"The Haunted Beach" by Mary Robinson...

The Haunted Beach tells a story of guilt. The feeling of guilt, that the fisherman feels, occurs on a daily basis, just like the waves of the sea. The tide comes in and resurfaces the fisherman's guilt. The sea and beach becomes symbolic of the events that have occurred. The fisherman is haunted by the dead shipwrecked mariner. The sea's actions are a reminder of death. The entire scene of the beach has a gloomy feel. It is a "lonely" beach with a "somber" path. The image of sea birds "hover'd craving..." automatically calls upon an image of death. Birds prey on things that can be eaten and that are vulnerable. Much like these birds prey near the haunted beach, the fisherman's guilt preys on him. All of the imagery of nature, the sea, the birds, contribute to recreating the fisherman's wrongdoing. It has caused him to become a ghost. A ghost that haunts the beach, forced to carry the burden of forever being bound to the beach. Nature has this way of allowing personal experience to manifest itself in different parts of nature. The idea of guilt and life decisions haunting someone is a common theme in romantic literature. It is effective at recreating a story and sharing a person's guilt in a beautiful, and also terrifying, way that happens as frequently as the events of nature. With the variety of stories told relating to guilt it symbolizes us creating our own nature.

"TO THE MOON"

In response to “To The Moon” by Charlotte Smith…

“Oh! That I soon may reach thy world serene,
Poor wearied pilgrim—in this toiling scene”

The speaker, if one were to interpret the final couplet of the sonnet, is longing for death. They long for a time to be one with the moon so serene in the dark night sky.
The line “poor wearied pilgrim—in this toiling scene” suggests that life is not so easy. In fact they feel like a foreigner in this world wandering through life with much difficulty waiting for it to end.
This sonnet has the ability to appeal to many kind of people. How often do we go through hard times in life and we long to be both alone and yet not alone in the night. The speaker is doing something very common and very human,
by reflecting on life and its troubles in the night time.
The night time is mostly silent and safe from human interference and dark. There is no better time to consider our deepest thoughts than at night.
This is what the speaker is doing. Not only do they consider their own sorrows, but also those of countless others who have confided in their quiet nights.
To be like the moon would be ideal for someone as troubled as the speaker. The moon can escape during the day, and hide behind the sun. However, as a person this is more difficult to do.
For one to shut one’s life out is not easy. The moon gets to come out at night, in the dark, when it is more peaceful. The nighttime is more intimate.
It is better suited for someone to reveal themselves. During the day they may put on a mask and hide their true thoughts and feelings, but in the night there is no need.
It is just them and the moon; the moon that will listen and cause envy.
The kind of envy that lies in the desire to be free of sadness and a desire to be certain of something other than troubling thoughts and emotion.
It’s a desire to be free from all other influences. The speaker talks to the moon, with the hope that someday they will be just like the moon.
Free and separate from the “toiling” human world and to be untouchable and untainted. The sonnet reminds me of one of my favorite bands, Pink Floyd. Their music has a lot to say about life and different events that can happen like drugs and love. Pink Floyd and this sonnet have something in common the work of art sounds great, but there is a deeper meaning there.

To Sensibility: Hearts & Tears

In response to TO SENSIBILITY by Helen Maria Williams...

"She prompts the tender marks of love Which words can
scarce express; The heart alone their force can prove, And feel how much they bless." Throughout the
poem Williams personifies Sensibility which works well to relate it as something natural.
I think the poem takes a detailed route at expressing the human
reaction induced by sensibility.In the entire poem, I think these lines are the most descriptive of human
sensibility. Being sensible involves reacting to emotions. There are things in everyone's life that enhances
their sensibility. It may be a look from a close relative/friend that is associated with a specific emotion
or event that in turns stirs up emotions in oneself.
The poem reminds me of how it becomes natural to build a sensibility to love.
When you love someone the smallest things can tap into one's sensibility.
I think Willams does an excellent job at capturing a natural response like sensibility. The emotion is captured
in the descriptions. "The heart alone their force can prove, And feel how much they bless" this part of the line
is what reminds us that sensibility for each individual is a personal experience.
Not every response is the same with sensibility.The things we feel are not always easily expressed verbally to others,
but we alone know the weight they carry. We feel it in our heart and sometimes forget why it is that certain
emotions are the response we have to things in life or memories.
I like the use of the word "tender" in relation to "marks of love".
Not everything is a happy emotion. Some things are tender because they induce painful memories, like a tender wound, it may be healing
but if you poke at it you will still feel something. Other things are
tender because no matter how you tune into that love it will always spark an emotion for that individual.
I think this is what is special about To Sensibility, depending on how you feel when you read it, it can go both ways.
It can touch upon more difficult emotions by being thought provoking. And at the same time the descriptions
have a very amorous appeal.How can you not think of emotions/feelings and specifically love? Even the multiple mentions of "tears"
brings love to mind. Love much like sensibility is not easy. Love is not always rays of sunshine, it is challenging
and sometimes even annoying to the point that all you can do is cry to let it out.
The funny thing is that in talking about sensibility we have these descriptions of the heart and love and then
we have the mention of tears. Tears is one overt expression of emotion. Interestingly enough people react
differently to seeing someone shed tears. Some people start crying with them and others become very uncomfortable
and may try to get away, while others may sit there and give you a shoulder to cry on.
To Sensibility would be a good way to get someone to understand "sensibility". It may be confusing at first but when
you really go over it the entire poem is reminding us of different ways sensibility plays a role. It isn't only in love either.
The poem reminds me a lot of the work of Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo was an artist who had a lot tragedy in her life. Her sensibility comes through in her paintings. She painted what she felt. She painted her pain that come from love, family, personal dilemmas, and death.

The Unconscious Mind

In response to From Observations On Man: His Frame, His Duty, and His Expectations...


Hartley's discussion regarding our reaction or imaginative pleasures that are encouraged by the "Beauties of Nature" exhibit the psychological root of man. He clearly says that our expectations and views of the world are impacted by situations in life. The different experiences in life contribute to the associations we make. The explanation reminded me a lot about a common topic in Psychology, the unconscious mind. The beauties of nature are very likely to tap into the unconscious mind. We may look at something in nature and be drawn to a certain emotion. Nature, in some ways is a tool of the mind. We are forced to engage with nature every day. We are forced to observe nature. With this observation comes the opportunity to reveal certain ideas and beliefs we have about life. With the idea that situations of life impacts our expectations of the world comes the idea that the unconscious mind is stronger than we know and has more influence than we'd like it to have. And so, is it possible to fight the unconscious mind? I mean, How do we change the function of something that is often automatic? Some people might say that working toward changing personal life situations will allow for a change in our expectations. However, this is not always easy. Certain social barriers do not allow for complete improvement or change in life situations. I think it is important to add the discussion that human perception of nature is not permanent, but is difficult to modify. There is always room for change. Hartley was right in saying that these expectations can last a long time because they are influenced by so many different experiences and therefore become second nature to an individual. What I feel he fails to include is the idea that a person is not stuck perceiving nature and all it has to offer in one way. This goes with the theme that we have been studying, nature is wild. Nature is not meant to be perceived in one way. Nature is intended to bring out the uniqueness of each mind that participates with nature. And so, nature not only provokes the unconscious mind, but in many ways it is the unconscious mind. Nature therefore poses a challenge to man. Nature puts us in a position to face that which may not always be apparent outside of observing nature. Hartley was definitely using his philosophical background in discussing Observations of Man, but the topic requires a number of disciplines to be called upon in order to understand nature and the human mind together.