Harvey and Cooleridge

“and so his song

Should make all nature lovelier, and itself

Be lov’d, like nature! – But ‘twill not be so”

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I believe Coleridge touches on the complexities of the natural world by insinuating that poetry tasked with blind glorification of nature is misguided. Specifically, “many a poet echoes the conceit” by superficially detailing nature’s beauty and expecting such to popularize their respective poems. This touches on a previous discussion; the natural world derives its beauty from it collective complexity and interconnectedness. The minute, systematic processes through which the concept of Nature emerges is considerably more important (and beautiful) than its colors and shapes. Furthermore, I link this to Harvey’s analysis of the heart where the underlying processes and regularities were illuminated. In a creatively destructive manner, Harvey destroyed the ignorant admiration for the heart’s complexities and replaced it with an understanding of its beautiful yet paradoxical combination of simplicity and complexity. Thus, like the evolution of our corporeal understanding, a poet will not achieve fame through superficial descriptions of nature. The power and importance lies within the description of the mechanics through which beauty emerges.