Skip to main content

Critical Appreciation of H.W. Longfellow's "Nature"

Introduction

 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) is one of the most popular and celebrated American poets .Longfellow's poetic work is characterized by familiar themes, easily grasped ideas, and clear, simple, melodious stylish language. His beautiful sonnet Nature is a popular example of his simple yet melodious lyricism. It is not hard, then, to show in the poem Nature the general structure: the rhyme-scheme; the sustained simile expressed by the two great waves of thought, one in the octave and the other in the sestet; and the complete impression in few words.

The general structure: the rhyme-scheme

The sonnet Nature is modeled upon the Italian, or Petrarchan sonnet form. It has fourteen lines in two sets: two quatrains forming an octave, rhyming abba, abba; and six lines in two sets of three, rhyming abc, abc. The jump of thought i.e. the volta of a sonnet is well structured too as the intensity and ineptness of the thought culminates form the octave to sestet.

As a fond mother, when the day is o'er,
Leads by the hand her little child to bed,
Half willing, half reluctant to be led,
And leave his broken playthings on the floor,
Still gazing at them through the open door,
Nor wholly reassured and comforted
By promises of others in their stead,
Which, though more splendid, may not please him more;

So Nature deals with us, and takes away
Our playthings one by one, and by the hand
Leads us to rest so gently, that we go
Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay,
Being too full of sleep to understand
How far the unknown transcends the what we know.

The sustained simile the octave

 The octave stanza begins with a beautiful simple verse of the child busy in playing while his mother is attending him to take on rest. The child is playing day long and now is obviously tired and his fond mother, as the day is over, her little child to bed. But he child is half willing for he is tired and half reluctant for he is still wishing to play more with his playthings. His broken playthings are lying on the floor and he is gazing at them through the open door. His mother’s promises of new playthings replacing old ones can not wholly reassure and comfort the little child. Even though more splendid and gorgeous the new articles it should be, his amorous broken articles allude him still.

The sustained simile the sestet

Like an extended simile the sestet stanza makes it explicit the profound philosophical idea contained in the poem. As the relation of the fond mother and her reluctant child is drawn in the first Para, we find the nature mother and inmates like us is related. Nature mother deals with us, the human likewise. As the playthings of the child are broken one after another, our pleasures of life are taken away one after another. All the sensual pleasures, rosy springs of passion of body and heart are taken away gradually. The glamour of wealth and glory of youth become more shabby and deterred; we are gently led to death by the nature mother without even knowing if we wish to go or stay. The eternal sleep will lull us into the graveyard, to the territory of the vast unknown, the world beyond. More surprisingly, the experiences and knowledge gained in our earthly life are insufficient and incapable of explaining what lies beyond the earthly, physical life.

The complete impression in few words

 H.W. Longfellow has exquisitely presented in the poem Nature a philosophical idea of death as inevitable consequences of din and bustle of our life. It is the greatest boon of our Nature Mother that she fosters and nurtures human life with all sorts of material pleasures and attachments. It is the same nature, however, makes us old, infirm and fragile and gradually all the playthings are taken away and the earthly bindings go shattered. Like in The Retreat by Vaughan, Longfellow too states our days of earth limited or like Gray states the inevitable consequences of our life leads but to the grave. But what remind us most are Tagore’s immortal lines from Golden Boat where the Eternal Boatman i. e. god is reluctant to carry other earthy articles other than the man himself.  

Ardhendu De

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 17, 2012 at 9:23 PM

    this is a good website.it helped me in my h.w

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJuly 22, 2013 at 3:07 PM

    Thank you, sir. I was actually searching for a blog to support my English learning.
    This analysis is eloquent yet simple.
    Great post, great blog. Followed!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ardhendu DeJuly 27, 2013 at 10:02 PM

    Thanks Anindya for your comment.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Drop any query, suggestion or comment here.

Other Fat Writing

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Samuel Johnson's "Preface to Shakespeare": Points to Remember

E ighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson ((1709-1784) is one of the most significant figures in English literature. His fame is due in part to a widely read biography of him, written by his friend James Boswell and published in 1791. Although probably best known for compiling his celebrated dictionary, Johnson was an extremely prolific writer who worked in a variety of fields and forms. Chief Critical Approaches of Dr. Johnson are: Johnson tried teaching and later organized a school in Lichfield. His educational ventures were not successful, however, although one of his students, David Garrick, later famous as an actor, became a lifelong friend.
40 comments
Read more

Kinds of Poetry: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic

Introduction: Poetry is a form of literary expression that has captivated readers and listeners for centuries. It allows poets to convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a condensed and artistic manner. While there are countless poetic forms and styles, poetry can be broadly categorized into three main kinds: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Each of these kinds has distinct characteristics, purposes, and examples that showcase the rich diversity within the world of poetry. Kinds of poetry :  There are three great kinds of poetic writing: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Narrative poetry: Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting. It  is one of the oldest and most straightforward forms of poetry. It tells a story, often in a chronological sequence, using poetic devices to create a vivid and engaging narrative. Some key points about narrative poetry include: Storytelling: Narrative poetry focuses on storytelling, using poetic language to c...
1 comment
Read more

Analysis of "Progress" by St. John Ervine as One Act Play

"Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war."- John Milton  (1608 - 1674)   Letters of State...Together with Several of his Poems ,  "To Oliver Cromwell" “Progress” by St. John Greer Ervine is a successful specimen of a one act play . It has not only a unity of theme (the abolition of war) the unities of time; place and action are also meticulously maintained. Thematically, “Progress”     is written against the background of the First World War in which thousands were butchered and many more became disabled for life. It left many mothers    childless and incredible number of widows and orphans. This insensible devastation has created diverse reactions in social thinking, and “Progress” by the Irish playwright St. John Greer Ervine is just the product of one of the strongest of these sentiments, namely the anti-war feeling of the post war modern age .  Through the basic conflict between two ideas- the point of view of ...
10 comments
Read more