Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Department

English

First Reader

Dr. Johnny Wink

Second Reader

Dr. Jay Curlin

Third Reader

Dr. Joey Dodson

Abstract

Some authors create memorable works because they develop a passion for their area of focus. For example, C.S. Lewis was able to describe friendship in terms that relate to our desire to have intimate connections with people. Jane Austen could display the development of a romance in such a way that many readers have wished a story like one of hers could be real in their own lives. Personally, seeing how nature is perceived by writers has always been special to me. Aspects of nature like weeping willows, Queen Anne's lace, the Rocky Mountains, stargazer lilies, and the Great Barrier Reef have a distinct kind of beauty; sometimes poets are able to put that loveliness into words when I find myself speechless.

Ever since high school, I have been captivated by the poems of William Wordsworth, who has been deemed the quintessential "poet of Nature" by many. Other memorable writers whose perspectives on nature have impacted the world include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Keats, and John Muir. Each of these individuals brings his unique view to the table, and I find myself overwhelmed by the depth in their words have in their poems, books, and essays.

For this paper, I will be looking at several topics. I plan to view Wordsworth's early life and several of his poems that were influenced by his view of nature. Next, I will examine Emerson's essay "Nature", Thoreau's classic work Walden, John Keats's poems that relate to the subject, and John Muir's writings on his travels in the Western United States. I will then look at different passages of Scripture that speak about nature and creation; I plan on using my findings in the Bible as a standard to determine whose view of the natural world is most accurate.

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