On Wordsworth and Emerson’s Conceptions of Nature

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Abstract: By comparing and analyzing their two poems, I will try to define wordsworth and emerson’s respective conception of nature. The reason why they formed such conceptions of nature is, to the former, lies in his passiveness; and to the latter, in German philosophy and bold individualism. Key Words: conception of nature；NATURE；philosophical conception of nature；common conception of nature；passiveness；individualismOutlineI. IntroductionII. Wordsworth’s conception of nature III. Emerson’s double conceptions of nature IV. ConclusionⅠ. Introduction In the 19th century, romanticism prevailed as the literary mainstream throughout the European continent. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was one of the pioneers in the romanticist movement. As a great poet of nature, he wrote many famous poems to express his love for nature, one of which is “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”. In the narrative poem, the poet successfully compared his loneliness with the happy and vital daffodils. The daffodils, the symbol of the nature, bring great joy and relief to the speaker. So Wordsworth’s conception of nature is that nature has a lot to do with man, it can not only refresh one’s soul and fill one with happiness, but it can also be reduced into a beautiful memory which will comfort one’s heart when in solitude. In 1832 Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American Unitarian minister, left the ministry for Europe to pursue a career in writing and public speaking. There he acquainted Wordsworth and got influenced by him. When he returned to New England, he accomplished his masterpiece Nature, in which he speaks loud his love for nature and explicates his philosophical ideas that earned him the reputation as Transcendentalism’s most seminal force. However, Emerson did not just imitate Wordsworth or any other European romanticist’s minds, rather, his conception of nature is a different and more complex one, which we can see from his poem Rhodora. Emerson holds that man and nature all come from the same power. So philosophically, this poem shows Emerson’s transcendentalism is a kind of idealist monism. And his NATURE not only includes the common nature, but also includes man’s body. So Emerson’s conception of nature has double meaning, one is philosophical, the other common. After further exploration, we can find that Wordsworth’s conception of nature originates from his passive attitude toward life, while Emerson’s owes to German philosophy and his strong individualism. Ⅱ.Wordsworth’s conception of nature On July 14,1789, the Parisian people stormed the Bastille, which marked the outbreak of the French Revolution. Before long its great influence swept the whole European continent. In England all social contradictions sharpened in the meantime. Workers, peasants, and indeed all people of the lower classes as well as the progressive intellectuals hailed the French Revolution and its principle “ liberty, equality and fraternity”. In company with the political movement in progress, a new trend also arose in the literary world, namely, romanticism. It prevailed in England during the period 1798-1832. In 1798, “Lyrical Ballads”, with only about ten thousand words, came out as the manifesto to the English Romanticism, marking a new era in English literature. And its authors, William Wordsworth and his confidant Samuel T. Coleridge (1772-1834) became widely known as the “Lake Poets”. In the Preface to the “Lyrical Ballads”, Wordsworth set forth his principles of poetry, which reads “ all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.” This forms a contrast to the classicism that made reason, order and the old, classical traditions the criteria in its poetical creations. Wordsworth holds that firstly the contents of a poem should focus on common country life and the beauty of nature, while the diction of a poem should be plain and vivid with the application of lower-class persons’ daily language. The two main principles posed a strong challenge to the “upper-class only” Neo-classicism and quickly went popular. In the eighteenth century poems were supposed to serve the upper class, and the theme usually had something to do with the upper-class life. In contrast, romanticism gave much attention to the nature. As a great poet of nature, he was the first to find words for the most elementary sensations of man face to face with natural phenomena. These sensations are universal and old, but once expressed in his poetry, become charmingly beautiful and new. His deep love for nature runs through such short lyrics as “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”: I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o’er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the thess,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. In the first two stanzas the narrator, one version of the poet, tells us that one day when wandering through a landscape, he was struck by the sight of a field of daffodils. The first line “I wondered lonely as a cloud” immediately establishes the speaker’s loneliness. And in sharp contrast with the poet’s loneliness, the daffodils are happy and bristling with life: they are “dancing”, and “tossing” their heads. In addition, the daffodils are in large numbers. Their vast number is emphasized in the second stanza when the poet describes them as “continuous” and in a “never-ending line”. Actually, the emphasis on the happiness of the daffodils and their large number serves to foil the isolation and dispiritedness of the speaker. But this contrast between the speaker and the landscape soon becomes fused or integrated in the third stanza, where the relationship between the poet and the landscape is one of intimate union, suggesting an identity of mood between subject and object: A poet could but be gay, In such a jocund company; And later, in moments of solitude, he recalls the experience, seeing the field again in his mind. For oft, when on my couch I lie,In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils. Loneliness once again seizes the poet as he lies on his couch. Though physically he is far from nature, he somehow feels sort of connection with it through the power of imagination. A single brief event which occurred in a distant summer landscape is recaptured in the poet’s mind. Meanwhile, the emotional mood attached to that scene is also revived. The diction of this poem is, in general, simple, direct, and clear. The image of the daffodils conveys qualities of movement and radiance through carefully chosen words. At first sight, the flowers are seen as “fluttering and dancing”; then the poet compares the flowers to the “stars that shine/And twinkle on the milky way”, and then to the “sparkling waves” of a nearby lake. The daffodils are described as “golden”, not yellow, because “golden” suggests more than a color; it connotes light. These words of movement and radiance create a picture of nature as vital, animated, and glowing. Words for joy (glee, sprightly, gay, jocund, bliss) are used in a crescendo that suggests the intensity of the speaker’s happiness. A different kind of repetition appears in the movement from loneliness to solitude. Both words denote aloneness, but they are radically different. The poem moves from the sadly alienated separation felt by the speaker in the beginning, to his joy and satisfaction in re-imagining the natural scene, a movement characterized in such words as “loneliness” and “solitude.” A similar movement is depicted within the final stanza by such words as “vacant” and “fills”. The emptiness of the speaker’s spirit is transformed into a fullness of feeling as he “remembers” the daffodils. Wordsworth develops the vision of the daffodils; and through this simple event, he tries to explore the relationship between humanity and nature. Therefore, in his eyes, nature can not only refresh oneself and fill one with happiness, but it can also be reduced into a beautiful memory which will comfort one’s heart when in solitude.Ⅲ. Emerson’s double conceptions of natureNo doubt, the European romanticism had a wide impact even beyond the Atlantic Ocean. Romanticism was extremely influential in a rising America as America had always had a strong spiritual tradition and romanticism was very compatible with American spiritual heritage and its ideas of democracy and equality. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the major writers of the mid-19th century in America, one of the most stimulating American minds was greatly influenced by the Westward Movement. In 1832 he resigned from his pulpit, moved to nearby Concord, and then spent the next few years studying and traveling extensively in Europe. During his visit there, he acquainted Landor, Coleridge, Carlyle, and Wordsworth, though he realized that not one of them was “a mind of the very first class”, they nevertheless had comforted and confirmed him in his convictions. Here it is interesting to mention the relationship between Wordsworth and Emerson. At Rydal Mount Emerson paid his respect to Wordsworth, and was not offended by the old poet’s egotisms. Having reached Liverpool, he confided to his journal his gratitude to the great Godwho had led him in safety and pleasure through “this European scene— this last schoolroom” in which He had pleased to instruct him. He felt that he would be able to judge more justly, less timidly, of wise men for evermore. And after visiting a Paris botanical exhibition, Emerson resolved to be, as he himself termed it, a “naturalist.” Then in 1836 back in America, Emerson published his masterpiece Nature. From his description about nature, we can find some resemblance with Wordsworth’s conception of nature, which shows an influence of the great English naturalist: “The western clouds divided and subdivided themselves into pink flakes modulated with tints of unspeakable softness; and the air had so much life and sweetness, that it was a pain to come within doors. ”(Nature) It shows Emerson, the poet’s love of nature. Nature here has the same function of comforting one’s feelings and refreshing one’s soul as seen in Wordsworth. But Emerson was not only a naturalist, as he called himself, but more importantly, he was a transcendentalist. Furthermore, they also differ in their conceptions of nature. Then what exactly is the difference betwe en them? To answer this question, let’s take Emerson’s “Rhodora” as an example to illustrate this point. IN May when sea-winds pierced our solitudes

I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods

Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook

To please the desert and the sluggish brook.

The purple petals fallen in the pool

Made the black water with their beauty gay;

Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool

And court the flower that cheapens his array.

Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why

This charm is wasted on the earth and sky Tell them dear that if eyes were made for seeing

Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:

Why thou wert there O rival of the rose!

I never thought to ask I never knew:

But in my simple ignorance suppose The self-same Power that brought me there brought you. Again it is a narrative poem. The first seven lines describe vividly the charm of the rhodora. The poet compliments its beauty in a skillful way by using only one word “cheapen”. It immediately lightens the beauty of the flower bright, while dims the red-bird’s plume dull. Then the poet raised a question, “why this charm is wasted on the earth and sky”, which in fact has already been asked in the subtitle: On Being Asked Whence Is the Flower? Emerson answered at the end of the poem that the rhodora is brought by the same power that brought me. Rhodora here is just the metaphor of nature (the nature in the common sense); “me” can be generalized as man or man’s body. So the question is changed into what is this “same power” that gave life both to the nature and to man’s body? In order to find out the answer, we can have a look at his “The Divinity School Address”: “the world is not the product of manifold power, but of one will, of one mind; and that one mind is everywhere, in each ray of the star, in each wavelet of the pool, active;… all things proceed out of this same spirit, and all things conspire with it.” So the “same power” is the “one will”, the “one mind”, or the “same spirit”. Here we are reaching the core of transcendentalism ---- the over-soul, which has been defined as: “within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE.” (“The Over-Soul”) This over-soul, perfect and transcendental, includes all, and is the origin and home for everything in the universe. It supports that transcendentalism is a philosophical branch of idealist monism. According to his theory, “philosophically considered, the universe is composed of NATURE and the Soul. ” (Nature) But this NATURE is not the nature we have talked about just now, it is the NOT ME (a term borrowed from German philosophy), including nature, art and man’s body, or in one word, matter. And the Soul is the spirit or the over-soul. So in a more plain way, Emerson means that the universe is composed of matter and spirit, and with the latter as the only origin. Therefore, the poem “Rhodora” embodies Emerson’s philosophical conception of NATURE: 1. NATURE includes both the common nature (rhodora as the metaphor) and man’s body (me); 2. NATURE is brought by the over-soul. However, Emerson never denied or excluded the common nature. He had said in the introduction of Nature that “I shall use the word (nature) in both senses; ----in its common and in its philosophical import.” So apart from the philosophical NATURE, Emerson’s conception of the common nature also plays an essential part, which should never be omitted or neglected. But some may doubt whether it is just the same as Wordsworth’s, whether there is any differences. Now let’s try to explore it. Indeed it is not difficult to find in Emerson’s works his contemplation on the common nature. In “The American Scholar”, there are sentences as follows: He shall see that nature is the opposite of the soul, answering to it part for part. One is seal, and one is print. Its beauty is the beauty of his own mind. Its laws are the laws of his own mind. … the ancient precept, “Know thyself,” and the modern precept, “Study nature,” become at last one maxim. Emerson used the metaphor of “seal” and “print” to illustrate the relation between nature and the individual, that nature is symbolic of man’s mind, or in his own words “nature always wears the colors of the spirit”. (Nature) Such a conception of nature is apparently different from the one of Wordsworth’s. The latter’s “beauty of nature which is seen and felt as beauty”, in Emerson’s opinion, “ is the least part” which he continues that “ the shows of day, the dewy morning, the rainbow, mountains, orchards in blossoms, stars, moonlight, shadows in still water, and the like, if too eagerly hunted, become shows merely, and mock us with their unreality.”(Nature) And a high and divine beauty lies in “the combination with the human will”. In Chapter IV Language of Nature, Emerson stated clearly that, “Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact. Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state of the mind, and that state of mind can only be described by presenting that natural appearance as its picture.” In Chapter VII Spirit of Nature, Emerson stated that, “It (nature) is the organ through which the universal spirit speaks to individual, and strives to lead back the individual to it.” It means only by combining nature with man’s mind can nature has some significance, and if without, nature is lifeless and valueless. Therefore, the beauty of nature derives from the beauty of the mind, which transcends people’s limits of senses but rely on instinct to realize. And the reason why man owns such an instinct is that within every man exists the over-soul, that every man is divine, and can converse with God directly. So the over-soul functions as a ministry through which man can recognize the beauty of nature. Stating this point, Emerson also used the device of metaphor: “that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us, as the life of the tree puts forth new branches and leaves through the pores of the old.”(Chapter VII Spirit of Nature) Now we have connect the current topic back with Emerson’s philosophical conception of nature. In fact, it is true that there is a rational logic between these two conceptions. According to the first conception, the universe is a whole ONE, with matter and spirit both from the same spiritual origin. Then it is rational for us to infer that the common nature and human being also should be in a harmonious ONE, namely, his idealist monism calls for a unity of man and nature. Till now, we can confirm that the beauty of daffodils and of rhodora is not the same. Daffodils are beautiful because the nature itself is vital and pleasant. Wordsworth has a deep love for nature, and worship nature as the origin of inspiration. To Emerson, the rhodora is beautiful as nature is also beautiful. However, the beauty of nature is not coming from its inside, or not owing to its own elements, rather, originates from the beauty of man’s mind. This is Emerson’s common conception of nature I have dealt with just now. Although we cannot perceive it in the poem “Rhodora”, if we have a thorough understanding of Emerson’s ideas and of the relations between them, it is not difficult to get this layer of meaning. Ⅳ. Conclusion Wordsworth and Emerson were contemporaries, and one was quite influential to the other, but why their have different conceptions of nature? Wordsworth is the representative of the romantic writers who reflected the thinking of classes ruined by the bourgeoisie, and by way of protest against capitalist development turned to the feudal past, i.e., the “merry old England”, as their ideal, or, “frightened by the coming of industrialism and the nightmare towns of industry, they were turning to nature for protection.”(刘炳善，252) These writers, who have been called passive or escapist romanticists, endeavored to reconcile man with his life by embellishing that life, or to distract him from the things around him by means of a barren introspection into his inner world, into thoughts of life’s insoluble problems, such as love, death and other imponderables. So it is not surprising that nature, often personified, plays an important role in Wordsworth’s works. The passions of man and the beauties of nature appealed strongly to the imagination of the romantic writers, and all became the fountain-heads of the poet’s inspiration, as the poet knew well that only with inspiration could he speak out his true feeling, which was the loudest call of the romantic movement. Therefore, although Wordsworth put more attention to the individual than the neo-classicist writers of the 18th century, his intimacy with nature revealed his passive attitude toward life. Nature is his relief, his harbor. After visiting the European continent, Emerson was greatly influenced by German idealism, which could be shown from the mystic discussions in the Transcendentalist Club. This helped him form his philosophical conception of nature. Meanwhile, the young America was enthusiastic with their frontierization. The relation between man and nature (the common nature) became an increasingly urgent problem. Emerson, who aimed at saving people’s soul, easily accepted Wordsworth’s view towards nature, believing nature could refresh the money-rotten heart. In contrast to Wordsworth’s passiveness, Emerson trusted man’s power so much that even nature, in his opinion, “has its roots in the faculties and affections of the mind”; and that even the God, or Spirit, or the over-soul could be find in every man’s own soul, equaling man’s power to the one of the omnipotent. These showed a bold individualism, which we can perceive clearly in his tone: “your dominion is as great as theirs (Adam and Caesar’s), though without fine names. Build, therefore, your own world.” (Nature) So behind Emerson’s common conception of nature, there is a strong emphasis on the individual. Man brought charm to nature, and nature served man only as a relief. To conclude, Wordsworth’s conception of nature has its root in the poet’s passive attitude toward life; while Emerson’s nature has double layers of meaning—the philosophical NATURE and the common nature, behind which we can see the influence of German philosophy and a strong sense of individualism. Although they have different opinion of nature, it cannot prevent them from being both great poets. And their works will always enlighten our mind and refresh our soul. Bibliography 1. Nature.2. “The Over-Soul”. /oversoul.htm3. Ziff, Larzer. RALPH WALDO EMERSON: Selected Essays. New York : Penguin Group Viking Penguin Inc., 1982.4. Buell, Lawrence. Ed. Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, NJ. 1993.5. The Norton Anthology of American Literature (2nd ed., v.1) W. W. Norton & Company Inc, 1979.6. Barbour, Brian M. American Transcendentalism; an Anthology of Criticism. Notre Dame: UND Press,1973. 7. 刘炳善.《英国文学简史》.河南人民出版社，2000，98. 王佐良、李赋宁、周钰良、刘承沛.《英国文学名篇选注》.商务出版社，1999，59. 李公昭.《新编美国文学选读》.西安交通大学出版社，2000. 110. 吴定柏.《美国文学大纲》.上海外语教育出版社，2002，1