human artifice but still treat them as one in the same. It is as though the profound meaning of this drug-induced dream is that while human creation may clash at first with the true nature, over time they can become one in the same.

Only Nature Can Save Us

In my blog this week I want to discuss the religious underpinnings of Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight."

From the very beginning we have a religious references where the frost, "performs its secret ministry." Although the Oxford English Dictionary could not offer much more than, "a house under the rule of a minister," the more I think about it the more it fits. The minister, of course, is God, and the house is this romanticized nature that Coleridge discusses, yearning for his child to experience it. Although it is not an outrageous idea to see God in everything, especially nature, it seems that is the overall goal of the author in composing this poem. In this case, the frost is something that serves God as natural "clergy."

In another sense, frost can be seen as the breathe of God and the voice of the Owl the voice. As the text states, "himself in all, and all things in himself." And taking this one step further, just as God breathes into and is embedded throughout nature, so too does he breathe into humans, and is therefore embedded in us. That is, at least, part of the message that Coleridge is trying to convey: that there is a Godliness in everything. As such, we must treat nature with a certain admiration and respect.

Really, this is a strong basis for environmentalists who want to preserve nature as is.

Yew Tree

The picture on the right is of an old Yew tree that has had many many years to grow. In my first reading of the Lines Left Upon A Seat in a Yew-Tree I had a difficult time understanding how the Yew tree fit into the narrative of the poem. After a Google search yielded the photo to the right, I took a new perspective to the poem and the role of that tree.

The message that Wordsworth trying to convey in these lines is somewhat cryptic. It is very clear, however, that a major separation occurs in line 8, if the large dash that begins the line was not obvious enough. The first eight lines of the poem describe this Yew Tree and its positive influence on a person, namely, that it: "lull[s] the mind." The subsequent fifty-two lines, on the other hand, discuss how our main character actually responds to the tree and natural surroundings. The overriding message Wordsworth makes is that while the tree (and nature's) beauty should relax this traveler and help him to clear his mind, it fails to do so. Why? Because he is a man of "lofty views and morbid pleasures" and therefore he cannot see the true, raw beauty the tree exhibits.

I see the tree as almost a God-like figure. Whereas most people probably use this natural giant as a way to take cover from a scorching sun, it has a different impact on our main character. Instead of covering up the traveler, it in fact exposes him. The tree is able to dig past the facades and superficialites this character's lives has been marked by and cuts directly to the core. That gentleman saw his Judgment Day under the shade of that omnipotent tree. Taking it one step further, I believe that Wordsworth is trying to show that God is omnipresent in any and everything, and we must appreciate every facet of the natural world, for to not to do so could lull your mind - and not in a good way.

Green Billows

In Mary Robinson's The Haunted Beach, "green billows" are mentioned in eight of the nine stanzas of the poem. But what are these green billows and what can the reader learn from them?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a billow in a number of ways including, "a great swelling of the sea often caused by wind." The picture to the left is likely the image the author is trying to convey in her text.

These green billows are described in four different ways, where the green billows:

1) made
2) stray'd
3) play'd
4) play

I want to focus on the fact that the first three words are in past tense, referring to events/actions of the past, whereas the fourth word is in the present tense. These words alone give us a skeletal map of the time-series of the poem. While the majority of this piece of poetry dwells on past events and occurrences, the last paragraphs switch to present tense. Upon first reading, at least for me, I did not so much pick up on this transition in reference of time. So, broadly speaking, these green billows can be said to represent time in the poem; although things occur in the past, they also occur in the present, which itself become the past. The green billows are a never-ending natural clock.

ABBA CDDC EFEFGG

First of all, this is not to be confused with Swedish pop band ABBA, I am referring to the structure of Charlotte Smith's Sonnet III To A Nightengale.

Although it does fit the Shakespearean sonnet form in that it is a fourteen line composition, it does have a number of areas where it diverges from that norm. First and foremost, this poem does not follow iambic pentameter perfectly - it has a number of lines that are more or less than ten syllables. I think this is an intentional move by Ms. Smith to distinguish her writings from other contemporary Sonnets.

What struck me as even more interesting as far as being a "renegade" in her writing, I will now discuss the title of this post. I am certain you know that I am referring to the rhyme scheme of this Sonnet. Although the traditional three quatrain and rhyming couplet is in place, the schemes are somewhat inverted in the sense that it would usually be ABAB but the author instead flips the third and fourth lines.

I see these minor acts of defiance as attempts to differ from the norm. Given that the author of this poem is female in a highly male-dominated field and time, this attempt to appeal to the read from a different angle is appealing and intriguing. Good work, Ms. Smith.

Sonnet On Seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep At A Tale Of Distress

In this sonnet, which was Wordsworth's first published poem, he uses tears a representation of emotion, which is an important consideration in analyzing what he is trying to convey. From the onset, there is allusion to religious ideas and themes, specifically relating to Jesus. The subject of the poem, Helen Maria Williams, in my interpretation is supposed to be Jesus. While reading this poem, it conjured up images of Jesus up on that actual Crucifix. Whether it was the "purple tide flowing" which represented the blood of Jesus likely coming down from his forehead or the "closing eye" which represents his fleeting life, make no mistake this story is not coincidentally similar to that of Jesus. It is in fact a metaphorical representation of this story about a woman that Wordsworth had not even met yet!

As far as the tear is concerned, Maria seems to be weeping out of despair, which in turn brings tears, as a response to seeing the pain and misfortune of others. This seems somewhat analogous and reminiscent of the story of Jesus, as far as taking serious pain in the misdoings of others. An awesome commercial demonstrates this. Just as the childhood notion of rain being "God crying" Helen Maria Williams' tears are tantamount to "Jesus suffering."

I was quite surprised at how religiously inspired this poem was in its entirety, a pretty risky move for someone's first public publishing. A strong showing of Wordsworth's intestinal fortitude.