Introduction
This is one the common themes that run across the two articles that is the poem and the song. In both of the articles nature plays a huge role in influencing humanity especially at tender age. However in the various articles, the theme is presented in different ways including symbols and the general presentation of the theme especially the appreciation of nature. In both the articles innocence of the Lamb and the early child representation signifies how nature can be associated to the calm and innocent. Association with nature is generally a common appreciation of nature in both the literal works of Wordsworth the world is too much with us and Blake’s works the lamb which in all cases is a beneficial force that influence the human actions. As according to Wordsworth’s the world is too much with us, nature is the ultimate source of the important influence on the human thinking.
The speaker in the poem the world is too much for us furiously condem the current generations of throwing away the meaningful association with nature: “Spending and acquiring, we wastefully lay our powers and we little have a look at the natural environment that belongs to us” (Kennedy, 2013 p.23).This seems to be giving our souls a relief of no reasonable grounding. The speaker directly says that although the sea waters bare the bosom to the moon light while the moving and blowing winds bay, humanity is still off track gaining insight of the stormy atmosphere. The speaker appreciates the breezy and best natural scenery and makes a wish that if the gods can resurrect and experience the beauty of the Godly creation.
Nature is manifested just as in The Lamb by the natural topography of the world for instance the highest mountain and the flower and this captures the minds of elicit observers of this environment thus creating eminent judgment and fanatical emotions to their general behavior in this environment. More emphasizes is assigned by Wordsworth to the great value of nature to individual’s development both spiritually and intellectually. The major reasoning to this natural relationship with environment makes an individual relate to both the spiritual and the social nature of humanity and the essence of appreciation of creation.
Wordsworth in his writings The Prelude, describes that the love of natural environment can direct to the transfer of the same love to the human beings as a recognition of the unique creatures and modeling of the nature that has too much for human beings. In the poem, “The World Is Too Much with Us” (Kennedy, 2013 p.2), any actions aimed at detaching a person from the natural environment leads to people becoming immoral and selfish especially to those living in cities. This is mostly due to the fact that human’s inner compassion and dignity of spiritual being is corrupted by the worldly societal conventions in addition to the nastiness of city lifestyle. Contrary to this, the human population spending most of their time in nature retains the decency and purity of their souls.
The setting of the poem The Lamb resembles a picture of the British lifestyle portraying an image of shepherd pastoralist keeping sheep hence having a lamb. Religion is part of both human beings and natural world as it is in reference to the rugged natural topography (fields and valleys) of the English country and the human activities such as farming. Blake retains the idea of using an innocent child in order to give a stake to the childish view point that exhibits simplicity in imagination and still remains a guiding light in deliverance of the work of literature to the society. The poem depicts a child looking after a lamb under protection of trees arch. Nature imagery is represented by vales rejoice, tender voice, woolly bright softest clothing, the stream, happiness and clothing of delight. The lamb which in this case is symbolic to represent Jesus depicts the resemblance of natural experience and exploration by the shepherds when looking after their sheep. This symbolic imagery of Jesus as a natural lamb reflects the importance of nature in the representation of Christian moral values of peace, meekness and gentleness.
Just as a Lamp the image of a child is attached to Jesus as he in the Gospel displays an important attentiveness to the tender age, Also the biblical representation of Jesus as a child and a lamb makes him candid and susceptible. It is from this distinctiveness that the narrator approaches the thoughts of nature and of Supreme Being. This poem unlike the other by Wordsworth represents the natural relationship with humanity using the spiritual aspect of Jesus symbolized by the lamb and the nature represented by the creator of the lamb in this case the world. This just like the other article consists of wonders of the reasons behind the identification of the various representations of rather symbolism as for instance the innocence of nature is represented by the lamb while and also in other article the world is too much with us in addition to the simple flowers, this innocence is represented by the purported innocence of magical childhood (Blake, 1966 p.56).
In Wordsworth’s poetry, Children strongly bond with scenery to an extent of socially detaching from the human social world and strongly cling to the natural world making it their social part of living. This association with nature is more out of passion and extreme ego. It is normalcy in early childhood to feel joy at discovering the beauty and the uniqueness of nature for instance the colorful rainbow is worthy while admirable than human atrocities and horrific desolation or decay.
The general poem is a form of question and answer child’s song firstly describing the natural rurality in the first stanza and secondly focusing on various spiritual matters abstractly containing an analogy and explanation in all these matters. Proofing the child’s innocence, are his questions that exhibit some naivety and profound, for instance the child asks (“who made thee?”) (Blake, 1966 p.55), this is a simple question. However, the questions asked by child are critical and worthy asking by every sort of humane at all times as they are about the originality and hence the nature of supreme creation. The situation of a child talking to an animal can be taken in two dimensions in this poem, first the outstanding naivety as it is not rational to talk to an animal. Secondly the innocent child appreciates nature and thus takes a different side of sociality more appealing, just as it is reasonable and good to watch the colors of the rainbow than human horrific behaviors. This innocent answering of the same questions asked, shows some knowingness of the rhetoric and thus the learning and acquisition of some faith of the creator which in turn leads to innocent acceptance of the teachings of this faith.
The religious view of Blake of the world is based on Jesus as the mediator between humanity and the true Supreme Being. Thus in the first stanza of the song, the rhetoric of who is the creator of the lamb takes up the poem, the second stanza answers the rhetoric which identifies Jesus as the Lamb and the binding personality between humanity as His main duty was to sacrifice his own living for the safety of humanity and thus the rest of the world. This is a replica of what happens in the poem the world is too much for us where the natural environment just as Jesus the Lamb is of significant importance as in all situations the sacrificial items are of nature. This reflected in the sacrificial gift of a lamb in the Passover feast by the Jewish community and also in Egypt where the blood of a lamb had to be smeared on the doorway for the angel of death to avoid entering the smeared houses.
The two literature writings are more similar in the various themes. However, they do differ in the setting as the lamb is set at the historic society that is religious and wonders of Paganism. The world is too much for us is set at the current world living where the life experienced writer blames the current generations by detaching themselves from the natural world in an option of taking the social artificial world.
Works Cited
Blake, William, and Peter Washington. Poems. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1994. Print.
Blake, William, Ellen Raskin, and Dick Weissman. Songs of Innocence. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday & Co, 1966. Print.
Kennedy, X J, and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.
Kennedy, X J. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston: Little, Brown, 1987. Print.
Paananen, Victor N. William Blake: Updated Edition. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996. Print.
