The consistent allusions to pre-existing works made in both Shelley and Darwin’s poems are something I find interesting when compared to the fact they are both on flowers and botany. Nature is often something perceived as ever changing—seasons come and go. The same goes for flowers—many exist only temporarily in the spring and then are gone until the following year. Thus, on a general scale, the constant allusions used to draw connections between flowers and long-lasting works such as mythology, seem to be somehow trying to substantiate the permanence of flowers. Rather then being fickle plants prone to disappear in the harshest of weather, these flowers are compared to long-lasting stories.
This ties into how Darwin captures his audience—he makes botany part of a larger picture and ties it in to other sources. It is no longer strictly flowers, but it is flowers as part of the story that winds through everyone. This invokes a more collective consciousness about botany that implies that it is something for everyone—and as long lasting as the some of the stories and poems we still reference today.
“Thus, on a general scale, the constant allusions used to draw connections between flowers and long-lasting works such as mythology, seem to be somehow trying to substantiate the permanence of flowers. Rather then being fickle plants prone to disappear in the harshest of weather, these flowers are compared to long-lasting stories.” – Victoria
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the above quote from Victoria -- Shelley’s mythological references attempt to eternalize the ostensibly transient flowers, specifically the mimosa. While such a difference is obvious between annual and perennial flowers, I think Shelley is alluding to a grander connection: “For love, and beauty, and delight / There is no death or change: their might / Exceeds our organs.” She appears to be juxtaposing the perpetual existence of said emotions against the finite existence of man (i.e. our organs). Moreover, Shelley questions our view of reality by describing life as “where nothing is – but all things seem, / And we, the shadows of the dream.” I take this to posit that our perception, and perhaps the hierarchical structure, of the world around is flawed. Whereas the seasonal ebb and flow leads man to incorrectly assume that nature is transient and thus inferior it is, in actuality, the inverse. Man lives but one life whereas the flowers are born again every spring. Such a hypothesis returns us to the previous questions we have discussed in class concerning man’s relationship with nature.