The element of nature ranges greatly, from the physical grandeur of mountains to the reverence of tiny creatures in the poems Afterwards, Rising Five and "Wild Swans at Coole".

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Essay on how 3 poems illustrate how poets have illustrated nature.                       Maria Sun

The element of nature ranges greatly, from the physical grandeur of mountains to the reverence of tiny creatures. In the poems Afterwards, Rising Five and “Wild Swans at Coole”, nature is used as a symbol to emphasise the importance of slowing down and appreciating beauty of it and to illustrate it’s vivid energy compared to temporary mundane human lives.

 In the poem Afterwards, Thomas Hardy is anticipating his own death and uses his own feelings and observations of nature as a contrast against his mortality. He identifies himself with the frail, weak, insect like creatures who are “innocent” but like he are doomed to death. In Stanza Three, Hardy observes a hedgehog that “travels furtively over the lawn”. Hardy himself, feels out of place with his wild ideas in an orderly community like the hedgehog, a wild animal misplaced in a structured lawn that humans have recultivated.

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The main contrast in the poem is between the energetic life of nature against the dull grey lives of the people he lives among. Although Hardy is not concerned with them, he hopes they will realise that the life of a man who passes his time noticing and appreciating small creatures is an important one. Hardy’s observations are accurate and unpretentious. The modesty in describing “full-starred heavens” and “glad green leaves” increases the mystery of these seemingly ordinary things, as anyone can observe them but only he seems to be able to appreciate their strange beauty. His beautiful descriptions of ...

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