I enjoyed Coleridge’s Nightingale for the fact that it compares the dejected state of Man to the liberated state of nature. In lines sixteen through twenty-three the author describes “some night-wondering Man whose heart was pierc’d with…neglected love”(Lyrical Ballads 48). This melancholy Man has “fill’d all things with himself”(Lyrical Ballads 48). I thought it interesting that even though he refers to this hypothetical man as just ‘some’ man, he capitalizes the ‘M’ in Man. By capitalizing that word, Coleridge immediately universalizes the wanderer’s unhappy state, causing the reader to become aware of his or her own experiences with injustice, lost love, and emptiness. The fact that this Man has filled all things with himself is referring to the human condition of causing our own alienation from what is Natural. The author is showing us that we are obviously unhappy with the world we have created, and so invites us to stretch our limbs beside a brook in a mossy forest-dell (Lyrical Ballads 48, l. 25-26).
Coleridge then continues, inviting us to surrender our whole spirit, song, and ephemeral existence to nature’s immortality (Lyrical Ballads 48, l. 31-32). This jump from the simple physical act of sitting down in a forest to full submission of spirit seems to be a fluid transition in Coleridge’s mind. The aforementioned situation relies on the supposition that there is some part of humanity that is still connected to nature. If we put ourselves in the right position physically or psychologically, perhaps we can turn the metaphorical switch back on. This would enable humanity to reunite the Nature within us with the Nature we see around us. Only in such an integrated state can Man truly understand, appreciate, and even participate in the beauty around Him. I think that when we take time to align our physical, emotional, and spiritual states with Nature, we begin to see part ourselves in the beautiful and varying song of the Nightingale.
As a simple side note, i would like to point out that Philomela's song (referred to in line 39 of The Nightingale) is as follows:
Now that I have no shame, I will proclaim it.
Given the chance, I will go where the people are,
Tell everybody; if you shut me here,
I will move the very woods and rocks to pity.
The air of Heaven will hear, and any god,If there is any god in Heaven, will hear me
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomela_(princess_of_Athens)
I thought it was interesting that she mentions that she will move the woods and rocks to pity, before talking about heaven or gods. This follows Coleridge's style in "The rime of the Ancient Marinere" in that the Marinere's spontaneous reaction is to nature first, and then he follows with the religious action of blessing the 'slimyy things' ( See Lyrical Ballads pg. 31, lines 274-279)
As a simple side note, i would like to point out that Philomela's song (referred to in line 39 of The Nightingale) is as follows:
Given the chance, I will go where the people are,
Tell everybody; if you shut me here,
I will move the very woods and rocks to pity.
The air of Heaven will hear, and any god,If there is any god in Heaven, will hear me
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomela_(princess_of_Athens)
I thought it was interesting that she mentions that she will move the woods and rocks to pity, before talking about heaven or gods. This follows Coleridge's style in "The rime of the Ancient Marinere" in that the Marinere's spontaneous reaction is to nature first, and then he follows with the religious action of blessing the 'slimyy things' ( See Lyrical Ballads pg. 31, lines 274-279)
I like the connection you make to Philomela's song. That could almost be a separate blog entry! The main entry is good, too, though you might want to watch the tendency to turn too quickly to very general summing up of a supposed "moral of the story" (or poem). But this is well said and well thought-out.
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