Throughout this course we have read and discussed poetry and topics concerning nature, the environment and the ecology of man. Amongst the variety of literature and conversation the motif of a degrading environment, or the destruction of nature, consistently played a central role. As civilization continues to spread and nature’s presence becomes increasingly rare, one wonders what effects its absence would have on mankind. Several works we encountered during this semester address the roles that nature serves for man, and others contemplate its absence. By examining works from Romantic poets such as, Alfred Tennyson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charlotte Smith, William Wordsworth, James McCusick and Lord Byron, I will attempt to convey how these poets highlight important roles of nature and how mankind is affected in its absence – man’s withdrawal from nature.
Nature Defines Man
I want to begin by discussing a post written by
The Tetschen Altar, or The Cross in the Mountains (1807)
The painting above was painted by Caspar David Friedrich, painter of Wanderer Above the Sea Fog and Chalk Cliffs on Rugen. Friedrich’s picture exemplifies the pursuit of God within nature by replacing the traditional image of crucifixion with a landscape. In regards to Freidrich’s intentions for the painting, he explained that the rays of the evening sun represented the light of the Holy Father, and the sinking of the sun indicates that the time when God revealed himself to man has passed (
New Morality (1798)
The illustration above represents another way in which man has tried to further define himself through his observations and relationship with nature: “James Gillray’s New Morality, that was to have illustrated the valedictory poem of the Anti-Jacobin, includes a floral image which may serve as the point of departure for examining the relationship between botany and social theory in the 1790’s” (Bewell). The discovery of sexual organs in plants, also characterized by Erasmus Darwin’s The Botanic Garden, The Loves of the Plants, provided an entirely new perspective for humans to attempt define themselves with. Comparisons between plants, animals and society were constantly being made, and “a major effect of this tendency to import social categories into the descriptions of plants was that a wide analogical thoroughfare was built between plants and humans” (Bewell). Society defined itself through these comparisons and humans began to imitate or justify their own sexuality with the sexuality of flowers, which mate freely and are not monogamous. In this way, human’s can reflect upon other organisms, or the creatures of nature, in order to better understand themselves, even if that understanding is misconstrued.
If nature plays an essential role in man’s definition of himself, the question arises – what happens if nature disappears? The human race seems to be continually destroying nature, either through carbon emissions, deforestation or species extinction. If God created nature, and we destroy nature, are we undermining God or ourselves? Man’s place within nature significantly defines his existence. Without nature we have no way to reflect upon the human condition, and we lose sense of the context of man’s existence in the universe. We would have no concept of species, the theory of evolution or possible life on other planets. Without nature, the struggle between man as a singular, superior being of divine right and man as an evolved primate would be nonexistent. We would only be able to witness human interaction and society, thus skewing a genuine understanding of human existence.
Nature Is Man’s Escape
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “Frost at Midnight,” reveals his heart-wrenching desire to find a new perception on life that lies outside of dimly cluttered cities. His “Dear Babe / […] whose gentle breathings / fill up the interspersed vacancies and momentary pauses of thoughts,” seems to represent Coleridge’s inner desire to fill the voids in his mind with something calming and peaceful, likely opposite to city life (44). For Coleridge, his child represents a new hope for his life to become closer to nature and its beauty. He longs for an understanding of the world from a point of view much closer to nature, and God, than city life. Thus, he aspires that his child will “wander like a breeze / by lakes and sandy shores / and beneath clouds / so shalt thou see and hear / […] that eternal language, which thy God Utters” (54-60).
Coleridge displays a blatant longing to be immersed within nature, as if being stuck in the city for too long makes him sick. For man, nature exists as an essential escape from his own society. Without nature, it is difficult to escape the clutter of society and truly drift in pensive thought. The result of being stuck in the chaos of city life can often be mentally harmful. In fact, a study published by The Lancet revealed that mental illness and instability can be a product of city life and incidents of schizophrenia are up to 65 times higher in men brought up in cities versus rural areas. Clearly, in the absence of nature as an escape and mediator for thought, the suffocation of city life can lead to adverse consequences for man.
Nature Humbles Man
Charlotte Smith identifies nature as something that humbles mankind in her poem “
Smith’s representation of nature as something that humbles man and provides happiness in simplicity provides an important insight. If nature’s presence continues to dwindle, than the notion of a humble existence is lost. Simple rustic living will mostly cease to exist. Without the aesthetic and interactive joys of nature, man is left to superficial, materialistic pleasure. As nature disappears, modesty and the general happiness of man with fall as society becomes completely entrenched in materialism.
Nature as Man’s Commune
In his poem “It Was an April Morning: Fresh and Clear,” William Wordsworth reveals nature as an essential aspect of communication. Wordsworth explains how the naming of places can be associated with experiences of local residents, and thus inflect a deeper meaning and history than a simple definition. This is an idea critically explained by James McCusick in an essay earlier this year titled “Coleridge and the Economy of Nature”. McCusick pints out how poetry composed in a specific region “often adopts the persona of a speaker whose voice is inflected by the local and personal history of the place he inhabits” (McCusick 1). Essentially, variations in natural environment and our experiences within those environments allow man to better communicate personal experience.
Nature helps man to communicate because everyone experiences nature, it as an underlying commonality of mankind. Amongst societies and ethnicities we have different languages and dialects, but our experience with nature is generally ubiquitous. The device in language described by McCusick and utilized by Wordsworth is extremely important in bridging the communication gap we discussed in class concerning the Knight and Shepherd in Heart-Leap Well (10/19/11). By communicating our experiences with nature, we maintain commonality and some sense of mutual understanding as a race.
In closing, I feel it is appropriate to comment on my response to Maryclaire’s post on “Tintern Abbey” (9/21/11). In the post, Maryclaire discusses Wordsworth’s memory of Tintern Abbey as a source of beauty and escape. In response, I wrote: “The idea that when one recalls a memory and returns to that moment in their subconscious, the aesthetics of the specific setting are highlighted in the mind, as if they were central to the moment all along. As we cover modern topics such as McKibben's literature, I feel that this idea of aesthetic recollection becomes increasingly significant. As nature comes closer to being a memory in itself, it seems that we threaten the very way our minds function in recalling a pleasant memory, or even setting one's mood on a sunny or gloomy day” (9/21/11). Man has grown with nature through centuries of evolution and societal development. Our industries, cities and ports have all grown from what nature has provided. As nature disappears and we lose our sense of self, our escape, our humility and our commune, how will the human psyche respond?
References:
Bewell, Alan. "Jacobin Plants": Botany as Social Theory in the 1790s.
Johnston, Catherine; Leppien, Helmut R.; Monrad, Kasper (1999), Baltic Light: Early Open-Air Painting in Denmark and North Germany, New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-08166-9
McKusick, James C. “Coleridge and the Economy of Nature.” Studies in Romanticism v35 p375-92 Fall ’96.
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