Enjoys the air it breathes”. Breathing in air is like taking in the Holy Spirit. Stanza four is joyous and has a pleasurable rhythm. There is connection between stanza four and one, as “the birds” were playing and at the beginning of the poem they were blending notes. Wordsworth classes nature as divine and is God. He then ends the poem in a repetition, “What man has made of man”. This is a very simple ending to the poem.
“Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” is personalised as he uses “I” and “me” many times. This poem has no rhyme or a regular rhythm at all and has no construction, a blank verse. He was the first poet to write in this style without a structure. He express’ his “rapture” for nature as he became older. At his young youth he thought of nature as a “deep and gloomy wood,” also “a remoter charm” as he stayed distant from nature. He then goes onto say “nor any interest
Unborrowed from the eye” which is telling us, if he didn’t see it he didn’t think about it and there was “no need” to look any further. But then he has “An appetite; a feeling and a love,” which shows he thirsts for nature and without it he would be lost. He carries on telling us “That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And al its dizzy raptures.” Now he has grown up and become one with nature, he is able to observe nature a lot easier, which has made him feel nature. “The still, sad music of humanity” gives a sense of peacefulness, but then the noise of humanity distorts the peace. He develops a sense of “joy” from the “blue sky” which is a beautiful image and by the “living air” a metaphor. All these senses bring you closer to something “sublime”. His “elevated thoughts” are within nature and he is still a lover of the “meadows and the woods”. He ends the poem by expressing everything that nature is to him and that he is able to concentrate on his thoughts as “The anchor of my purest thoughts” is grounded to his mind.
By comparing these two poems, I notice that nature is his inspiration and relates nature as God. In both poems there is time when nature is not noticed as the most important thing but then he realises it is. There is also a religious element in his poetry, how he uses faith which represents having faith and belief in nature. He thanks God for creating this natural environment. But due to the Industrial Revolution he feels that man has effected nature by moving away from the rural areas to the urban areas. The poems constructions are different from each other as Lines written in early spring has 5 stanza’s, where as A few miles above Tintern Abbey is a blank verse that has no regular rhythm. Wordsworth classes nature as a god like quality, nature is harmony and u can feel at ease with it.
R.S.Thomas was a modern poet writing in the 20th Century, so his language he uses is a lot more understandable then Wordsworth. We can tell that he has a lot of love for Wales as he focuses on the Welsh hills where he lived and worked in his poetry. He shows religious quality as he was a priest and he seems to write more indirectly. His observations are not just of nature and the land but how people use and treat it.
“Cynddylan on A Tractor” is unpersonal as he uses the words “his” and “he”. He opens the poem by using the word “Ah”; this catches our attention as it gives a sense of proudness. It seems that once upon a time he had to work hard on the land but now Cynddylan sits on his tractor and lets that do all the work. The old ways of farming have changed as before you would have to do everything by hand but now new technology has been developed and there are machines that do it for you. He then describes the tractor saying that its “metal” and “oil” do not fit in with the nature surrounding it but it gives the tractor a sense of power. “The clutch curses,” the resistance of the tractor, “but the gears obey” now there is lees resistance. Cynddylan is very proud “Riding to work now as a great man should” I can see that R.S.Thomas thinks very highly of him. R.S.Thomas describes some beautiful imagery as “The sun comes over the tall trees”. This is a very powerful image of nature. As he is “kindling all the hedges” he does not see the beauty of nature in this, as it is “not for him”. “Who runs his engine on a different fuel” shows a new way of life “And all the birds are singing” is a peaceful and joyous image.
Birds singing are one of the most things shown in all three poems so far as it represents nature altogether. By comparing the three poems, it seems that R.S.Thomas has not made Cynddylan notice the beauty of nature. Where as in Wordsworth’s poems, nature is devine and loved. In Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, when he became older he was able to notice the beauty of nature but Cynddylan is just “proud while he goes up the lane”. There is no religious element in Cynddylan on a tractor, thou in both of Wordsworths poems there is.
In the poem “Soil”, the title tells us the meaning already. Soil is nature as grass and plants are all grown from it. “A field with tall hedges” is an image of inclosement and where he is stuck all his life. The first stanza sets the scene and tells us his relationship with soil. “Green swedes” are from the ground and they are produced from the soil. “Plying mechanically his cold blade,” this is ambiguous as “cold” could mean a feeling or it might be emotionless. It seems that he is happy within the “tall hedges” as “he never looks up”, if he did look up it would suggest he needed freedom. Soil is everything to him as it represents his life and his upbringing. He then ends the poem with “warm soil” a comforting image.
R.S.Thomas’ poetry is more of his experience with everyday interactions of nature. It is a lot more practical what he does and it is easier to understand. He writes about the things that are changing during the 20th Century, as technology is improving and becoming more advanced. Wordsworth seems to me to be a much wiser poet, who makes most of his words count and have a meaning. Nature is Wordsworth’s inspiration and relates to it as God. In his poems he shows us how nature is misunderstood and misused. It’s a place where you can just sit down and observe the beautiful scenery. R.S.Thomas shows his love for nature but then he describes ways in which people use it, even if they notice it or not. Both poets write about how things have changed in their time. They reflect on the impact of nature and how humans should be inspired by nature. They also show the good and bad impact of mankind, how we treat nature.
