FREE ESSAY ON ANIMALS IN ROMANTIC POETRY

ANIMALS IN ROMANTIC POETRY

Animals in Romantic Poetry 
Many Romantic poets expressed a fascination with nature in their works. Even more
specific than just nature, many poets, such as William Blake, Robert Burns, and Samuel
Taylor Coleridge all seemed fascinated with animals. Animals are used as symbols
throughout poetry, and are also used to give the reader something to which they can
relate. No matter what the purpose, however, animals played a major part in Romantic
Poetry.
William Blake used animals as basic building blocks for poems such as "The Lamb" and "The
Tyger." By using these carefully selected animals to depict good and evil, the reader
truly understands Blake's words. All readers can relate to animals such as an innocent
lamb and a ferocious tiger. Blake spends most of each of these poems carefully describing
each animal, and how it relates to the condition of the world through his own eyes.
Without the use of these animals, each of these poems would lose their effect and
universality, not to mention their titles.
In his poem, "To a Mouse," Robert Burns expresses his compassion for the small family of
rodents whose home is overturned by a plow. Not only does Burns show an equal democracy
for all creatures in this piece, but he actually lifts up the mouse above man in lines 43
and 44: "Still thou are blest compared wi' me! / The present only toucheth thee." With
these lines, Burns shows that the mouse can only see in the present, and therefore does
not try to guess and fear the future (48). Burns also expressed his fascination with
animals in "To a Louse," a poem based upon seeing a one on a lady's bonnet at church. The
sight of this louse surprises the narrator, and eventually leads him to the realization
that humans see themselves as perfect, judging all others. Through this louse he realizes
what a power it would be to see ourselves as other see us (43) and what fools we are,
pretending to be God-like (46-48). Burns uses animals in his poetry as a way of looking
back at man, and seeing through another perspective.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge based his narrative poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,"
around the sanctity of nature, especially that of the albatross, a large sea bird who was
a sign of good luck to the sailors aboard the mariner's ship. After the ancient mariner
inhospitably kills their good omen, everything starts to fall apart. The mariner
eventually is trapped in a solitary, never-ending penance, telling certain people his
story. The people he tells however, do not appreciate the story because it points out
their lack of spirituality, especially in the case of the wedding-guest. Coleridge, like
Blake in "The Lamb," relates animals and nature to Godliness.
In conclusion, many Romantic poets showed a fascination with nature, and especially with
animals. They used animals as symbols for many things, or for another way of viewing the
world, but no matter what the use, animals played a major part in the works of Romantic
poets.
Bibliography
Blake, William. "The Lamb." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 2. 6th ed.
Ed. M.H. Abrahms. New York: Norton, 1993. 29-30.
- - -. "The Tyger." In Abrahms. 37-38.
Burns, Robert. "To a Louse." In Abrahms. 83-84.
- - -. "To a Mouse." In Abrahms. 82-83.
Coleridge, Samuel. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." In Abrams. 330-346.