How Blake and Wordsworth Respond to Nature in their Poetry...

How Blake and Wordsworth Respond to Nature in their Poetry What natural influences did Blake and Wordsworth respond to in their poetry? Blake and Wordsworth were under different influences stemming from their childhood. Wordsworths pleasant and simplistic life style in the country, contrasted with the harsh reality of life experienced by Blake in the City of London. This essay analyses how both poets expressed their very different views of London through their use of themes, word devices, structure and tone. Blake and Wordsworth were both born into the countryside lifestyle. Wordsworth spent all of his childhood living in the Lake District; this is reflected in his positive and naà ¯ve themes†¦show more content†¦Blake had a failed business and eked out a living for the majority of his life resulting in him having a pessimistic view of life; this also is reflected in his poetry. The poem London by Blake is about the corrupt and immoral environment, which existed throughout English cities during the industrial revolution; Blake discusses royalty, sexually transmitted diseases and religious influence on people. Wordsworth however, displays a more positive and naà ¯ve attitude when writing about themes such as life, location and beauty. Therefore Wordsworths poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge is a song of naà ¯ve innocence compared to Blakes poem London which is a song of bitter experience. Both Poems use their structure to emphasise the content. William Blakes London is written in four, four line stanzas with identical syllable count in every line; this creates a regimented, almost mechanical effect. It uses alternate line rhyming which emphasises the word at the end of each line. In contrast Wordsworths poem is written in the form of an Italian sonnet, ABBA CDDC EFFE GG this combined with the identical syllable count and iambic pentameter rhythm creates a peaceful affect slowing down the speed of the poem. Wordsworth uses symbolism through themes to convey his views. Wordsworth speaks about the beauty of the world, The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, displaying an innocentShow MoreRelated Comparison of the Portrayal of Nature in Blake and Wordsworth1518 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of the Portrayal of Nature in Blake and Wordsworth One of the most popular themes for Romantic poetry in England was nature and an appreciation for natural beauty. The English Romantic poets were generally concerned with the human imagination as a counter to the rise of science. The growing intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries placed scientific thought in the forefront of all knowledge, basing reality in material objects. 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