Romanticism is a reaction against the industrial revolution and the Enlightment. Romanticism began in the western Europe in the mid eighteenth centuries in the work of arts, poets and philosophers. To be a Romantic is to take Nature against industries, is to prefer a difidal to a viaduct, a tree to a factory.
For Romantics don’t believe in God but they go in search for emotions. To be a Romantic is to find relief from the pressure of competitive city life in sort of natural grandsire that transcend all human achievements and concerns.
This essay will discuss Romantic themes expressed in the poems “Expostulation and Reply” and “Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth The essay will also outline what the poem is about and show how this relate to Romanticism, and lastly it will evaluate the extent to which these ideas are relevant to us today.
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The Romantic theme/s expressed in this poem is that Nature is a teacher, Nature is seen as a source of wisdom and the divine. The poem gives the idea Reverence for Nature-Wordswoth saw nature as divine and spiritual.” Expostulation and Reply” and “Tables Turned” are companion poem. Wordsworth emphasize that Nature is the ultimate force that guides us through life, and that is it nature that holds the truth (Wordsworth, 1798).
The poem “Expostulation and Reply” is about education and how we come to learn about the world, it portrays the transition from the Enlightment era to the modern world “the world of Romantics” (Wordsworth poems responding to Enlightment philosophy, 2019). This is shown when Mathew asks William why he is sitting near the lake day dreaming instead of reading the books to enlighten himself, to Mathew books were the only way of knowing the world, but according to William books were not the only way to acquire knowledge, because his reply to Mathew was that he is enlightening himself by simply allowing Nature to stimulate him “come forth into the light of thing let nature be your teacher”, this is a reply by William from the poem “Tables Turned” (Wordsworth, 1798).
“Tables Turned” ‘extends the criticism of privileging science and book learning over Natural intuition begun in “Expostulation and Reply”. Wordsworth follows Immanuel Kant’s ideas in terms of the importance of individual thought and not simply allowing books to think for you, he breaks away from the Enlightment emphasis on rationality and science as only to understand the workings of Nature’ (Wordsworth poems responding to Enlightment philosophy). Wordsworth sees the potential to unpack the mystery of the universe: “we murder to dissect”.
The poem “Tables Turned” mentions “our mending intellect” and “come forth and bring with you a heart that watched and receives”. This represents the values of Romanticism because it portrays that the heart is privileged over head. What is natural over what is cultural. ‘Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife, come, hear the woodland linnet, how sweet his music! On my life, there’s more of wisdom in it’. This highlights the essential values of Romanticism in the era, such as how intellect can block emotions, and Nature is a better teacher than books.
The poem “Tables Turned “is also about Nature, because William praises the supremacy of human knowledge. The poet uses birds, the sun and grass because they are all Natural, it is effective because this gives the idea of what the poem is about, and it also explain that Nature is our teacher, and there’s more wisdom in the music of the birds than books.
Wordsworth poems points out that nowadays man is occupied with his books that he forgets to go outside and spend some time in nature. The books and tranquility that nature provides could never be found in books (Wordsworth,1798). Wordsworth’s ideas also apply, or they are still relevant to us today, because Nature is destroyed due to the expansion of cities and this results to global warming and it affects the health of the environment as well as of human beings.
Romanticism is one of the most historical events of all times. Unlike a lot of what gets called ‘history’, Romanticism is not a war or a piece of technology or political event. It refers to the birth of a new set of ideas, it’s about feeling (school of life.com). Wordsworth poems teach or gives a lesson that we must know our selves, because according to William humans have lost their originality, they have become.
