ROMANTIC POETRY AND METAPHYSICAL POETRY

ROMANTIC POETRY

Romantic poetry is different from Metaphysical poetry. When it comes to romantic poetry, reason and logic take a backseat. Romantic poetry is a type of poetry, which exhibit such features as imagination, emotion, love for nature and so on. Many believed and argue that William Wordsworth gave birth to Romanticism in the history of English literature. Literary critics consider since Wordsworth and Coleridge published their "Lyrical Ballads", it mark the beginning of the English Romantic movement. Although there are many critical opinions regarding the Romantic Movement however i am not going to touch it. Not because I am afraid to lose my track but I don't desire to fill the page with argument beside it's has been the subject of hot controversy among many critics of the world. Cazamian defines Romanticism in A History of English Literature as ''The Romantic spirit can be defined as an accentuated predominace of emotional life, provoked or directed by the exercise of imaginative vision, and in its turn stimulating or directing such exercise.'' Some critics considered Romanaticism as "Renascence of Wonder.''

Imagination is the hallmark or core or essence of romantic poetry. In the words of William Wordsworth, ''poetry is the first and last of all knowledge''. They discredited the influence of reason and intellect in any form of their poetry. Love for nature is another important feature of romantic poetry, it has always play vital role in their life. Nature is the one, which comfort them and blossom happiness within their heart. It's a place where they can meditate and lost deep into the imagination. The one thing which rules the world of romantic poetry is emotion. It's the best means to let loose one's emotion through words. The overflow of emotion depicted though romantic poetry transcends the boundaries of logical reasoning.

In our syllabus a Romantic poem called ''The Cloud'' by P.B Shelley:-

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers
From the seas and the streams
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noon-day dreams

P.B Shelley imagination is brilliant, a we see that the cloud is speaking, taking credit for watering the thirsty flowers and providing shade for the trees. However this stanza continues to demonstrate the power of cloud. When thundering, eh could imagine that the cloud is crying.

As I mentions earlier, romantic poetry carried unique features. Just as the imagination of Wordsworth and P.B Shelley, they speak through their heart, emotion, thought, feeling, idea bound from their deep heart. That's why millions of people love romantic poems as their imagination attract them beside they are so close to our heart.

There are several female well known writers such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Hannah More, Joanna Baille, Rothwell Mary Shelley and so on. My favourite Poem by ELizabeth Barrett Browning.. here it goes.

How can I Love thee?

How do i love thee? let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grance.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath
Smiles, tears, of all my life, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

She wrote this poem to represent her love toward her husband Robert Browning. Not only but whole 44 sonnets to express her love to him. It's very romantic and lovely poem, when I was in Nepal, one of my teacher explained me this beautiful poem and recommend me to read the rest of sonnets. I love reading those beautiful poems and i recommend you to read it as well.

METAPHYSICAL POETRY

The word ‘Meta’ means ‘beyond’ and ‘physical’ so the literal translation of metaphysical is ‘’physical nature’’.  Metaphysical poetry means poetry that goes beyond the physical world of the senses and explores the spiritual world. It began early in the Jacobean age in the last stage of the age of Shakespeare.

Basically, metaphysics deals with questions that can’t be explained by science. It questions the nature of reality in a philosophical way. Such as Does God exist? Is consciousness limited to the brain? So on as metaphysical poetry can cover a broad range of topics from religions to consciousness; however all the questions about metaphysics ponder the nature of reality. And of course, there is no one correct answers to any of these questions. Metaphysics is about exploration and philosophy, not about science and math. The poem classified in this group do share common characteristics, they are all highly intellectualized, use rather strange imagery, use frequent paradox and contain extremely complicated thought.

Literary critic and poet Samuel Johnson first coined the term ‘metaphysical poetry’ in his book Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1179-1781). In the book, he wrote about a group of 17^th century British poets that includes John Donne, Henry Vaughan and so on. He noted how the poets shared many common characteristics, especially ones of wit and elaborated style. Some well-known English poets say John Donne was the founder or leader of the metaphysical school of poetry.

As mention above, metaphysical poetry contained large doses of wit. In fact, although the poets were examining serious questions about the existence of God or whether a human could possibly perceive the world, the poets were sure to ponder those questions with humour. It also sought to shock the reader and wake them up from their normal existence in order to question the unquestionable. As they are filled with emotion, logic, reason, which always make the reader to think twice or thrice. The poetry often mixed ordinary speech with paradoxes and puns. The results were strange, comparing unlikely thing, such as lovers to a compass or the soul to a drop of dew. These weird comparisons were called conceits.

We accept the belief that any state of mind is extremely complex and chiefly composed of odds and ends in constant flux manipulated by desire and fear. What is true of his mind is true but in different terms of his language and versification. A style, a rhythm to be significant, must embody a significant mind, must be produced by the necessity of new form for a new content. These poets attempt to transcend the physical sphere in order to gain perspective or vision.

The Retreat by Henry Vaughan

 Happy those early days! When I

Shined in my angel infancy.

 Before I understood this place

Appointed for my second race,

Henry Vaughan deal with the loss of the heavenly glory experience during the childhood and expresses strong desire to turn back again.  In the poem retreat, Henry Vaughan expressed his desire to that sinless stage, innocent and ignorance. As sin has fall upon him, he couldn’t able to concentrate and face the difficulty.

I couldn't believed my eyes..

It was beautiful morning as yesterday, I wake up my eldest son  and get ready for work. I had no doubt that it will sunny day as yesterday so, therefore I filled coca cola bottle with Chang. At first I irritated my wheat buck fields and then ploughs the rest of fields for pea. 

When I saw my wife coming toward field with her basket. Rat start running inside my belly and told my son to take a break for lunch as since morning we been working tirelessly.  

My wife pour down a cup of Chung for us to quench thirst before We had our lunch. While having lunch, suddenly earth shook like a untamed horse been running wild. 

I throw my plate and hold my son and wife tightly praying god to stop the terrible incident.  Everything was shaking wildly. My mind was blank, I don't understand and couldn't think as I was frighten. 

I started hearing a cry and loud voice from the village which made my heart beat unstoppable as my two years daughter and younger daughter are inside the house. 

Without collecting things, we ran toward our house. My only house was half destroy by the quake and some how by the grace of god, my children are safe however they were crying and terrified. 

It was beyond imaginable that such heart breaking consequence occurred at such circumstance.

It was merry time for the people of mustang as festivals and panics are coming up plus tourists are showing up one by one....best time for the people to earn little extra income but...it was nightmare comes alive.

I still couldn't believed my eyes even thou everything happened right in front of me. It's hard to believed.

Almost all the houses are destroy as well as the hundred years old monastery and temples. Just like me, most of the villager are farmer and it's out main occupation. We work hard for per day living. I am blank and what to do now...

We the non-organization, with a aim to help the village people to rebuild their house to make it home again. We desire to create smile in their oily face rather than sadness and to continue their living with their rich culture and traditional.

From other side, we choose this particular village because their traditional, cultural, languages, religion and so on are similar to us ( Tibet). So therefore we are requesting for some donation so, we can able to create smile and rebuilt their damage houses, monastery and temples.

Need Plantation in Mustang

Once again, I travel to the paradise recently, thou my destiny was Upper Mustang. Unfortunately I have to turn back from Kagbeni unwillingly, a gateway to Upper Mustang as a matter of thick snow falls. It was winter and snow sparkling like diamond and the sun ray shine as the golden threat; everything is white, like a fairy realm.

While travelling from Beni to Jomson, my chum Jigme Ngodup was terrified by the condition of road, he keeps asking me “when are we reaching?” I keep saying “soon”. He revealed some incident, which ring alarm in my brain….. “A bus with full passengers fell from hill while tuning but fortunately not single passenger died only a minor injury. You know why? Because trees hold the bus from falling. Oh ya…Luckiest accident ever happened” Which multiply my doubt and put me into fearful situation, as the road to SHAMBALA (Mustang) is deadly dangerous and additionally poor plantation. Mustang is truly gifted by god (if you believe in god thing), a magnificent geographic with a beautiful and religious people, both internal and external beauty. However, the road to such paradise is “OH MY GOD!!!”

"OMG"

Almost every year, plants are chopped off for various reasons but plantation…not at all? No one cares about plantation? Because everyone is busy to print money instead of doing something good for the people and environment. I remember vividly that in SAMAR village, it was green everywhere and birds makes their nests on trees while other wild animals walk freely. But now, even they chopped off the trees, minimum numbers of trees are there protecting wild animals and birds.

In Upper Mustang, you can count trees within your hand. I heard ACAP is doing a lot to the people and environment of Mustang. But I wonder, for more than two decade they had and are working for the people of Mustang. Why didn’t they even think of plantation? Why not plantation? Even if they did, where are the plants? A countable number of plants grow in individual garden, not in open space. If any natural disaster happens, it will swiftly damage whole village easily.  As there were no plants to whole the earth firmly, the more plantations we imply, the more benefit. Not only it protects from natural disaster but produce fresh air and so alike. Even it will attack more and more tourists, which additionally benefit the people.

Last July, I was in Ladhak, although the geographical beauty is so alike Mustang. But beautification they made is that: they had beautifully plant a lot to almost every empty space. Making the gray and dusty village into green, attractive and peaceful one. Isn’t that amazing job?  If they can make such beautification in such circumstance why not in Mustang?

In LADHAK

I know there are organizations and club in each individual village, I request them to give awareness about the plant to the people and go for PLANTATION. If you are reading this, suggest the people or club to grow plant. Your small contribution makes a difference, if you are sharing this article with your friends, which means you agree and have strong desire to see green in Mustang … …I am sure, you are not gonna forget to share this article with your Mustangi friend.

A Way to Happiness

Some reader has suggested me to be optimists and change my sight of perception. Thanks for the beautiful opinion, I will follow what I could but I am not gonna make a fake promise. While some reader request for the solution (last article). So, I am trying my best to solve the puzzle that I have created in hundreds of mind. Before I continue, I would like to state that I am not a professor, literature or expertise in consoling or theology. Just a simple student, chasing the dream that I dreamt since childhood, I doubt whether, I success of not. Oh!!! Not, again. Apologize.

Apologize for taking such a long time.

If we desire a beautiful garden, we need a basic knowledge regarding the flowers and it’s maintaining. It’s not going to work just throwing seeds. It might grow but that not what you are looking for. Just like an attractive garden, we need to know some basic knowledge, which makes us happy as well as other around you. According to Buddhist philosophy the easiest way to create beautiful and peaceful environment is by following, I rather say practicing ten wholesome deeds. They are not killing, not stealing, not indulging in sexual misconduct, telling the truth, not engaging in divisive talk (slandering), using pleasant speech, not indulging in idle talk, not being covetous to others wealth, not cultivating harmful intention to other and holding correct view.

Although these ten wholesome deeds are very fundamental of Buddhism however, without following these basic steps, we are doom from HAPPINESS. If we talk about the cause of evil in society, everything is within these ten wholesome deeds. Geo Lyong Lee said “environmental pollution is nothing but an outward manifestation of inner pollution of human mind” so, true. Because of our attachment and so on, which bubble up our negativity and make us blind, not physically but mentally. Example when we are angry, we act according to our anger however, we remorse when we come back to our sense. Practicing these ten wholesome deeds means walking toward realm of HAPPINESS.

Don’t try to take action immediately, first we have to figure out the cause which has made us or our society disturbed, violent and uproar. Knowing the cause, its antidote should be found out and implemented. Always keep in mind that “if there is a problem, there is a solution too” further, if there is any disturbance, definitely there must be cause behind it so, does the path to solve the disturbance.

“Peace is related to the quality of the mind and so we need to learn how to keep the mind in one’s control. We don’t need to walk thousands miles to find the solution (peace), it’s within us. We just have to know and put into practice.” Our mind is like a mad elephant, controlling is bit complicated at first however it will be easier as we keep Practising.

“Everything is possible, if there is will”

Comments are heartily welcome……….