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Wordsworth Is Often Seen as a Poet of the Country

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William Wordsworth and William Blake were influential romantic writers of their time but they were not appreciated until after their deaths. Blake is known for his paintings and illustrations as well as his poems. Blake lived in the same era as Wordsworth and therefore they share a similar cultural and social background. But I find their works completely opposite from each other. The romantic style is characterized by a nature and man’s natural surroundings. Wordsworth wrote “The Rainbow comes and goes, And lovely is the Rose; The Moon doth with delight Look round her when the heavens are bare; Waters on a starry night Are beautiful and fair; The sunshine is a glorious birth” (Wordsworth, 249) He paints a great image of the surrounding fields and the sky.
At the time, people were not satisfied with society. People wanted to free from tyranny. Blake freely criticizes institutions such as the church and marriage in his poem, “London”. “In every voice: in every ban, the mind-forg’d manacles I hear, “Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh, And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.” (Blake, 223)There were hints of disapproval of the monarchy. “Runs in blood down palace walls.” (Blake, 223) Both writers share different points of view on their outlook on life. Wordsworth’s poem seems to have a brighter outlook on life “In a thousand valleys far and wide, Fresh Flowers: while the sun shines warms, And the Babe leaps up on his Mother’s arm: I hear, I hear, with joy I hear!” (Wordsworth, 250) Whereas Blake paints a dark corrupted city of London “Every blackning Church appals.” (Blake, 223) The color and mood of both writers are different. Wordsworth uses positive words such as “joy, lovely, beautiful and fair”. On the other hand, Blake used vocabulary filled with misery and darkness “blackning, plague, weakness, blood, marks of woe..”

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