Charlotte Smith wrote in her Italian “Sonnet I”,
“…Far happier is the lot of those
Who never learn’d her delusive art, (Smith 143)”

As discussed in class Smith connects suffering with being an artist. In the selected quote Smith seems to be saying that life is happier or easier psychologically for people who do not have the minds of artists or poets. In this quote “her” refers to the “partial muse” or the art God that “smiled” on the speaker, Smith in this case. Many of the artists I have studied appear to see the world through eyes that belong to bleeding hearts. These artists’ minds almost have to concern themselves with the extra weight of the sufferings of the world. Pain runs so deep for a poet and needs to in order to be expressed in such a manner that other people can get close to feeling the poets emotions without suffering the poets suffering or having been part of that moment in time; or to pull out the readers own emotions. Smith ties the poets emotionally deep perception of life to the partial muse that, “…Reserves the thorn- to fester in the heart…(Smith 143). ” Smith closes with the idea that those that feel sadness to the deepest extent can paint it for others. Smith made it clear that those who never learned her delusive art, the non-poets and non-artists have a happier lot in life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9d5hjvFne8

To Sensibility

After reading “To Sensibility” several times I have continuously come back to the same question. Who is the “she” the speaker is referring to throughout the poem? The only idea I have been able to decide upon includes that in the poem both the “I” and the “she” are Helen Maria Williams. I find this to be the case because the speaker, the “I”, knows such intimate details about the “she”. I understand that I am probably very incorrect in say this but when I read the poem from this point of view it comes to life for me. In the fifth stanza Williams writes that “She knows the price of ev’ry sigh, The Value of a tear (Williams 149).” While Williams has taken on a new perception of life in terms of “sensibility” and these statements could apply to that alone, I still find them to be deeply understood details about the “she” in the poem. Because the “she” in the poem thinks and perceives in terms of “sensibility” I believe this could further defend the idea that the “she” very well could be the “I”. Williams later wrote, regarding the “she”: her heart rises to joy, sinks to anguish, that her soul has grief that only she knows and that she is vainly secure in her mortality. These are profound understandings of a person’s emotions and thoughts. About line 57 Williams wrote “She oft will heave a secret sigh, Will shed a lonely tear…(Williams).” How could Williams have known what “she” did secretly or alone?

Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey

I want to focus on the line “The still, sad music of humanity (Wordsworth 113).”When Wordsworth said this I believe he was feeling the cycle of life in nature. The sad truth of humanity is that everything changes and dies no matter how beautiful or how bad we want it to stay the same. I think animals and humans have a drive to survive and when you realize that no matter what you do, your body and what you know here on earth will die; there is a sense of stillness in the world for that person at that moment. Prior to this quote Wordsworth stated that he no longer looked upon nature as he had when he was younger, thoughtlessly. I think he contrasts this with the idea that now he looks upon nature in deep thought because now he understands the depth of the cycle of life. Not just birth and death, but the process by which youth fades away and all the thoughts and heartaches that accompany it. When we discussed Simon Lee in class, we talked about how he was facing his own humanity in that he was aged and waiting for death and no longer able to do the things he could do in his youth. I felt a deep sadness for Simon Lee and now I’m starting to find that sadness shifting towards Wordsworth as he seemed to be deeply connected to nature, humanity as a whole, the cycle of life and the deep thoughts that can accompany such realizations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hzv0TSSDgU

I would like to focus on the word “Powers” and what I took that to mean. I find William was speaking of the Gods or what some might call today a “universal mind” when he used the word powers. I find this to be the case because in the stanza prior to this William wrote about our humanness. He spoke of our eyes that have no choice but to see, ears that cannot silence themselves and bodies that do what they want regardless of whether the “I” in our minds is for or against it. This clearly portrays our lack of control as humans. The next stanza starts with, “…I deem that there are powers Which of themselves our mind impress (Wordsworth 103). In my opinion, these two lines translate to, I believe there are Gods or there is a “universal mind” which our human minds can impress themselves upon. The rest of the stanza said that we could passively feed our minds and that doing this would be the wise thing to do. This to me states that we could mentally tap into the Gods or a “universal mind” in order to gain wisdom. Thus, we went from humanness to being able to passively tap into the Gods. I believe that is why he dreams his time away. William having access to the Gods is nice shift away from how alone Simon Lee was said to be.

Humanity

“… the gratitude of men
Has oftner left me mourning (Wordsworth 67).”

When you help someone that is suffering or in a sorrowful situation, I believe their response shapes your response. If the person in need of help is rude or makes a negative comment, it is easier for someone to walk away and not consider how much that person was suffering or how bad their situation was. It seems that when someone truly reacts negatively to help the person that helped them can think of them as less human, or not think of them at all. I find the complete opposite to be true when someone is kind and thankful in response to help. When a person is suffering, such as Simon Lee was and they show an abundance of gratitude for very little help, it should break your heart. When a person shows a deep thankfulness they become kind and somehow more human and in turn you see your own humanity. It is easier to feel someone’s pain when they are kind. It seems to me this is why Wordsworth included how the “gratitude of men” affected him. I find Simon Lee to be similar to Goody Blake in that they both were old, poor, physically suffering and both in need of help. Luckily in this conversational poem Simon Lee was treated better than poor Goody Blake.

Farmers Beware

“Now think, ye farmers all, I pray
Of Goody Blake and Harry Gill (Wordsworth 63).”

The speaker closes with the above passage which I find to be a warning. A warning to all farmers not to forget the lesson Harry Gill learned. I believe Harry Gill made the mistake of lacking compassion for the suffering, poor and old. Harry Gill was a young, stout farmer versus Goody Blake who was old, thin, hardworking yet poor, and very cold. Harry Gill had no problem jumping out at, grabbing, and shaking this old, poor, suffering woman. The narrator made it clear that she was terribly poor and so cold thus one would think she is stealing his sticks, only for that reason. Harry Gill had no compassion for her situation. Goody Blake upon praying for him to never be warm again, in a sense, cursed him or God cursed him as he was cold from that point forward. Harry Gill was forced to be cold and suffer just the way that Goody Blake had. I think the warning is directed at all farmers because someone who is suffering and poor or possibly poor and old may attempt to steal food or wood from a farmer who has larger quantities of such. Should the scenario arise, farmers put yourselves in the next mans shoes or suffer his suffering too.

The Albatross

After reading the Poem, “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere,” I would like to focus on the albatross and what it symbolizes. The Marinere and the albatross appear to be the main characters. I find the poem to be more of a moral story. Many children’s books and television series are created to portray a similar moral lesson. The lesson appears to be, do no harm or justice will prevail. When referring to justice, I mean in the sense of “an eye for an eye” form of justice. This seems to be the case as the Marinere shot the albatross, which was providing the wind for the ship or at least did not cause any harm to the Marinere. After the Marinere killed the albatross the weather changes and the crew feels this change is the Marinere’s fault for killing the bird. The crew forces the Marinere to hang the dead bird from his neck. This punishment forces the Marinere to wear his shame for everyone to see, similar to the Scarlet letter. Throughout the poem there are references to praying, the soul, death, light and God who loves all, nature included. The disconnection from nature also fits here, in that the Marinere took nature for granted and suffered the penalty as God loves all. This lesson seems to apply to global warming today.