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Article THE POETIC INTERPRETATION OF NATURE.* ← Page 5 of 6 →
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The Poetic Interpretation Of Nature.*
" What Unci of results are offered to Poetry by her sister ?" and then stating that these will be but those" of the heart of hate That beats in thy breast , 0 Time ! " or those of a"Nature , red in tooth and claw , " .
he declares this pessimism can be the only creed of a Poetry that is interpretative , and that for Poetry to be as it " Used once , a delight and a comfort , " it must remain representative _ he adds ,
" Because the heart of the modern Avorld is more wicked and bloodthirsty than ever !" Is , then , "the modern world , " used in its everyday sense , to be the dominant factor of Poetry ? If so , Poetry is not , ancl never can be , the Interpreter of Nature , ancl cadit gucestio . But " the modern Avorld " is not , and never can be , more than a travesty of Nature , and Poetry , true to her immortal instincts , looking beyond and above itdirects our longing gaze to a renewal in the future . This world is not as it
, left its Maker ' s hand , but has been marred and spoiled by man ' s wrong doing ; and " all creation groans and travails in bondage .... waiting for the adoption , to wit the redemption of our body "—that is the clay of Resurrection—and it is of this great " restitution of all things " that Poetry teaches us , and so teaching us , gives us promise of perfection in the hereafter . A touch of melancholy sadness there must then ever be , even in Nature ' s self when she points to her OAvn decay—when she shows that , as in
the fallen leaf , there has always existed in her works , even from their birth , the germ of death ; but she points beyond this , in the bursting aneAv into the fresh life of springtime , to a life beyond the grave . Poetry , then , in dealing Avith these sadder topics , tells us but of the truth as it exists ; but Avith these solemn touches , she invariably , gives us brighter ones to cheer us on our Avay , so that her very pessimist teaching becomes the highest optimism at last . Heartily , then , do we commend this book to all our readers , whether of our Craft or no , especially in these days when so much stress is laid upon ' Season , ' for of this very quality its author thus instancing Wordsworth's middle life , gives us Avarning : —
"losing all hold on conviction , wearied out ivith endless perplexities , he doubted all moral truth , and gave it up in despair . With his hopes for man , and his faith in man ' s destiny , the Poetic vision of Nature , Avhich had hitherto been Avith him , disappeared , and his immediate converse Avith Him ivho through Nature spoke to him , was for a time eclipsed . Under the tyranny of the logical and analysing faculty , his intelligence was no longer an organ Avhich transmitted clearly the light from without to the light within him , but , entangled in the meshes of the finite understanding , he could for a time see or receive nothing which he could not verify by logic . "
His restoration to his former self Avas accomplished for him by the action of his sister , thus illustrating our beautiful princi ple of mutual help . And now he read Nature aright , for" Above all , Nature he now saw to be the shape and image of right reason , reason in its highest sense , embodied and made visible , in order , in stability , in conformity , to eternal law . "
Lastly" Nature is to man a supporting , calming , cooling , and invigorating power" — because it speaks to him of God : — " Those vague instincts , Wordsworth believed , come to man from a divine source , and are given to him not merely for pleasure ' s sake , but that he may condense them into permanent principles by thought , by the faithful exercise of the affections , by contemplation of Nature , and by high resolve . "
Nor will he lack aid , for" He ivho made and upholds the Universe , does not keep coldly aloof gazing from a distance on the sufferings of his creatures , but has Himself entered into the conflict , has Himself become the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Poetic Interpretation Of Nature.*
" What Unci of results are offered to Poetry by her sister ?" and then stating that these will be but those" of the heart of hate That beats in thy breast , 0 Time ! " or those of a"Nature , red in tooth and claw , " .
he declares this pessimism can be the only creed of a Poetry that is interpretative , and that for Poetry to be as it " Used once , a delight and a comfort , " it must remain representative _ he adds ,
" Because the heart of the modern Avorld is more wicked and bloodthirsty than ever !" Is , then , "the modern world , " used in its everyday sense , to be the dominant factor of Poetry ? If so , Poetry is not , ancl never can be , the Interpreter of Nature , ancl cadit gucestio . But " the modern Avorld " is not , and never can be , more than a travesty of Nature , and Poetry , true to her immortal instincts , looking beyond and above itdirects our longing gaze to a renewal in the future . This world is not as it
, left its Maker ' s hand , but has been marred and spoiled by man ' s wrong doing ; and " all creation groans and travails in bondage .... waiting for the adoption , to wit the redemption of our body "—that is the clay of Resurrection—and it is of this great " restitution of all things " that Poetry teaches us , and so teaching us , gives us promise of perfection in the hereafter . A touch of melancholy sadness there must then ever be , even in Nature ' s self when she points to her OAvn decay—when she shows that , as in
the fallen leaf , there has always existed in her works , even from their birth , the germ of death ; but she points beyond this , in the bursting aneAv into the fresh life of springtime , to a life beyond the grave . Poetry , then , in dealing Avith these sadder topics , tells us but of the truth as it exists ; but Avith these solemn touches , she invariably , gives us brighter ones to cheer us on our Avay , so that her very pessimist teaching becomes the highest optimism at last . Heartily , then , do we commend this book to all our readers , whether of our Craft or no , especially in these days when so much stress is laid upon ' Season , ' for of this very quality its author thus instancing Wordsworth's middle life , gives us Avarning : —
"losing all hold on conviction , wearied out ivith endless perplexities , he doubted all moral truth , and gave it up in despair . With his hopes for man , and his faith in man ' s destiny , the Poetic vision of Nature , Avhich had hitherto been Avith him , disappeared , and his immediate converse Avith Him ivho through Nature spoke to him , was for a time eclipsed . Under the tyranny of the logical and analysing faculty , his intelligence was no longer an organ Avhich transmitted clearly the light from without to the light within him , but , entangled in the meshes of the finite understanding , he could for a time see or receive nothing which he could not verify by logic . "
His restoration to his former self Avas accomplished for him by the action of his sister , thus illustrating our beautiful princi ple of mutual help . And now he read Nature aright , for" Above all , Nature he now saw to be the shape and image of right reason , reason in its highest sense , embodied and made visible , in order , in stability , in conformity , to eternal law . "
Lastly" Nature is to man a supporting , calming , cooling , and invigorating power" — because it speaks to him of God : — " Those vague instincts , Wordsworth believed , come to man from a divine source , and are given to him not merely for pleasure ' s sake , but that he may condense them into permanent principles by thought , by the faithful exercise of the affections , by contemplation of Nature , and by high resolve . "
Nor will he lack aid , for" He ivho made and upholds the Universe , does not keep coldly aloof gazing from a distance on the sufferings of his creatures , but has Himself entered into the conflict , has Himself become the