Clare’s love for nature is evident from the very beginning, his use of ‘I love’ highlights his feelings towards the ‘crows’ and ‘birds’. Clare’s love for nature is also highlighted in his use of imagery; The use of human senses (synaesthesia) throughout the poem, to ‘hear’, ‘see’ and by ‘watching’ them convey his love of nature –. We can also see images of behaviour, (the robin ‘sings, ‘pecks’ and watches) which are effective in describing the wildlife around him as he watches it happen. Words such as ‘joy’, ‘pleasant’ and ‘merry’ also evoke an idyllic image of nature and the use of words ‘plops’ and ‘bouncing’ are used metaphorically to describe the birds’ movements which also highlight Clare’s own individualistic image of them.
Similarly imagery evoked by human senses in can be seen throughout Lawrence’s extract. The ‘scent of leaves, honeysuckle, and a twilight’ and ‘ivory roses’ depict a sensuous tone to his writing, which also helps suggest a more sexual context. Lawrence is clearly focused on sexuality, and he uses the rose-bush as a connection, or ‘communion’-. There is also a lack of dialect or conversation - the ‘silence’ between the two characters is effective in creating a tension between them, whether it is sexual or not.
Lawrence also uses nature to help us discover the two characters. Miriam as a character full of intensity and the use of language such as ‘intense’, ‘thrilled’ ‘eager’ and ‘expectant’ highlight Miriam’s feelings and expectations, also evoking sexuality as she wants to be with him ‘passionately’ in front of her rose-bush. In contrast, Lawrence use of nature evokes an sense of reluctance in Paul’s character and words such as ‘imprisoned’, ‘anxious’ emphasise this.
Although we notice a themes of sexuality and sexual tension, the repetition of ‘white’ and ‘holy ‘and words such as ‘virgin’, ‘worship’ and ‘soul’ add a strong religious element to this theme. The cleverly used word ‘communion’ can also be links to a religious gathering.
The focus of nature in both extracts helps the writers create their own themes and ideas. Although the extracts are very different in form and structure, (Clare’s use of sonnet to convey love and Lawrence’s descriptive novel extract to discover two characters) we can see how the love of nature has been integrated into their themes. We can also find similarities in both of the extracts, which include descriptive dialect and imagery (the use of senses).
