Too Much of a Good Thing /// Bug Olsen

 

          In both poems, and throughout the entire romanticism movement, the value of nature was extremely prominent. Wordsworth's poem focusses entirely on its beauty, and the Mariner only breaks the curse after appreciating the sea life and unknowingly blessing both them and himself. However, Wordsworth takes his appreciation one step too far when he begins to describe nature in God-like terms, displaying some pantheistic tendencies.

            Lines 110-113 are especially frightening from a Christian standpoint, as he calls nature “… the guardian of my heart, and soul / Of all my moral being” (112-113). This is clearly over the top, and while I enjoy nature, I certainly do not find my truth in it. Rather than using it as a means of general revelation to look to the creator, Wordsworth is clearly looking to creation as the original source of truth and morals. This shows the consequences of removing God from society (as Nietzsche later famously describes, “killing God”), and leaves people finding their own truth in various places, including nature.

 “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” has a much better view of nature, as it incorporates God into it as well, rather than purely worshipping creation. Lines 614-617 best evidence this, as they state:

“He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.” (614-617).

 This shows how we are to value nature, but we must do so while keeping God in mind. If we only view nature at face value, we can understand its beauty but we will never see the revelation of God in it. There are many lessons we can learn from nature, as the Mariner eventually learns, but we must keep God at its focus.

I will comment on Justin's and Raygan's posts. 

Comments

  1. Raygan BosterOctober 19, 2021 at 12:08 AM

    I really agree with this. Balance is everything. Something good can become bad when there is too much of it, and I can see how that could be true here as well. Nature is God revealing himself to us, nature is not God himself. We should appreciate His creativity, not worship it. Anything that takes the place of God in our hearts is an idol, and nature is an idol in Wordsworth's work.

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  2. Emma LandryOctober 19, 2021 at 12:12 AM

    Wow! Our posts are very much on the same page even though I had not read yours before writing mine. I agree that "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" appropriately addresses nature while still giving God credit where credit is due. Although the albatross is instrumental in leading the crew out of the region of fog and snow, it represents the fact that God uses his creation to fulfill His purposes and that He has blessed us with animals that are useful to us in everyday life.
    -Emma Landry

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  3. Emma Kate PattersonOctober 19, 2021 at 9:26 AM

    I think nature plays such an important role in works. It can affect the overall mood of the work. Often times authors will use nature in works to depict a certain mood.

    ReplyDelete

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