- Published: September 17, 2022
- Updated: September 17, 2022
- University / College: University of Reading
- Level: Masters
- Language: English
- Downloads: 38
Poets express their views in a very personal yet closed manner. Poets aim at cultivating the use of wits in their readers and listeners in order to draw meanings out of the pieces they write. In this paper, I will discuss the main themes in poetry works of various writers. Herrick, Wordsworth, and Hughes have written poems with almost similar themes focusing mainly on the romance and man’s appreciation for nature as the pertinent affiliate to his survival. They use a varied array of stylistic devices to draw their points inculcating a compassionate mood for the beauty of nature (Robert). Wordsworth, in his poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, describes the various aspects of nature and concludes by appreciating their presence saying;
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought, What wealth the show to me had brought
Similar romantic themes are focused in the works of Donne, Frost, and Shakespeare as well as the works of Bishop, Basho, and Hardy. A great deal of stylistic devices including imagery, symbolism and sarcasm formed the major styles that were used to convey a romantic message to the than society. A proper choice of words with accurate rhyming schemes in these poems creates an acute rhythmic pattern enhancing their musicality and bringing out the aesthesis. For instance Shakespeare in his poem That time of year thou mayst in me behold expresses his love for nature in a rather loving tone cultivating a compassionate mood on the readers towards nature. He says;
That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang
In conclusion, poetic works during the romantic ages focused on the romance derived from various sources. The association of nature with man’s ability to gain satisfaction through it formed a major theme in most of the works during this period. The theme of romance in these poems can be addressed at two levels by splitting the fused twin focus interpersonal love and love derived from man’s association with nature.
Works Cited
Robert, DiYanni,. Literature – approaches to fiction, poetry, and drama. 2nd. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.