Poetry and Romanticism

FROM nature doth emotion come, and moods
Of calmness equally are Nature’s gift:
This is her glory; these two attributes
Are sister horns that constitute her strength.
Hence Genius, born to thrive by interchange
Of peace and excitation, finds in her
His best and purest Friend, from her receives
That energy by which he seeks the truth,
From her that happy stillness of the mind
Which fits him to receive it, when unsought.

Such benefit the humblest intellects
Partake of, each in their degree; ‘tis mine
To speak, what I myself have known and felt;
Smooth task! for words find easy way, inspired
By gratitude, and confidence in truth.
Long time in search of knowledge did I range
The field of human life, in heart and mind
Benighted; but, the dawn beginning now
To re-appear, ‘twas proved that not in vain
I had been taught to reverence a Power
That is the visible quality and shape
And image of right reason; that matures
Her processes by steadfast laws; gives birth
To no impatient or fallacious hopes…
             -William Wordsworth
(Book Thirteenth, Imagination and Taste, How impaired and restored – concluded)


This post has been a journey of intellectual discovery for me. I decided to physically go to the library and see what I poems or books I could find on Romanticism. I found a collection of poems by William Wordsworth in the Honors reading room and was blown away as I began to read and comprehend what he was saying. Wordsworth’s poem contains some beautiful prose about the Romantic themes of nature. A few of my favorite principles from Wordsworth include:

• “From nature doth emotion come.”
• Wordsworth states that in nature man finds his best friend and “the energy by which he seeks truth.”
• From nature man receives a stillness of mind when he is not seeking it
• Even the most humble of intellects benefit from nature, each in their own degree

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to library. At first when I found and read the poem, I glazed over the poem, not really comprehending what it meant. As I slowed down and took time to understand what it meant, I had a great experience reading it.