Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree

 I am comparing my entry on “Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree” to Lena Tortorice’s entry.    


In Lena’s entry she interprets the meaning of the title as a symbol for the life of the character in this poem. Rather than assuming that there were literal words left on the tree, Lena imagines it as something figurative. The tree being planted and growing is compared to when the author was “pure at heart”, or untainted. As time passes the spirit of the man is broken. Simultaneously, the tree grows wild with bent branches.  Lena makes many credible parallels between the man’s journey through life and the growth of the tree. She wraps up her entry by discussing the lonely and unfruitful life that the man has created. I think if my blog were combined with Lena’s it would make for an insightful entry. I like the way Lena compared the life of the tree to the man. I had not thought to figuratively interpret lines left upon the seat. Although her entry differs greatly from mine, she touches on the lonely unfruitful life the man ended up with. However, she does not dig very deep into interpreting the reasons behind the loneliness.  In my entry I offer an explanation as to why this man’s life ended up the way it did. What I gathered from the poem was that he tried to live a peaceful life amongst nature. In isolating himself from society he did not find inner peace but rather he became lonely. He was unable to gain knowledge in life because he had no awareness of human relationships. “Then he would sigh/ With mournful joy, to think that others felt/ What he must never feel: and so, lost man!” I felt that what Wordsworth was trying to express is that humans and nature are not separate forces. Rather that they are interconnected entities. Therefore, true knowledge is gained through inward contemplation, as well as through a bond with humankind. The man’s lack of connection with other people caused him to end up in perpetual isolation like the words imprinted on the tree.

Frost at Midnight

“Great universal Teacher! He shall mould Thy spirit, and by giving make it ask”. Coldridge emphasizes his understanding of nature in “Frost at Midnight”. His understanding of nature is that it is the greatest teacher of all. Coleridge sits late on a cold winter night and reflects on his life thus far and his child’s future. The contrast between growing up “In the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim, And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars” versus in a rural area amongst nature.  In the second stanza he recollects about his childhood and sitting in school looking out classroom window through bars that separated him from nature. The alienation from nature Colderidge felt is displayed in his childhood recollections.  He was not happy growing up where he did. At this point, he turns to say how happy he about presenting his child with the ability to identify with nature and all of its powers. He eloquently paints a picture of the beautiful setting in which his child will be raised. Growing up in the company of nature will give his child the ability to as he states “ See and hear the lovely shapes and sounds intelligible of that eternal language, which thy god utters, who from eternity doth teach himself in all, and all things in himself”.  Although, Coleridge could not become unified with nature as a child, he is content with the idea that he is able to provide a secure relationship with nature to his baby.

Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree

In “Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree” Wordsworth emphasizes that it is important to balance your relationship with nature and society. The poem is divided into two parts. Part one is the story of a lonely man and part two is the moral of the poem. This man chose to isolate himself from society. He “sustained his soul in solitude” and lived alone amongst nature.  In doing so he did not gain any peace in his life.  He was able to see all of nature’s beauty, but he still sought after the outcome of human relationships.  “The world, and man himself, appeared a scene of kindred loveliness: then he would sigh with mournful joy, to think that others felt what he must never feel”.  At this point the moral of the poem begins.  Wordsworth leaves us with the idea that sitting alone isolated in your own pride is not how you connect with nature and gain knowledge. True knowledge should be gained through engaging in inward thought and relationships in humanity.  I think the point Wordsworth is trying to make is that in order to be in tune with nature one must be familiar with humanity as well. I think he is suggesting that humans and nature are not separate entities. Rather, that they are united and  should work together. 

Sonnet Written In The Church Yard At Middleton In Sussex

At the beginning of “Sonnet Written In The Church Yard At Middleton In Sussex” Smith describes the sea. In this poem Smith does not find aesthetic beauty in this part of nature but rather she feels a sense of danger. " The sea no more is swelling surge confines, But o'er the shrinking land sublimely rides. The wild blast, rising from the Western cave, Drives the huge billows from their heaving bed;” Typically people find pleasure from the sea. However, Smith in a melancholy state feels as if the sea is a powerful force that we have no control over. In the second half of the poem she describes the people who had their lives taken from the mighty force of the sea. Standing amongst these dead corpses she declares, " While I am doom'd by life's long storm opprest, To gaze with envy, on their gloomy rest." Charlotte Smith has had it with her life. In this poem you can see that a Smith is terrified by the power and mystery of the sea. Despite that feeling, she would rather get lost in it and escape from the misery of her life. I compare Charlotte Smith's "Sonnet XLIV" to Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night". My reasoning behind this comparison has to do with both the artists' outlook on life, as well as the content of these specific works. Although, not much is known about Van Gogh’s feelings behind "The Starry Night”, people have come up with many ideas as to what he was feeling. He painted it when he was in a mental asylum suffering from depression. In that melancholy state he produced a painting of the night sky. He illustrated the sky to be powerful and raging. His portrayal and stance towards the night sky could be similar to that of Smith's towards the sea. Despite the fear they both would have accepted an end to their lives by allowing these powerful forces to captivate their lives. 

Sonnet III To a Nightingale

In "To a Nightingale" Charlotte Smith discusses her melancholy state to a nightingale. I feel that Smith feels connected to the nightingale. Her poetry is inspired by her sadness similar to the song of a nightingale. Although she feels connected through emotion, she questions the meaning behind the nightingale’s gloomy song. “ What mean the sounds that swell thy little breast, when still at dewy eve though leavest thy nest, thus the listening night to sing thy fate”.  Smith wonders what brought on the nightingales sadness. She does not know what the nightingales “tale of tender woe” is however, she understands what it is like to sing a sad song (or in her case a poem) to nothing but the “listening night”.  Through this connection Smith realizes that she is actually envious of the nightingale. She ends the sonnet with a couplet expressing her envy “ Ah! Songstress sad! That such my lot might be, To sigh and sing at liberty-like thee!” Smith is not envious of it’s suffering, but rather its ability to express that suffering freely. 

Sonnet on Seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep at a Tale of Distress

One of the several definitions of the word sensibility given by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary is: awareness of and responsiveness toward something (as emotion in another). Although I am not writing my blog on To Sensibility, I believe that word sensibility is pertinent to grasping Sonnet on Seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep at a Tale of Distress.  In displaying his response to seeing Helen Maria Williams weep, Wordsworth uses incredibly emotional and descriptive words. Thrilling vein, swimming eyes, delicious pain, loaded heart, and pause of life are a few examples.    His response struck me as natural and instinctive. The combination of his unrefined sensibility and the physical portrayal of it evoked a connected feeling in me. As the reader, I felt a bond to Wortsworth's sentimental sensibility. Wordsworth evoked an emotional response in me; however, I do not feel he took the "easy way out". By easy way out I mean I do not feel he tried to produce emotions in his readers through vulnerability. Wordsworth did not manipulate his readers' emotions. He did not simply throw something sentimental that would create an emotional response in anyone on a piece of paper. A connection that I was able to make through art would be Norman Rockwell's Sunset and Frida Kahlo's Without Hope. When looking at Sunset you see two young children cuddling before a sunset with a puppy behind them. Without thought the viewer feels delightfully cheerful. If Without hope were placed before a viewer one might have to think about her history. Kahlo developed polio as a young child, was crippled from a serious bus accident later on, and then struggled with multiple miscarriages. Even if one did not know her history, the question of why she is displaying her feeling of hopelessness in that way arises. 

Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey

In Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey Wordsworth describes a “tranquil restoration” of a pure and happy mind state. This pure and happy state of mind arises when the narrator re-visits a location in nature that he spent time in as a child.  When he returned he felt unified with nature even though he hadn’t been there since he was a child.  He describes this connection as something beyond the obvious relaxation of being on a short vacation. He expressed his connection when he stated “ And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply infused…the guardian of my heart, and soul Of all my moral being”. He truly feels that there is an over arching oneness between nature and humanity.  He explains that his relationship with nature will never be the same as it was five years ago. However, he can now consciously understand the powers behind the beauty of nature that he did not recognize as a child.  One thing I asked myself after reading this was whether the narrator would feel this connection with nature had he not been introduced as a child. This made me think of how children over time have began spending less time outside.  I did a little bit of research and it is said that lack of nature in children’s lives has a noticeable affect.  Some noticeable affect includes anxiety, depression, adhd, and obesity. Attached is a youtube video that illustrates this affect.