Differing Views of Romantic Authors Who Share Literary Themes

The Romantic period is recognized as one of the most foundational eras for British literature because of the timeless expressions of human emotion depicted by the majority of the authors from this age. Various writings from this period share many of the same themes and literary elements, while varying greatly in other aspects. While authors from this time period have differing views and life experiences, the natural elements used for comparison seem uniformly similar. This observation is made clear when comparing authors William Wordsworth with Percy Bysshe Shelley. William Wordsworth utilizes descriptive aspects of nature as a means of comparison for human feelings of joy and happiness, while Percy Bysshe Shelley depicts a much darker and cynical point of view by utilizing many of the same objects for comparison.

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s views on human life are perhaps made most clear to readers in his poem titled “Mutability”. In this poem, Shelley portrays life as a short spurt of tangibility speedily advancing towards a certain fait of death. Throughout the poem, Shelley uses similes to illustrate the certain and inescapable fate for human beings.

In the first stanza, Shelley uses clouds in the night sky being temporarily illuminated by the moon as a comparison to human life, showing how short and insignificant life is. Shelley writes in lines one through four:

We are as clouds that veil the midnight moons;

How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver,

Streaking the darkness radiantly! – yet soon

Night closes round, and they are lost forever.

Clouds, being a very common theme in Romantic literature, help Shelley express his views of life. Here Shelley’s word choice depicts his point of view as one which sees life only as a distant observation uncontrollably contained within a short period of time. In this stanza it is clear that Shelley is saying that life, no matter how beautiful and eventful, will ultimately result only in death. Los Angeles Times journalist and literary critic Sheena Tahilramani writes in her criticism entitled “Mutability”, “While Shelley’s poem “Mutability” discusses the concept of change, other themes that emerge are human mortality and one’s inability to control change”. This stanza sets the mood as dark and blasé. This attitude is sustained throughout the remainder of the poem.

The second stanza of “Mutability” compares life with an antique musical instrument; one which is lacking harmony, and has been set aside so as to never be spoken of again. This idea of comparing life with a commonly known inanimate object seems also to be a common theme seen in a wide array of Romantic period literature. Shelley writes “Or like forgotten lyres, whose dissonant strings give various response to each varying blast”. (Lines 5-6) Tahilramani expresses the meaning behind this simile in writing, “We are like “forgotten lyres” in that our ability to create and produce is short lived and the fruits of our labor are bound to be “forgotten” after we cease to exist”. Shelley’s theme of death being the only byproduct of life is evident. In the next line of the poem, Shelley uses the phrase “frail frame” when describing the instrument, an object weakened by a lifetime of stress, to describe how fragile the human life really is. (Line 7) He then goes on to imply that life will never produce what is desired in a given instance, but rather, in an unpredictable manner, will bring that which man has tried to prevent all along. Shelley writes, “Whose frail frame no second motion brings one mood or modulation like the last”. (Lines 7-8) Shelly expresses the randomness and uncontrollable aspect of life. It remains evident that Shelley’s views of life are very weighty and solemn.

The third stanza of Shelley’s poem describes the vulnerability of man by showing that whatever his mind thinks, whether during sleep or while awake, has the ability to affect every aspect of one’s being. Shelley writes, “We rest. -A dream has power to poison our sleep; We rise. -One wandering thought pollutes the day.” (Lines 9-10) Dreaming, along with the imaginative abilities of the human mind, are also commonly recognized themes in romantic poetry. It is seen here from Shelley’s use of these themes that his intent is simply to describe the dark and negative side of life. Tahilramani explains another detail of this stanza writing, “Shelley’s repetition of “or” in Stanza 3 demonstrates the existence of varied emotion that we encounter in life”. This illustrates again the theme of the inability to control the events that happen in life. At the end of the stanza, Shelley expresses the uselessness of caring about anything life brings.

The same idea is carried through to the fourth stanza as Shelley closes saying that whatever life a man chooses for himself, control over that life is unattainable. Shelley writes, “It is the same! -For, be it joy or sorrow, the path of its departure still is free”. (Lines 13-14) Tahilramini explains this saying, “Shelley is fully aware of the perpetual change that humans face and this inevitability of change contributes largely to his pessimistic tone full of dark images like “clouds,” “night,” “poison” and “sorrow.” The reader can see that Shelley is very bitter and cynical in writing this piece of literature. Shelley ends the poem by saying that the only constant and reliable aspect of human life is its ability to change and not remain.

In the writings of William Wordsworth, we see a much different interpretation of life, despite the similar use of natural happenings that serve as comparisons for human existence. While Wordsworth and Shelley belong to the same literary movement and lived in roughly the same time period, it can be observed how two individuals sharing so many similarities can develop such different mindsets towards the world in which they live.

William Wordsworth’s “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud” tells of the joy and bliss experienced in life. Right away, the reader sees the similarities in themes between Shelley and Wordsworth. The use of the cloud as a descriptive element of comparison to life is seen in Wordsworth’s poem as well. However, Wordsworth’s seemingly opposite attitude towards life is also made very clear from the start. Wordsworth writes, “I wondered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o’er vales and hills”. (Lines 1-2) Wordsworth’s use of the cloud is to express the tranquility and peace he experiences while enjoying the natural beauty of the world in which he lives. At the end of the first stanza, Wordsworth writes, “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. (Line 6) Wordsworth uses personification in describing the movement of a field of flowers to express how it makes him feel. His word choice implies that he is greatly enjoying life’s simplistic natural beauties, rather than focusing on death and all of the negative aspects associated with human life that Shelley tends to portray. Literary critic David Joplin explains this writing, “As he drinks in nature’s beauty, the poet attains an elevated state of mind”. Wordsworth uses nature to depict his fulfillment in life, while at the same time, gives nature credit for the fulfillment itself.

In the second stanza, Wordsworth further describes the appearance and movement of the beauty that surrounds him. He writes in lines 10 through 12,

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

In this stanza the reader can really see how passionate Wordsworth is about the beauties of life. He compares one aspect of nature with another, implying that nature is the greatest thing there is, and that there is no other mean for comparison. The light heartedness of this poem stands out against the mood set in Shelley’s writings.

In the third stanza, we see that Wordsworth is greatly influenced by the sight of the daffodils. He writes of their beauty overpowering the ocean’s waves, showing that these flowers had his complete attention. Joplin explains writing, “The repetition of “gazed” indicates an intense activity, almost as if the poet were in a trance”. This furthers the reader’s ability to understand the effects of nature on the author.

In the last stanza of “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud”, the reader sees that being out in nature has had such a great impact on Wordsworth that just the memory of it has the ability to serve as an escape. Wordsworth writes in lines 19 through 24:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Wordsworth is speaking of times in life when he is not enjoying nature first hand. The implications from the writing are that no matter what is going on in Wordsworth’s life, whether good or bad, the idea of the greatness and beauty of nature is enough to make life enjoyable. This idea is quite opposite from that of Shelley.

Shelley uses natural happenings to show a perspective of life which inversely relates to that of Wordsworth. While the reader observes Wordsworth’s joyous views of life, backed by comparisons from nature, he inadvertently also notices that Shelley’s nature based similes show a completely contradictory conclusion. The fact that two writers from the same era can share so many literary themes while depicting completely different messages is what makes the study of literature so interesting.

Works Cited

Joplin, David. “Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud.” The Explicator. 56.2

(Winter 1998): p67. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Nashville State

Community College. Cookeville TN. 2 Mar. 2009

.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “Mutability”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature.

8th ed. Vol. B. Ed. Donaldson, Talbot. London: WW Norton & Company, 2006. 1734.

Tahilramani, Sheena. “Mutability”. The Association of Young Journalists. 3 Mar.

2009 .

Wordsworth, William. “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud.” The Norton Anthology of

English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. B. Ed. Donaldson, Talbot. London: WW Norton & Company, 2006. 1537-1538.