Twisting the Branches, Twisting the Meaning: Shared Observations on "Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree"

In Samantha Baker’s blog entry entitled “Don’t Get Too Comfortable – Criticisms of the Reliance on the Picturesque” she writes about Wordsworth’s poem “Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree”. The focus of her blog is about how the man who created the seat wrongly gave nature a value based solely on his needs. She explains that the man uses nature to escape the society of men which he can no longer handle and by doing this, is giving nature the value of being a pleasant means to distance himself from that which he finds unpleasant. Samantha argues that by doing this, he has replaced the intrinsic value which nature may have had with his own selfish view of what nature should be. Therefore, he does not find joy or pleasure in nature, but mourns his solitude and emptiness.

I agree with Samantha’s interpretation of the poem and feel that there is also an important symbolism at work that contributes to her argument. I think the act of the man bending the yew-tree into a seat for himself is symbolic of how he bent nature to fit his own purposes of escape and seeking pleasure away from society. Also, the boughs of the tree are said to be “barren” and the speaker also describes the man’s life as “unfruitful” which is another way in which the man’s life is reflected in the nature he is creating around himself. Nature, if left on its own, would not bend the branches that way and it would be a lively fruitful tree. However, this man’s skewed view of nature and his selfish manipulation has turned it into something quite unnatural and lacking natural affect.

In my blog entry, which shares the title of the poem, I interpreted the dashes and breaks in the poem as parts of dialogue which were left out in which the Traveler is showing reluctance to sitting and listening to the Speaker. Perhaps Samantha’s interpretation of the poem gives a little more insight into what the discussion during those dashes may have been about. Perhaps the Speaker was questioning the Traveler about why he was traveling alone, or asking him if he too was escaping something similar to the man in the story. He also may have questioned what he was expecting to gain from seeking out nature or a new place alone. If these had been the questions, we can now understand the Traveler’s reluctance to answer them and why he was avoiding such a conversation.

In the images above, the top picture is of a Bonsai maple tree, which is a miniature tree that is grown and shaped using special pruning and feeding techniques. The bottom picture is of full grown maple trees in a natural forest. This shows the contrast between what exists, and what man tries to re-create. Which do you think is more true to the true nature and value of the trees?

"Frost at Midnight" By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In “Frost at Midnight” Coleridge again links the natural to the supernatural, and this time the emphasis is on a kind of psychic ability. Line 15 refers to the fluttering film on the fireplace grate, which is found in common folklore that such a film predicts unexpected visitors are coming. This symbolism leads Coleridge to remember his anticipation of something to come when he was a boy. In line 30, Coleridge says that as a child he was presageful, which means “able to tell the future”. He foresees that something good is coming, and seems to find meaning and hope of this promise in his nature-barren surroundings. For example, the bells make sounds articulating “of things to come!” (Line 38). He looks through bars and a half opened door, which both symbolize his feeling of imprisonment by the city, to try to see this “stranger”. Since he is looking outside and he later in the poem interrupts these reveries to tell his son how wonderful it will be for him to be raised close to nature, “stranger” could be seen as a personification of nature. While his foreseeing ability tells him a “strange visitor” is coming, he cannot meet and commune with nature until he leaves the city.

"Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree" by William Wordsworth

The beginning line sets the reader up for what is going to occur throughout the entire poem, that is, the traveler is going to struggle with the speaker and reveal his own personality and discomfort through this struggle. It begins “—Nay, Traveler! Rest”. The dashes signify that words were exchanged. So Speaker is trying to convince Traveler to talk with him while he is refusing. After Speaker tells him that there may not be anything special or magical about this place, there is a long dash before Speaker starts up again. This implies that Traveler argues that he does not want to listen and waste time listening to him talk of plainness. After Speaker is allowed to continue, he says that he knew the man who built this seat. Sensing a long story coming about the speaker’s past and the history of a stranger he cares nothing for, another dash here in line 12 suggests Traveler argues, but is forced to listen further. The story then turns dismal as the speaker tells him the man became selfish and solitary and perhaps Traveler senses a moral coming. This ends with “--Stranger!” as Speaker dismisses Traveler’s discomfort with the story and calls his attention back. He then speaks of the beautiful scenery in order to keep Traveler’s attention. He turns his focus on the traveler: “If thou be one whose heart the holy forms of young imagination have kept pure, Stranger! henceforth be warned;” (Lines 44-46). Speaker had to interrupt himself to yell at Traveler to call his attention back. Traveler does not want to hear about himself or be warned from turning away from others, which is exactly what he seems to have been doing throughout the entire conversation! Perhaps his initial reluctance at sitting with a stranger is what made Speaker decide that this person needed to hear the moral of the story most of all and head the warning of turning selfishly from others.

"The Haunted Beach" by Mary Robinson

In her poem “The Haunted Beach” Mary Robinson expresses important details and symbolism through repetition of words or phrases throughout the poem. The first word that is repeated is “Hover’d” and in both instances it is used to describe the birds which are surrounding the Fisherman’s hut. For something to be hovering one would picture it as looming perhaps in a malicious or dark way. Robinson could be using this word to enhance the notion of the Fisherman’s looming guilt about the murder. It is constantly around him and screaming out so that it is always heard and never forgotten. The word “bound” and closely related to it “wrapped” are also repeated in the poem. In the second stanza, “bound” describes the weeds on the crags, and in the third stanza the cliff is “wrapped” in shadow. In the final stanza Robinson directly says that the Fisherman is “Bound by a strong and mystic chain,” (Line 77). These descriptions serve to relate the Fisherman to his setting; he shall now remain solitary and is bound to the landscape like so many other parts of it are bound to each other. The crags cannot escape the weeds, the shadows engulf even the high cliffs, and the Fisherman is tied by some unseen force to this beach forever. This omnipresent bondage elicits a sense of hopelessness and of being doomed to suffrage.

Click on the link below of to see a video of hovering birds, its eerie!
Creepy Hovering Birds

"Sonnet III: To A Nightingale" (and all Songstresses)

In this sonnet, Charlotte Smith is intimately identifying herself with the Nightingale. In the first two stanzas, she contemplates what could be the cause of the bird’s sad state and attempts to translate its song as any poet would. The final 6 lines are the most important, for this is where she questions if the Nightingale’s sorrow may come from the same sources as her own. In Smith’s “Sonnet I” she expresses the sources of her pain are “mourning friendship, or unhappy love” (Line 12), this is again repeated here in this sonnet when she asks the Nightingale if it has been wronged by friends or is suffering from disastrous love. She is attempting to establish an intimate and meaningful connection with the bird as if she is hoping they are more similar than appearances would suggest and that they can understand each other. The final two lines read “Ah! Songstress sad! That such my lot might be, to sigh and sing at liberty—like thee!” The imperative word here is “songstress” for the Oxford English Dictionary defines songstress as: a) A female singer; a poetess. And b) A female singing-bird. Smith used this word as the key to ultimately fuse her identity with that of the Nightingale, for they are both sad songstresses. The Nightingale can turn sorrow into song, and she can turn sorrow into poetry. Therefore, they both suffer in life and suffer more through their abilities to produce art, and such is the lot of a songstress.

Recommended External Links:

1) Nightingale Song
2) Evanescence - My Immortal

Both of these songs are very melancholy and resemble each other very closely. I recommend listening to them together as well, at some points the similarities in sound and pitch are cool.

"Sonnet on Seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep at a Tale of Distress" by William Wordsworth

A very important aspect of this sonnet is the symbolism of the tear. I believe Wordsworth uses the tear as a symbol of “virtue”. The tears of Helen Maria Williams are introduced in the first line of the poem as “She wept” and this is the only place in the poem where Williams is referenced even though her name is in the title. Though Wordsworth is a fanatic of Williams and her work, the only detail about her that matters to him is her tears, which symbolize virtues in her and therefore her sensibility, which Wordsworth believes to be her most superior quality. It is her tears/virtue/sensibility that elicits in him such an erotic and intimate response which could be likened to that of falling in love. He is in love with her ability to feel the pain and suffering of others. The line that provides the most proof of this symbolism is line 9: “That tear proclaims – in thee each virtue dwells,” To shed tears over the distress of others is a sign of a virtuous person and each tear is physical proof of their sensibility. The Oxford English Dictionary defines virtue as “The power of operative influence inherent in a supernatural or divine being; and act of superhuman or divine power”. To Wordsworth, the tears of Helen Maria Williams prove her virtue and give her a divine, superhuman quality which fascinates him. In her own poem “To Sensibility”, Williams personifies Sensibility itself as a goddess. However, Wordsworth takes this belief a step further by saying that anyone who expresses sensibility is also divine, especially Helen Maria Williams.

"Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey": Another Expostulation?

It seems that within the poem “Tintern Abbey” Wordsworth is making yet another expostulation. However, this one is not against books, but against Christian religion. Wordsworth uses words and phrases that are commonly used in the Christian church to instead speak of nature. In lines 110-112 he refers to nature as “The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul of all my moral being.” This seems to parallel when Christians speak of god as their rock (anchor), healer (nurse), and shepherd (guide and guardian). Wordsworth also uses exact phrases which when heard, imply that one is speaking to their God such as “For thou art with me” (line 115) and “How often my spirit turned to thee!” (line 58). In many ways this poem reads like a church sermon. He purposely places words such as “prayer”, “faith” and “pastoral” within the text reaffirming its religious undertones. Also, near the end of the poem lines 153-156 say: “I...A worshiper of Nature…Unwearied in that service: rather say with warmer love, oh! With far deeper zeal of holier love!” It is here that Wordsworth comes right out to say that he has made Nature (with a capital “N”) his religion and it reads to me as if he is saying that worshiping nature is more pleasing and fuller of love than that of typical religious worship. Perhaps he feels that the words used in church to speak of a man-created God and the Bible are better suited to be applied to the spirit of Nature, for it was created without man’s influence and is the true source of our existence.

Vatican vs. Avatar the movie
This link is an article that gives a little insight into the conflict between Christian religions and Pantheism (worship of nature)

"Expostulation and Reply" and "The Tables Turned"

In both poems, Wordsworth is expressing his belief that nature is a better teacher and source of knowledge than books. In “Expostulation and Reply” Matthew describes the knowledge in books as “the spirit breath’d from dead men to their kind” (Lines 8-9). This line is used to explain a few of the limitations of the knowledge in books. This knowledge has no innate value and is limited by time because it is acquired by men in a comparatively short period of time and the source of knowledge (the men) eventually die. In Wordsworth’s reply he tells Matthew to think “of things for ever speaking,” (Line 26) which implies that nature’s teachings are eternal in contrast to those of men. In “The Tables Turned” Wordsworth describes the pages of books as “barren leaves”; an image of withering suggests that the knowledge of books decays and becomes devoid of any value. While nature is fresh, lively, green, full of sights and sounds and renews itself. Its ability to share knowledge is everlasting. Another limitation is that the knowledge in books is transferred “to their kind” which means that only educated men who can afford, read, and understand the books can receive the knowledge they possess. In comparison, every person has the senses to see, hear, and feel nature regardless of class, race or gender. Books can be seen as a symbol of class separation and oppression of the lower classes, while natural knowledge is more equal and does not conflict social justice. The hard work that goes into exhaustively extracting information from books makes it an unnatural and artificial practice. However, to receive the knowledge of nature, one simply has to pay attention to the sights and sounds they experience with their natural senses which are endowed to every person.

"We Are Seven"

The little girl in this poem by Wordsworth absolutely refuses to be convinced by the speaker that the death of her two siblings means they are in heaven and no longer included in the count of her family. She responds using interesting visual descriptions which seem to be tied to nature, suggesting that the fact that her siblings are in some ways still physically tied to the natural world causes the little girl to believe they still exist. At first the girl describes that her two dead siblings are in the church-yard, however, when the speaker questions how she still counts them, she expands this description by saying they are under a tree there. The speaker tries again, to which the girl replies: “Their graves are green, they may be seen,” (Line 37). Each time the speaker challenges her, the girl responds with more descriptions of the nature surrounding her siblings. She also seems very attuned to natural cycles such as time of day and seasons. She also uses these details in her descriptions as if they add credibility to her argument. She tells the man that she goes out at night to sit by their graves in the moon light. Also, when she recollects playing around her sister's grave she makes sure to say it was in the summer, and that her brother died in the winter. The little girl is very connected to nature and it seems to govern her actions, thoughts, and beliefs about the world she lives in. Therefore, she is confident in her understanding that her siblings are part of nature, the world, and her family. There was, is, and always will have been 7 children in her family because in life and death they are still connected to the natural world.

The Nightingale: A Conversational Poem, Written in April 1798

I think that Wordsworth's main purpose in this poem to transform the common symbolism of the nightingale as a bird of sorrow, into a bird of excitement and mystery. In Biographia Literia, Coleridge says that Wordsworth’s endeavor was to: “…give the charm of novelty to things of every day, and to excite a feeling analogous to the supernatural, by awakening the mind’s attention from the lethargy of custom, and directing it to the loveliness and wonders of the world before us…”. I think that the Nightingale is a great example of this description. Wordsworth begins the work by criticizing men who use the nightingale as a symbol for their own melancholy feelings. The poem includes supernatural images such as the abandoned castle and the gentle maiden who lives alone and walks the castle grounds as well as sounds such as the eerie Aeolian harp. Also, the birds are quiet when the moon disappears, and then break into chorus when it appears. This brings to mind a kind of warewolf-howling-at-the-moon eeriness. The castle grove is a preferred area for the nightingales, and the maiden there truly knows and understands all their notes. The nightingales are transformed from common birds with a melancholy song into mystical creatures with connections to the supernatural. The speaker’s son also bids others to listen to the song of the nightingale and is actually calmed by their songs and the moonlit night. There is an underlying pattern here that purity of mind and soul lead to an understanding of things that seem supernatural. Only the virgin maiden and the innocent baby understand the meaning of the nightingale’s song. The sad, burdened man, a commoner, cannot understand nor appreciate the songs that the nightingale sings for they are too mysterious and alien for him.

"Rime of the Ancyent Marinere"

In “Rime of the Ancyent Marinere” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the strongest image to me is the one depicted in lines 137-138: “Instead of a Cross the Albatross, about my neck was hung.” Throughout the rest of the poem the reader envisions the marinere carrying the albatross on him as a burden. It is also significant that the bird replaces the cross around his neck. This symbolizes that the murder is an ultimate sin that cancels out the salvation the marinere is supposed to receive through Christ. Since the marinere has lost his Christian salvation, he begins to experience the suffering of hell. The ship does not move, there is no food or water to drink, and he is subjected to the evil stares of the other crew members. The ghost ship appears and the marinere’s soul is gambled away as the rest of the crew become corpses. There is red everywhere and serpents which symbolize evil and the devil. Through all of these images the reader gets a sense that the marinere is indeed experiencing hell as penance for killing the albatross. The marinere is cursed by the blood of the albatross and must seek salvation through the Hermit he encounters later. The marinere's purpose in life now is to tell others his tale and to warn them against committing sin, even (or especially) those which seem small and insignificant. Perhaps this is a continuation of his penance for his sin; that he must relive the story by telling it to others in order to gain his salvation back.

Picture: Statue entitled "Ancient Mariner" in Watchet, Somerset, England in honor of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Sculptor: Alan B Herriot

" Lines Written in Early Spring" By: William Wordsworth

The word "lament" as used in line 23 of this poem stimulates a feeling of grief or despair within the reader. To lament is to have great sorrow or remorse about something, and is usually associated with death or tragedy, which is fitting to this poem. The footnote suggests that Wordsworth's poem may relate to Robert Burn's "Man Was Made to Mourn, A Dirge" (1786). Burn's poem is about poor, overworked men who waste their youth worrying, mourning and letting their passions die. These men become bitter and worn with age and cause the pain and suffering of other men through their petty greed and selfishness. This may be the condition of men which the narrator of Wordsworth's poem is lamenting. He finds himself surround by the beauty and peacefulness of nature in spring. Nature is new, fresh, and its growth seems harmonious and sweet. He contrasts natures celebration of life to mankind's pessimism and anticipation of death. A line from "Man Was Made to Mourn" is as follows: "O Death! The poor man's dearest friend, the kindest and the best! Welcome the hour my aged limbs are laid with thee at rest!" The tragedy which the narrator in "Lines Written in Early Spring" is lamenting is that while the flowers and birds are finding joy in every breath of air they are blessed to take, man spends his life in regret and sorrow, and finds himself hoping for the release from his turmoil through death.

Robert Burn's "Man Was Made to Mourn, A Dirge"