Table of ContentsIntroductionRomanticism in the Poems of William BlakeConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionNature serves as a muse and a source of clarity in times of distress; it soothes and refocuses the soul. On the other hand, nature can be a force of chaos capable of bringing humanity to its knees. Romanticism strove to summarize the likeness of nature and interpret it in all its multifaceted grandeur. Many poets of the Romantic period were influenced by the different aspects of nature that we can observe in their work and in the world around us. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A prolific poet of the Romantic period, William Blake, reflected on the facets of nature and exploited their traits in his writings. For much of his life, he was sometimes not considered to possess a healthy mind by his peers or his own family. These unfavorable views of Blake's mental health were primarily due to the fact that he was often cited as having visions of spirits, angels, and, at one point, God himself. Even though many found him strange and crazy, Catherine Boucher, his wife, was a light in his life whom he considered his guardian angel. His poetry often reflected his life as well as what was happening around him, whether in his personal life; or in nature.Romanticism in the Poems of William BlakeThe work of William Blake embodied much of the Romantic period in the way he used an elegant simplicity in his poetry to capture nature in a way linked to sympathy for the excluded as well as the glorification of the normal. Pure beings that embody the lightness of nature with the appearance of nefarious beings that highlight the darker aspects of nature in much of Blake's work. These beings within William Blake's poetry can be understood in order to better understand the poet's life; as well as the period in which they were written. For example, in William Blake's work, The Lamb, the lamb in the poem is praised as a joyous and lovely being who "makes all the valleys glad." At one point, the narrator begs God to bless the lamb who joins the calm and almost sacred aspects of nature. Seeing the lamb as blessed by God in addition to seeing the lamb as a form of God, as shown by how the lamb "is called by the same name", can be understood by relating it to the tendency to glorify the simple during the romantic period. Related to the above, this idea of ​​glorifying the lamb's otherwise normal and charming characteristics can also be compared to Catherine Boucher, Blake's partner, because of how Blake sees her as more than human; in the sense that she was his guardian angel. The glorification of the lamb can be interpreted as a nod to how Catherine Boucher was seen in Blake's eyes. Observing the poet's life and his poetry reveals the commonalities between them as well as aspects of the period in which they were written. Another event where Blake's life and poetry are reflected is in another poem, The Tyger. The tiger in question is seen as a miserable creature that wreaks havoc and destroys everything around it, as shown by the way it clings to "deadly terrors". Although the aforementioned tiger is seen as a threat, there is an element of sympathy towards it. The narrator asks the tiger what "could twist the tendons of his heart", as if to almost pity the tiger for not being able to experiencecomplex emotions. This sympathy for the tiger could be interpreted as Blake asking the world around him to have pity on him and extend kindness to him despite how strange he was considered by many around him during his life. While the implied use of destruction and terror could reflect how tormented Blake felt about being excluded by his peers, it could also be interpreted as Blake being the tiger himself. Seeing the tiger as a double of Blake himself can be achieved in the way that "the stars threw down their spears // And watered the sky with their tears", as if to show sadness for their sadness. This sympathetic way of viewing the tiger as a pitiful creature might be related to the way Blake complains about being an outcast. Lending sympathy to outcasts and otherwise unsavory creatures is evident in The Tyger and reveals more about Blake, the world around him, and how he used nature as a means of communicating his thoughts and ideas. Observing the above in the poem is another characteristic of the Romantic period that lends itself to connecting and pitying the excluded members of society. As well as being a reflection of the poet's life and times, the qualities of Blake's poetry can be observed in the outside world. As I was walking by a river, I noticed a trail of ducklings following their mother into the water. Such grace was charming and could easily be seen as more than just mother and her ducklings. She could be considered a savior of her species for protecting her children as they ventured into the unknown depths of the water they swam in. This event is linked to the purity of the lamb expressed in the poem as well as to Blake's life and the Romantic period. The grandeur found in the simplicity of the ducklings following their mother embodied the pure aspects of nature as well as the glory and beauty found in the most normal actions. In line with the above, during my time in the woods I came across a ring of mushrooms. While on the surface they appeared as simple mushrooms, I imagined that the ring of mushrooms could have been a gateway to another realm. The simplicity of a ring of mushrooms and the glorification of what they could have helped romanticize even the simplest events. Similar to the nature of the lamb in the poem as well as the mother and her ducklings, the mushrooms had a sacred air to them such that they could be something more than the mere sum of their outward appearances . As noted previously, the real life followed aspects of William Blake's The Tyger and its connections to the Romantic period. As with the tiger in the poem, I found sympathy in my heart for what I found in the woods. In the distance, a vulture was eating another dead animal. Although at first it was revolting to see, I could understand that the vulture was only doing what was necessary to survive. Vultures are often portrayed as ugly creatures only worth collecting for food, but in that moment I was able to sympathize with the vulture the way one sympathizes with the tiger in William Blake's poetry . Later, my walk in the woods took me to a cluster of flowers, one of which stood apart from the others. The solitary flower grew alone, seemingly excluded from the rest of those growing nearby. The flower possessed a certain loneliness that one couldn't help but feel sorry for. This solitary flower had something in common with the tiger and the vulture in that it was hunted and aroused pity.