The birds of romance By definition, freedom is the absence of submission to foreign domination. Some of the most liberated beings in the world are found in nature. In nature, plants and animals are not suppressed by human constraints. These human boundaries include time, money, and physical restrictions. Birds are commonly seen as the most liberated animals that have ever existed. The popular phrase “free as a bird” was coined as a result of the great freedom birds possess. Not everyone can understand the full grandeur of what birds truly symbolize. However, over the years, birds have provided inspiration to several intellectuals. Indeed, the Romantic period was a time when birds were an important staple of freedom and liberty. Followers of the Romantic Era devoutly believed in becoming one with nature and discovering enlightenment within oneself. Some of the greatest influences and minds of the Romantic era were poets and writers. These Romantic writers included William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. For all these Romantic poets, birds represented different aspects of life and their poetry reflected their different points of view. During the Romantic era, poets used birds as a symbol of freedom and expressed the meaning of this symbol in a unique way. Based on poetry readings and personal information about the Romantic poets listed above, it is possible to visualize the meanings and purposes of birds during the Romantic era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On April 7, 1770, the second son of John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson was born. This child's name was William Wordsworth and he would grow up to be one of the greatest poets of all time. Wordsworth grew up in Cockermouth, Cumberland, which is part of a northwestern area of England known as the Lake District. Wordsworth grew up with several people who provided him with encouragement for his literary ability. Wordsworth's mother, in fact, “had been his first teacher, giving him instruction in reading, while his father made him memorize passages from Shakespeare, Milton, and Spenser” (Legouis 18). However, Wordsworth was still plagued by negativity in his life, such as the loss of his brother and separation from his mistress and daughter during the "French Revolution". Wordsworth overcame his trials by finding solace in nature, just as a bird finds refuge in the wilderness. Writer Margaret Wanless stated that “nature was to Wordsworth a great, wonderful passion, beautiful in itself,” meaning that Wordsworth drew much of his inspiration from the natural elements (Wanless 4). While Wordsworth was inspired by nature, he also loved birds and other forms of natural wildlife. In one of his most popular poems “To the Cuckoo” Wordsworth describes his journey into a valley by exclaiming “O merry newcomer! I have heard, I listen to you and I rejoice. Oh cuckoo! should I call you bird, or just a wandering voice? (Cuckoo-Wordsworth 1). He goes on to say, “The same one I listened to when I was a school boy; that cry that made me look a thousand ways into the bush and the tree and the sky” (Cuckoo-Wordsworth 20). This phrase explains that the nostalgic sound of the cuckoo reminded Wordsworth of his childhood and the great sense of wonder that birds and other animals gave him. Wordsworth wrote other poems such as "Lines Written in Early Spring", which was "Often dismissed as a dogmatic display of naive worshipof nature, this poem nevertheless reveals an unsuspected thematic complexity in its depiction of the relationship between nature and human society." "(McKusick 34). According to his writings, Wordsworth is emotionally connected to nature and the freedom that nature contains. Wordsworth had a dear friend who was also a literary genius in his own unique way. His friend's name was Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge himself was not exempt from worldly matters and matters beyond his control. Coleridge was born on October 21, 1772, in Ottery St Mary, a town in Devon, England. The difficulties Coleridge faced included the death of his father, his childhood illnesses, and his heavy addiction to opium. By spending time with nature, Coleridge gained an almost spiritual knowledge, and his writing reflected his intellect. One of his most popular writings was titled “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” which was “a connection beyond the strength of his human responsibilities, conventional or personal, both of which may seem arbitrary” (Fischer 183). This poem focuses on a man who killed an albatross while at sea. The albatross is a large bird that spends most of its time at sea. The main character of the poem, “The Sailor,” recalls an old memory and shares it with a wedding guest while attending a wedding ceremony. “The Sailor” tells the wedding guest about his sea voyage and states “At last he passed through an albatross, came through the fog; As if it had been a Christian soul, we greeted it in the name of God,” as if the great bird were a sign from God Himself (Coleridge Part 1). Later in the poem “The Mariner” he states that “With my crossbow I shot the ALBATROSS” (Coleridge Part 1). In a sense, “The Mariner” was shooting at a divine spirit of some kind. It is speculated that "Thus he may have killed the bird not to radicalize his distance from it, as previously suggested, but "to silence the bird's claims upon him" (Fischer 183). According to Coleridge, the albatross represented more than a great Albatross was also a "Christ figure" in the sense that he died due to wrongdoing Percy Bysshe Shelley was an interesting figure during the "Romantic era", because he did not achieve great fame until after his death life was surrounded by complications during his adolescence Shelly also found himself confined in an unhealthy marriage after eloping with Harriet Westbrook, many of his poems became popular in Skylark” and in it Shelley “draws the attention of the bird and teaches us to enjoy its natural attitude” (Sofi 82). In this poem, Shelley asks the lark for wisdom by saying, “Teach me half the joy that your brain I must know that from my lips such a harmonious madness would flow that the world would have to listen then, as I am listening now” (Shelley 105). Shelly believes that the skylark can give him enlightenment and teach him to become one with nature. Over time, “Shelley accepts that natural things (fountains, fields, waves, mountains, etc.) are the source of happiness. He feels that humans are beyond the happiness of this bird. If they renounce hatred, pride, fear and pain they will reach the heights of joy like Skylark” (Sofi 83). John Keats was one of the main exponents of the second wave of the "romantic era". Keats's work was published only a few years before his death. However, Keats died at the young age of twenty-five. Keats was “much loved by all poets, especially those of his day, and has been called “the bard of beauty” (Wanless 20). One of the most popular poems written by Keats is called "Ode to a Nightingale". In it, he mentions the..
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