Magical Kebab
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- 2013
This is my speech for our module A
Task description:You are to present a 5 minute talk as a university professor addressing a first year english literature class.
When comparing texts which explore humanity's relationship with the natural world it is clear that our experience of nature can transcend the physical.
My speech:
How do we transcend the physical through sublime connections and understandings with nature and the wild? This may not seem interesting and important to you lot as first year students but we all interact with nature and are dependent on nature for our physical and spiritual well being whether we like it or not. You will all now consider the representation of nature by William Wordsworth, a pre-eminent Romantic poet of the 18th century and David Malouf, a post colonialist Australian writer of the 20th century. Although both writers were composing at various times, both explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world in Malouf's Imaginary Life and Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey.
Malouf emphasizes the significance of engagement in nature as a way of realizing our place in the world. Ovid’s fantasy journey takes him to a place of sublime understanding and belonging in the natural world which goes beyond mere observation to a state of sublime metamorphosis; a state where self, space and time have become a single unit. “I am immeasurably happy. I am three years old. I am sixty. I am six.” Simple truncated sentences illustrate the accomplishment of a state of being that goes well outside the corporeal, physical understanding. In Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth signifies to us that even with his long absence from the Abbey, the landscape in front of him still nurtures him after so many years, “These beauteous forms, through a long absence, have not been to me … in hours of weariness, sensations sweet, felt in the blood, and felt along the heart”. Wordsworth emphasizes that his return to the Abbey after five years has returned the physical pleasure he experienced as a child. This expresses that even when ten, twenty or even fifty years pass by ones life; nature’s existence constantly provides us with happiness.
We are inevitably influenced by our own context and Malouf and Wordsworth were influenced by theirs. Different times and cultures value or disregard nature and the wild according to principal beliefs of the time. Wordsworth, an English Romantic poet was influenced to write about the landscape from the perspective of a native due to the rustic society he was living in and thus, helped launch the Romantic age with his close friend and fellow poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Wordsworth grew up in ‘wild and natural’ surroundings and had a deep attachment to his childhood and to the wildness which also led him to write Tintern Abbey. Malouf, a late 20th century post colonialist writer was in a time of increasing concern about the future of the world due to perceived threats such as environmental meltdowns and nuclear holocausts which led him to write about an alien landscape, from the point of view of a foreigner. Ovid’s early feelings about the desolate landscape around Tomis, as compared to the cultivated landscape of Rome might compare to Malouf’s own feelings about Australia and his arrogance towards post-colonialism. So its now evident that even though both texts were written at different times, Romanticism and post-colonialism both reflect our view on nature and how our interaction with nature represents who we are.
The wild offers a state of peaceful harmony in which the poet can gain a better understanding of himself and his place in the world. Wordsworth expresses his deep gratitude for the restorative effect of immersion in the wild, a very real and physical place that provides spiritual nourishment. “In nature and the language of the sense, the anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul of all my moral being.” Wordsworth highlights this sensory experience with the wild through the use of connotations associated with language of the sense. Wordsworth recognizes that nature defines him and makes life worth living for him. Correspondingly, Ovid demonstrates that even though challenges arise through developing a connection to the wild, the rewards are the ones that connect us, a sense of sublime being and gratitude. “Against all my thoughts, this endless process of creation and survival has brought unity and joy between our two bodies.” Malouf’s use of sensual imagery provides us with the impression that the child and himself have achieved a state of peaceful unity. As we can now notice, Wordsworth and Ovid both establish unity through the divinity of nature.
Imaginary Life and Tintern Abbey both explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world and it should be clear to all of you now that our experience of nature can transcend the physical. Malouf and Wordsworth effectively portray nature as divine and harmonic through the use of various poetic devices and by narrating a story through a different person. Humanity’s relationship with the natural world influences our behavior and interaction with the wild by forcing us to reflect on our existence and our relationship with the wild. But what I would like to show you all is that even though both of these texts were composed at various times, they both address a similar message, nature is important to us and shapes who we are.
Thank you.
Please give me a rating outta 20
Task description:You are to present a 5 minute talk as a university professor addressing a first year english literature class.
When comparing texts which explore humanity's relationship with the natural world it is clear that our experience of nature can transcend the physical.
My speech:
How do we transcend the physical through sublime connections and understandings with nature and the wild? This may not seem interesting and important to you lot as first year students but we all interact with nature and are dependent on nature for our physical and spiritual well being whether we like it or not. You will all now consider the representation of nature by William Wordsworth, a pre-eminent Romantic poet of the 18th century and David Malouf, a post colonialist Australian writer of the 20th century. Although both writers were composing at various times, both explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world in Malouf's Imaginary Life and Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey.
Malouf emphasizes the significance of engagement in nature as a way of realizing our place in the world. Ovid’s fantasy journey takes him to a place of sublime understanding and belonging in the natural world which goes beyond mere observation to a state of sublime metamorphosis; a state where self, space and time have become a single unit. “I am immeasurably happy. I am three years old. I am sixty. I am six.” Simple truncated sentences illustrate the accomplishment of a state of being that goes well outside the corporeal, physical understanding. In Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth signifies to us that even with his long absence from the Abbey, the landscape in front of him still nurtures him after so many years, “These beauteous forms, through a long absence, have not been to me … in hours of weariness, sensations sweet, felt in the blood, and felt along the heart”. Wordsworth emphasizes that his return to the Abbey after five years has returned the physical pleasure he experienced as a child. This expresses that even when ten, twenty or even fifty years pass by ones life; nature’s existence constantly provides us with happiness.
We are inevitably influenced by our own context and Malouf and Wordsworth were influenced by theirs. Different times and cultures value or disregard nature and the wild according to principal beliefs of the time. Wordsworth, an English Romantic poet was influenced to write about the landscape from the perspective of a native due to the rustic society he was living in and thus, helped launch the Romantic age with his close friend and fellow poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Wordsworth grew up in ‘wild and natural’ surroundings and had a deep attachment to his childhood and to the wildness which also led him to write Tintern Abbey. Malouf, a late 20th century post colonialist writer was in a time of increasing concern about the future of the world due to perceived threats such as environmental meltdowns and nuclear holocausts which led him to write about an alien landscape, from the point of view of a foreigner. Ovid’s early feelings about the desolate landscape around Tomis, as compared to the cultivated landscape of Rome might compare to Malouf’s own feelings about Australia and his arrogance towards post-colonialism. So its now evident that even though both texts were written at different times, Romanticism and post-colonialism both reflect our view on nature and how our interaction with nature represents who we are.
The wild offers a state of peaceful harmony in which the poet can gain a better understanding of himself and his place in the world. Wordsworth expresses his deep gratitude for the restorative effect of immersion in the wild, a very real and physical place that provides spiritual nourishment. “In nature and the language of the sense, the anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul of all my moral being.” Wordsworth highlights this sensory experience with the wild through the use of connotations associated with language of the sense. Wordsworth recognizes that nature defines him and makes life worth living for him. Correspondingly, Ovid demonstrates that even though challenges arise through developing a connection to the wild, the rewards are the ones that connect us, a sense of sublime being and gratitude. “Against all my thoughts, this endless process of creation and survival has brought unity and joy between our two bodies.” Malouf’s use of sensual imagery provides us with the impression that the child and himself have achieved a state of peaceful unity. As we can now notice, Wordsworth and Ovid both establish unity through the divinity of nature.
Imaginary Life and Tintern Abbey both explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world and it should be clear to all of you now that our experience of nature can transcend the physical. Malouf and Wordsworth effectively portray nature as divine and harmonic through the use of various poetic devices and by narrating a story through a different person. Humanity’s relationship with the natural world influences our behavior and interaction with the wild by forcing us to reflect on our existence and our relationship with the wild. But what I would like to show you all is that even though both of these texts were composed at various times, they both address a similar message, nature is important to us and shapes who we are.
Thank you.
Please give me a rating outta 20
Last edited:
