Now filled with an internal calmness, Coleridge begins a speech to his slumbering child. You can immediately tell from his tone that Coleridge has changed from the beginning of the poem and is in a unique peaceful state of mind. Coleridge is naturally happier person from his gentle musings. He wishes his babe to "wander like a breeze by lakes and sandy shores" in order to receive the same internal calmness from nature. His peacefulness makes him want to give others the same peacefulness in a strange altruistic way. This shows a control of nature's produced beauty on the minds of men.
Its interesting also that Coleridge mentions God and his role in nature near the end of the poem explaining nature as God's "universal language," which "teach himself in all." We get the idea that God is the definite creator and is effervescent through nature. Meditating on nature is viewed as a natural medicine to human stress and it is God who relieves us of this human angst. God provides the medicine to suffering. Also, because God is in all of nature, Coleridge depicts no problematic viewpoints about nature. Nature and the seasons can only "be sweet to thee." All in all, I liked this poem mainly because it was straight forward and understandable for the average person, which gave me an aesthetic pleasure.
I definitely agree that Coleridge views nature as God's universal language - perhaps this is why Coleridge believes human language derives from nature according to McKusick's article. Here we see the idea of nature as God's minister and deputy that Williams discussed in his article. Yet I don't agree that the silence makes makes Coleridge calm. Coleridge is disrupted by the calmness, stating, "'Tis calm indeed! so calm, that it disturbs and vexes meditation with its strange and extreme silentness." Perhaps because nature creates language then silence is unnatural?
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed today in class, his speech to the slumbering baby is clearly not a two-person dialogue, rather a reflection of self and his own childhood. Yes, he wants the child to experience the happiness that one gains from the calming effects of nature, but is he also yearning for that same feeling once again? I think so, like we discussed today experience is generated from experience, or it is the repetition of experience. Therefore, is he really talking to the child or is he talking to his inner-child, holding on to those collected memories?
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