Coleridge's poem uses an enormous amount of religious imagery and
references. One interesting concept that he uses is to refer to "Father
and God" and then, a few stanzas later, lament about "O dear Britain! O
my Mother Isle!" This seems to imply that Britain and God are in a
relationship comparable to a marital one, especially since Mother is
capitalized. God and love of Britain's natural beauty are two
inextricably intertwined ideas within this poem. Throughout, the
appreciation of nature is vital to the speaker's bond with Britain. God
is seen as both the mastermind of this beauty and the punisher for
wrongdoing, like when it says, "And what if all-avenging Providence,/
Strong and retributive, should make us know/ The meaning of our words,
force us to feel/ The desolation and the agony/ Of our fierce doings?"
God is paramount to the cause, both for using Britain's natural beauty
to inspire people, and to scare them into obedience.
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts about God's involvement throughout the poem. I think it is interesting to consider since God is the creator of all nature, if he is scaring "them into obedience" and asking them to stop destroying the natural state through war or to continue to protect the natural country?
ReplyDeleteBy presenting the possibilities of natural destruction, I think Coleridge does want to scare the British to some extent, but he also lauds the beauty of the land in an attempt to revive the citizens' pride in their country. Tying all his natural imagery back to the Creator, he also compares the beauty of Christian Britain with gory scenes stemming from the French Revolution. By associating natural beauty with God and with Britain, I believe the poet makes a strong argument for the people's return to religious devotion.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the tie between God and Britain is a powerful one. Alongside and preceding the French Revolution was a massive growth in atheist sentiment among the French. In this war for the cultural soul of Britain/Europe, Coleridge has created a dichotomy between idealized, peaceful, honorable British, champions of God, and the lecherous, warmongering French, whose only god is Atheism. I think the creation of these two options is a very effective argumentative strategy.
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