Anthology of Ideas

Andrea del Sarto, in the poem of the same name by Browning, has all the basic elements of a happy life, but he accepts all the aspects of his life that drain him and leave him passionless; thus, accentuating his lack of an artist’s soul. Some, including Andrea, blame his unhappiness and inability to achieve fame on his wife, Lucrezia, but his unhappiness and lack of fame come from his disconnection from the passionate aspects of the world, something that evidences itself in his method of speaking, his paintings, and his marriage.

For Walt Whitman and other “Bright Romantics,” death does not represent an end but new beginnings, renewal and life. Whitman sees death from the perspective of a phoenix — each death brings new life, so death is “low and delicious” and the word “stronger and more delicious than any” because if one focuses solely on life, they will always be disappointed because of the finite nature of life, but if one focuses on death, life will always be sweet because it will bring death which brings more life.

In the few lines that make up a single scene of Wordsworth’s “Prelude”, the personified Nature encourages the young Wordsworth to steal a boat and admonishes him for failing to resist the urge. Although the young Wordsworth only focused on the method Nature used to correct him, the adult Wordsworth recognized the contradiction and believed that Nature used this event to guide him and help him understand and control his human desires, and, in the process, demonstrate that the relationship between an individual and nature is the same as that of parent and child.

Little green Tadpole Alone in a water bucket Silence Splash Trickle Chipmunk digs the ground Buries a little green acorn Soon to be a tree Large lone maple tree Emperor of the meadow Who does it rule over Wind whistles through trees Boughs and branches sway from it A black hawk flies straight Far above the clouds Where heaven ends earth begins Beauty no one sees

Andrea del Sarto, in the poem of the same name by Browning, has all the basic elements of a happy life, but he accepts all the aspects of his life that drain him and leave him passionless; thus, accentuating his lack of an artist’s soul. Some, including Andrea, blame his unhappiness and inability to achieve fame on his wife, Lucrezia, but his unhappiness and lack of fame come from his disconnection from the passionate aspects of the world, something that evidences itself in his method of speaking, his paintings, and his marriage.

For Walt Whitman and other “Bright Romantics,” death does not represent an end but new beginnings, renewal and life. Whitman sees death from the perspective of a phoenix — each death brings new life, so death is “low and delicious” and the word “stronger and more delicious than any” because if one focuses solely on life, they will always be disappointed because of the finite nature of life, but if one focuses on death, life will always be sweet because it will bring death which brings more life.

In the few lines that make up a single scene of Wordsworth’s “Prelude”, the personified Nature encourages the young Wordsworth to steal a boat and admonishes him for failing to resist the urge. Although the young Wordsworth only focused on the method Nature used to correct him, the adult Wordsworth recognized the contradiction and believed that Nature used this event to guide him and help him understand and control his human desires, and, in the process, demonstrate that the relationship between an individual and nature is the same as that of parent and child.

Little green Tadpole Alone in a water bucket Silence Splash Trickle Chipmunk digs the ground Buries a little green acorn Soon to be a tree Large lone maple tree Emperor of the meadow Who does it rule over Wind whistles through trees Boughs and branches sway from it A black hawk flies straight Far above the clouds Where heaven ends earth begins Beauty no one sees