Relationship between man and nature in “Dejection: An Ode”

“Dejection: An Ode” is one of the best poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and here, we can find that the poet has talked in detail about nature. Nature was the most important aspect of the Romantic Movement in English literature. It was William Wordsworth who is credited with the starting of the movement, but what we often forget is that his close friend S.T. Coleridge had almost equal contribution at the beginning of the Romantic Movement. To Wordsworth, nature was very important, and Coleridge did not disagree with this view, but he had some differences with Wordsworth about the role of nature in human life and in poetry. In “Dejection: An Ode,” Coleridge has tried to talk in detail about the relationship between man and nature.

The first thing that catches our attention is that “Dejection: An Ode” is a sophisticated and philosophical exploration of the relationship between man and nature. No other romantic poet was perhaps so much philosophical like Coleridge. In this poem, Coleridge has explored his own crisis in life, and he has expressed his sadness and depression. Coleridge is most of the time melancholic. His inner self is expressed in the poem, and by reading it, we can find that he was very sad when he wrote the poem. However, this poem is more than his own sadness. It is a poem that explores philosophically the problems in life, and it also tries to find out the answer to the relation between man and nature.

Coleridge had a different view from Wordsworth about the role of nature in human life. But it does not mean that he thought that nature was not important. In fact, he has expressed or indicated the importance of nature, and we can find that the wind is helping him to express his imagination.

Although it was a sad poem, in “Dejection: An Ode,” we can find a very nice and powerful description of nature. For example, the beauty of the sky before the storm has been expressed in a very nice way. This beauty of the sky brings happiness and brings new feelings to the mind of the poet. He is sad and depressed, but he can see the beautiful sky. In fact, by his description, the readers also feel happy, and the readers can imagine the beauty of the sky and the beauty of nature.

Coleridge tries to state that nature cannot inspire him because he is very sad. He has lost the strength of youth both physically and emotionally, and he is depressed. He is in a melancholic condition, and he feels that nature cannot inspire him and change his mood. However, in some of his descriptions of nature and especially his descriptions of the beauty of nature, the readers can feel that Coleridge is influenced somewhat by nature. Otherwise, he would not be able to describe the beauty of nature in such a powerful way. If nature really did not have any relationship in his life, he would not be able to compose such a beautiful poem with such a good description of nature.

There is some joy and happiness and hope, and nature can give us a new earth and new heaven. Even in the depressing description of life, it seems to us that there is some hope in Coleridge about the future, and nature shows him that hope.

According to Coleridge, the relationship between nature and human life is giving and taking. He gets delight and confidence from nature, but he has lost his happiness. The stormy night reflects the stormy and tough conditions in Coleridge’s life.

In “Dejection: An Ode,” Coleridge has expressed that he lost his creativity and he lost the happiness of life, but it does not mean that nature has lost its importance totally. There is still a lot of bond between him and nature and even in total depression and frustration; he can see the beauty of nature. Any discussion about this poem would remind the readers about Wordsworth. Wordsworth wrote his immortality ode almost at the same time and critics often talk about these two poems and about the relationship between human beings and nature. To Wordsworth, the relationship between human beings and nature was direct and very strong. To Coleridge, it was not direct, but still, it was strong.

Theme of loss in “Dejection: An Ode”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a great poet in English literature, but it was his bad luck that he could not create too many poems because of his personal problems. “Dejection: An Ode” is one of the best poems written by him, and it is a poem about sadness and depression. It was written at a time when Coleridge was suffering from many problems and he lost hope in life and future. It is the poem of a desperate man in a desperate condition, but still, it has all the artistic beauty of an excellent poem. From the first to the last, the poet talks about sadness and emotional emptiness. He talks like a frustrated person- a person who has been defeated in life.

Mood of dejection is clearly visible throughout the poem. His losses are so much that he has lost everything in life and he cannot enjoy anything. He can see the beauty in nature, but he cannot enjoy it. Instead, everything in nature looks to him dull and lifeless. He cannot find any hope and happiness even in nature. To him, everything is meaningless and the mood of dejection is dominant in his mind. It is like that he has accepted his defeat and resigned from life. He is not even in a mood to try for the future and he has no emotional strength.

The poet in the poem “Dejection: An Ode” has an elderly and mature tone. He does not have the hope and vigor for life like his young days. Coleridge accepts that his youth has passed not only physically but also emotionally. He does not have the strength of the youth in his body and vigor and naturally, he cannot enjoy the things like past. But more than that he has lost the freshness of mind and he remembers in the past his life was full of hope. Youth is the most beautiful time in a person’s life. We enjoy everything in our young time. So, Coleridge is sad that his best time in life has gone and he has lost hope for the future also. More than the loss of youth, Coleridge is sad and dejected from the loss of creativity. He was a great poet who could write many beautiful poems in the past, but he has lost his creativity. He felt that he was becoming more a metaphysical person instead of a poet. This also gave him sadness. Coleridge could not think that he would be separated from poetry, but life was difficult for him. He was failing to write poems like the past.

“Dejection: An Ode” is a philosophical poem, and it talks about some philosophical ideas. Coleridge gives his own opinion and philosophy about the role of nature in human life. Wordsworth used to think that nature was inseparable from human life and nature was alive. Wordsworth also felt that nature could hill a man in terms of sadness and depression. Coleridge stated the opposite idea in this poem and said that life is full of despair and nature cannot do anything for a man. Instead, nature only increased his sadness and nature reminded him of all the sadness of the past. Coleridge was a man of philosophy, and like any philosopher, he was good at stating abstract ideas. This poem is full of such ideas and often it may become difficult for the readers to understand the inner meaning of the statements that Coleridge was making.

If we want to understand the significance of this poem, we have to take into account of the personal background of S. T. Coleridge. He was a highly talented person, but at the same time, he was a failure in love and career. He was not born in a rich family and all through his life, he struggled against poverty. He was not a rich person and fighting for money took a lot of energy from his life. He also suffered a loss in love and although he had a good relationship with William Wordsworth, during the time he wrote this poem, his relationship with good friend William Wordsworth became bad. So, Coleridge was a failure in everything and by this poem, he expressed his sadness and frustration in life.

It was bad luck for S. T. Coleridge that he was not born in our age. Today, a highly educated and talented person like Coleridge at least would not have remained poor in a country like England. I cannot say whether he would have been successful in the matter of love, but surely he would not suffer from poverty. At that time, poets had almost no field to earn money. Newspaper was not an industry. There was no cinema or television. So, creative people like Coleridge had a very limited scope of income. Secondly, England was not a fully democratic country. Since he was not from an aristocratic background, he did not have too many connections.

Coleridge lost a lot in life, and the theme of loss is the central theme in “Dejection: An Ode” poem. However, I feel that this loss, in the end, helped him to write this immortal poem.

Use of nature in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

We all know that the romantic age in English literature is mainly famous for the emphasis of all the poets on nature. There were five or six major poets in this age, and all of them wrote many poems directly or indirectly related to the theme of nature. It was William Wordsworth who put the most importance on the relationship between nature and human life, and he tried to show that nature is alive and is directly related to our life. Samuel Taylor Coleridge did not completely share the same view with his friend, but in his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, we can find some strong relationship between nature and human life on various occasions.

According to Coleridge, nature was not so strong and deeply and directly connected to human life. However, we can perhaps find some interesting things in this respect in the poem. Coleridge wanted to portray supernatural events as very normal and natural.

A closer look at the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” will perhaps tell us that nature is indeed related to human life. The mariner sets on a journey, and at first, he was not concerned about anything else but his own pleasure. Even when he saw the albatross, he did not like it at all and for no reason killed it. Then, we can find that nature is not dead but its own soul. The mariner just offended the soul of nature by killing the albatross.

Albatross is the symbol of innocence. It was really and purely an innocent creature of God. It was the first thing the sailors saw after a long time in the ocean. So, the sailors were very happy as they had some company at last. The albatross came regularly and brought delight and fun for the sailors.

Coleridge has perhaps also tried to show that nature and God are not separate things. God was angry with the ancient mariner when he killed the albatross. Then, God brought punishment for him, and after suffering from a long punishment, the ancient mariner was changed in his heart, and he could ask forgiveness from God. God forgave him only when he showed mercy and kindness to water snakes.

Coleridge has used symbolism in this poem that is sometimes related to nature. For example, the albatross is a symbol and many discussions have taken place among the critics about the use of symbols in this poem. I like to state that the albatross is the symbol of innocence and in a way the symbol of goodness. When we throw away innocence and goodness from our life, our life becomes painful and meaningless.

Coleridge has painted some beautiful imageries with words related to nature. While discussing the sea, albatross, water snakes and the water around the ship, Coleridge really used very beautiful examples of imagery.

I have already said that according to Coleridge, nature is not separate from human life. However, Coleridge has focused on another thing that personal experience of the person is also important. The ancient mariner had some experiences in nature and these experiences changed him and made him a totally different person. He learned some moral lessons from the events that took place on the ship. At first, he killed the albatross, and then he suffered punishment. While he was suffering from punishment, life became intolerable for him. However, he understood that showing kindness to the creatures of God and to natural objects is important indeed.

In our age, many people talk about environmental pollution and care for the environment. In a way, this poem of Coleridge is like a pioneering effort in modern literature to make people conscious about taking care of the environment. For this reason, anyone who believes in supporting the environmental causes around the world should read the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.