The Norton Anthology of American Literature

Nature in Romantic, Victorian, and Twentieth-Century Literature

Nature served as one of the most convincing inferences that romantic, Victorian, and twentieth-century writers treasured. Nature was seen as the determinant of all about the world and its surroundings, including one’s place of residence. Nature’s beauty was seen as a cornerstone of a healthy civilization, and any changes to the world were intended to add meaning rather than detract from it. As a Victorian scholar, John Ruskin understood the standard. William Blake, who used poetry to represent the essence of nature during the romantic era, shared similar views in equal measure. Arnold expresses similar sentiments, saying that nature has a vibrant vision of humanity. As a result, nature offers a striking view of the societal cohesive, moral correctness and the interpretation of human existence.

William Blake’s Interpretation of Nature during the Romantic Era

William Blake was one of the most creative artists during the romantic period. Blake creatively used poems to pass his message, by giving interpretations of nature, revealing the imagination and sovereignty of the ordinary person. Most of his work underscored the theme of romance. The French Revolution, as well as the American Revolution, played a significant role in influencing Blake’s poems. The romantic era marked a critical change in literature where the political environment changed the creativity of authors and poets. The American and French revolutions were based on emotions and imaginations but not on constructive thinking. Blake believed in the ability of human beings to express their feelings, show creativeness, and imagination (Greenblatt and Christ 88). However, the works of Blake were ignored or referred to as words of a mad man.

Blake’s Critique of Nature’s Worship and the Essence of God

In his work Songs of Innocence, Blake states that nature works guides children and the response they give is by the luminaries in the surroundings. For instance, in literary work, children tell the nurse that they would like to play until lights in the sky fade away (Greenblatt and Christ 86). Blake criticizes people who seemed to worship nature by claiming that they should use their human belief and imagination to analyze. Blake believed in the presence of God, a divine being who controlled the environment (Greenblatt and Christ 85). He states that good and evil found in the world converges in God who is a supernatural being (Greenblatt and Christ 80). Blake claims that nature represents the fall of human beings and limits the use of their five body senses. For a man to live harmoniously, he will have to eliminate nature from the realm of imagination. Also, human beings experience excellent and enlightened visions. According to Blake, life is beautiful and harmonious, and man can fully understand it only in the aspect of creation. Blake does not love nature, but considers it as a venue for him to express his liberal ideas emanating from imagination and perception. In his work The Songs of Experience, the actual existence of human beings, their knowledge and concepts can be explained through imagination (Greenblatt and Christ 95).

Matthew Arnold’s Critique of Nature and Society

Matthew Arnold was an artist in the Victorian period, and he explored the aspect of human beings. Arnold was a poet and highly criticized the cultural institutions (Greenblatt and Christ 1398). Arnold expressed clarity and simplicity in the development of his poetry works. Arnold introduced literary criticism which has been widely used to validate the work of other writers. The author obtained his inspiration to write about the social issues and political occurrences. Arnold is recognized for criticizing the social constructs and integrated the aspect of modern cultural practices. Arnold rejected the aspect of supernatural beings existing and controlling nature of people. In his work God and the Bible, Arnold mentions the sermon discusses salvation by Jesus Christ, but claims that the story is false and the occurrences never actually happened (Greenblatt and Christ 1384). Arnold rejects the influence of supernatural beings on nature and claims that Biblical teachings are false. According to him, human beings differ when they discuss various aspects of nature as the imagination of one person and another is different. He states that there can never be a single definition of nature as diverse. In his poem In Harmony with Nature, Arnold claims that people cannot be in harmony with nature. The poem states that man has whatever nature has hence man should not worship nature. The description given by Arnold about nature is that it is cruel and stubborn. Man does not benefit from adoring nature, but hopes in the life of human beings is a good thing to cling on. Further, Arnold describes nature as being unpredictable, and therefore man cannot find refuge in it. The author characterizes nature as being unforgiving and that it does not fear death. By the aspect of being unforgiving, he states that nature entirely punishes human beings for doing wrong and does not pardon any single mistake. He states that people are insignificant to nature, and therefore coexistence with nature is virtually impossible. In the poem In Harmony with Nature, Arnold states that the path of human beings starts where nature ends, and therefore the two can never be friends at any given time (Greenblatt and Christ 1415). The perfect description provided by Arnold in his poem is that man is a slave to nature.

John Ruskin’s Perspective on Nature in Architecture

John Ruskin is a twentieth-century artist who used architectural designs to depict the view of nature. According to Ruskin, all the beauty that can be described and expressed comes from nature. Is it typical for that period? The author believed that art could illustrate anything, including the immoral, horrific, and obnoxious scenes witnessed in societies. Ruskin is considered to have introduced a different approach to viewing art and nature. In his work The Stones of Venice, Ruskin states that architectural designs should be utilized to represent aspects of nature. He claimed that carvings could depict creatures such as fish and snakes. Ruskin believes that nature is created by God, who is the Supreme Being who controls nature and human existence. Objects in nature assumed repeated patterns and shapes, which depicted strangely and cannot be limited to design. For example, in his book, Ruskin, noted that “This Roman Christian architecture is the exact expression of the Christianity of the time, very fervid and beautiful—but very imperfect...” (Ruskin 28). However, the different shapes manifested in natural objects such as the mountains and desert structures reveal that nature can take any form.

Conclusion

In conclusion, William Blake, Mathew Arnold, and John Ruskin are some of the greatest authors who have used nature to define human existence. Blake’s interpretation assists in understanding human interaction. Similarly, Arnold feels people go beyond their boundaries to claim that a supernatural being controls nature, something that appears like a fallacy to him. As a result, nature was placed beyond every situation, making it the determinant of the existence of every human being. The literary works the discussed authors composed during these periods shaped the American literature, making them a central pillar of modern art.

Works Cited

Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

Greenblatt, S., and Carol T. Christ, Eds. The Norton anthology of English literature. WW Norton & Company, (2012): 1- 2868.

Kazin, Alfred. “An Introduction to William Blake.” The Multimedia Library (2009).

Ruskin, John. The Stones of Venice. Barnes & Noble Digital Library, 2011.

Shurbutt, Sylvia Bailey. “Matthew Arnold’s Concept of Nature: A Synthesist’s View.” Victorian poetry, vol. 23, no.1, 1985, pp. 97-104.