Introduction
William Wordsworth
English poet William Wordsworth is known for his vivid descriptions of the natural world in works such as "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and "Tintern Abbey." In "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey," he writes:
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which, at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves
'Mid groves and copses."
Emily Bronte
Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" is a classic of English literature, known for its passionate characters and tumultuous setting on the moors of Yorkshire. In one notable passage, the protagonist Catherine describes her love for the wild, windswept landscape:
"I have a single wish, and my whole being and faculties are
unwaveringly, that I'm convinced it will be reached—and soon—because
it has devoured my existence: I am swallowed up in the anticipation
of its fulfillment. My confessions have not relieved me; but they
may account for some otherwise unaccountable phases of humor which
I show. O God! It is a long fight; I wish it were over!"
Through Catherine's passionate words, we can feel the intense longing and desire she has for the untamed world around her.
Virginia Woolf
Modernist writer Virginia Woolf is known for her stream-of-consciousness narratives and her ability to capture the inner workings of her characters' minds. In her novel "To the Lighthouse," she describes the experience of watching a sunset:
"For now she need not think about anybody. She could be herself,
by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need of—to
think; well, not even to think. To be silent; to be alone. All the
being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and
one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-
shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others. Although she
continued to knit, and sat upright, it was thus that she felt
herself; and this self having shed its attachments was free for the
strangest adventures."
Through Woolf's introspective prose, we can sense the character's desire for solitude and introspection, as well as the almost mystical experience of connecting with the world around her.