Monday, December 5, 2011
Another look at LVI
In LVI of "In Memoriam," Tennyson personifies Nature as "she" and questions what Nature truly cares about. In personifying Nature as an almighty force, going back to Williams' essay, Tennyson shows his view of nature as separate from man, and also, probably more importantly to the poem, separate to God. Nature says: "I care for nothing .../ I bring to life, I bring to death." Nature causes life and death and but does not care for the individual or what happens between the birth and death. Nature causes life only to cause death. This is contrary to the view of God as loving all His children. God represents love, while Nature is "red in tooth and claw." God and Nature here are opposing forces. I guess we can question whether we are ruled by God or Nature.
Labels:
Divinity and Nature,
Power
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