Analytical Essay of Three Romantic Poems Based on Wordsworth′s Ideas in Poetry
The poems, “She walks in beauty,” “Ode to the west wind,” and, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” connect to Williams Wordsworth’s ideas about poetry in that they all embrace the theme of romanticism in relation to humanity and nature. In the first poem, “She walks in beauty” the speaker compares the beauty of the woman in the context to the night whereby she says that, “She walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright.” This emphasizes the clarity and brightness of beauty that is shown by the woman in the poem. The author reconnects the inner beauty to the outer beauty with a representation of multiple virtues such as goodness and innocence. The poem connects to Wordsworth’s ideas of romanticism in that it emphasizes through imagination and the use of devices such as imagery, the perfections, and ethical virtues that are portrayed by the woman in the poem. Some of the above imagination connects to love and beauty, which brings happiness in the universe and hence the need for nature in ones living.
In the second poem, “Ode to the West Wind,” the author Shelly exposes various ideas and thoughts that relate to Wordsworth ideas in poetry by creating emphasis in through imagination, vivid sensation, and also real language. The wind in the poem is used to symbolize the might power of nature, the narrator says, “Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.” This shows that nature is in a position to bring destruction or even death through, for instance, the strong power of the wind. The author describes the west wind as a powerful force that has the capacity of driving away from the summer and bringing winter or storms, which represents the ability of nature to bring feelings such as happiness or sorrow in human existence. The poet particularly adores the power possessed by the west wind in that he refers to the wind as the wild spirit, a destroyer, and preserver. The use of vivid sensations relates to Wordsworth’s ideas of nature and romanticism in this poem, as seen in the first paragraphs of the poem, where the wind is described to dictate the sense of nature.
In the third poem, “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, there is an emphasis on ideas of nature and romanticism in relation to individuals’ feelings, self-expression, and also situations and incidences. The narrator in the poem is compared to a natural object through the use of metaphors with the aim of bringing the essence of nature and humanity, the narrator, says, “I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high vales and hills.” The daffodils used in this poem are also personified, and this technique is used by the author to bring the connection between man and nature, the daffodils are said to be fluttering and dancing in the breeze and also at tossing their heads in sprightly dance which shows the relation between humanity and nature that sustains lives and brings in happiness.
The use of imagery also helps to emphasize the presence of beauty in nature with a mix of happiness as well as loneliness, depending on the situation of the day or a given incidence. Personal feelings are affected by various occurrences, and this reflects what nature is about. The speaker in the poem is once seen to be lonely, but upon being exposed to daffodils dancing, flattering, and tossing, the former regains his happiness, and this means that nature is imaginatively a source of great feelings such as happiness. In general, the three poems connect to William Wordsworth′s ideas about poetry, mostly emphasizing the theme of humanity, nature, and romanticism.