Monday, June 29, 2020
Humanitys Relationship with the Natural World A Comparison of The Book of Genesis and the Poetry of Robert Burns - Literature Essay Samples
When discussing the relationship between humanity and the wider natural world, the biblical work of the book of Genesis and Robert Burnsââ¬â¢ adjoining poems To a Mouse and To a Louse arguably offer a possibly insight into the development of mankind specifically its own opinion of its station in the world as a whole entity. Coincidentally, the discussion surrounding manââ¬â¢s relationship with the natural world largely hinges upon humanityââ¬â¢s own characteristic nature; in that there are some curious parallels between the presentation of God the Creator in the Old Testament of the Bible, and Burnsââ¬â¢ portrayal of man in a newly emerging modern world. Greenstein contests that ââ¬Ëwe are none of us, even on our good days, Godââ¬â¢ (p.1) and this contention even in a secular sense may be largely played into question when deciphering humanityââ¬â¢s seemingly superior regard for their own race above others in the animal kingdom. How much weight should be placed on the religious theory that ââ¬ËGod created man in his own imageââ¬â¢ (Genesis 1:27) and has humanity fundamentally distanced itself from the natural world entirely in its plight for increasing modernity in a newfound urban age? It is largely equitable to arguable that competition and the Darwinist ideology surrounding the prospect of the survival of the fittest is simultaneously both a flaw and a virtue in human nature, but it seems yet unclear whether this strife for excellence and perfection distances us from the natural world, or bring us closer to it. When treating the biblical book of Genesis as a literary facet of its own, the theme of the natural world may simply be encapsulated in that what God has created. The narrativeââ¬â¢s most curious and questionable paradox centers on the creation story itself namely Godââ¬â¢s choice of inspiration for the creation of humans themselves. The King James Version of the Holy Bible reads that ââ¬ËGod created man in his own imageââ¬â¢ (Genesis 1:27), which causes rather a problem when attempting to align a sort of ranking of world order to the animal kingdom and human beings. The phrasing of the narrative may be taken to indicate that human beings are to be the metaphorical gods of the earth when read out of the already definitive religious contexts of Godââ¬â¢s superiority to all other things in the universe. One of the more defining characteristics of God in the Old Testament as a whole is largely his anthropomorphized nature in that when compared with his reincarnation as t he perhaps one dimensionally pure and good Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament does largely align with more human characteristics in his more malevolent and dictatorial complex. This is most prominently shown in Chapter 6 of Genesis in which ââ¬ËGod saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuallyââ¬â¢ (Genesis 6:5) which ultimately topples the image of an omnipresent and all-knowing God who now seemingly holds the same ability for human error as we do. Another contradictory facet of Godââ¬â¢s actions in the Old Testament and specifically the book of Genesis is his resolution to destroy humanity: ââ¬ËAnd the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.ââ¬â¢ (Genesis 6:7). Greensteinââ¬â¢s comment on this se ction of Genesis reveals that in his mind ââ¬ËGod appears in Gen. 6:1- 4 as a parent who has either failed to set limits for ones children or failed to exert control over ones libidinous sonsââ¬â¢ (p.12). This likening of God to the anthropomorphized and very human parent fundamentally may reveal a very flawed and human God of the Old Testament and if considering this God to be human-like, this serves as a convenient cornerstone when comparing the role of humanity in Robert Burnsââ¬â¢ poem To a Mouse. It is interesting to perform critical analysis when reading Burnsââ¬â¢ poetry whilst treating the biblical book of Genesis as a lens as a means to draw parallels between humanityââ¬â¢s modernity of the urbanizing eighteenth century and the God of the Old Testament as he dictates over earth as a somewhat hyperbolically calamitous overlord. Both the book of Genesis and Burnsââ¬â¢ poem To a Mouse arguably present an anthropomorphic sense of superiority to the natural world with God acting as the omnipotent creator of the universe alongside a flourishing and inventive human race acting as the main source of creation in their own separate microcosm with such innovations as Voltaââ¬â¢s chemical battery and so on. The macrocosmic tone of the book of Genesis seems entirely absent when reading To a Mouse in which Burnsââ¬â¢ persona concentrates their poetic narrative upon the ââ¬Ëwee, sleekit, cowââ¬â¢rin, timââ¬â¢rous beastieââ¬â¢ (Burns), thus placing heavy emphas is and importance upon a seemingly insignificant facet of the universe and subsequently the natural world order. Burnsââ¬â¢ poetic voice seemingly goes on to appeal specifically to humanityââ¬â¢s malevolent and volatile arrogance, which bode similar to that of the God we are presented with in the book of Genesis, in their abilities to modernize over that of the animal kingdom and the mouseââ¬â¢s skilful building on his nest, in that ââ¬Ëmanââ¬â¢s dominion has broken Natureââ¬â¢s social unionââ¬â¢ (Burns). This links to the idea that humanity have perhaps somehow developed a sense of autonomy over the natural world, deeming themselves god-like figures in the realms of earth. Carol McGuirkââ¬â¢s interpretation in that ââ¬Ëwhen Burnsââ¬â¢ farmer spares the field mouse, he is acting as though there is only one field mouse in the world ââ¬â his field mouseââ¬â¢ (p.510) arguably aligns with the contention that humanity has developed and perhaps forceab le assumed a superior and godlike role from the Old Testament in the natural world a God that seemingly arbitrarily destroys and creates at his own will; just as farmers may choose to destroy the nest of a mouse in one foul swoop of their plough. The issue of urbanization and modernity of humanity and its seemingly unsuited correlation with that of the natural worldââ¬â¢s harmony is yet another stark feature of Burnsââ¬â¢ poem To a Mouse and this is fundamentally illustrated in the destruction of the mouseââ¬â¢s home at the unyielding and unsympathetic hands of the farmerââ¬â¢s plough. Perkins hypothesises that ââ¬Ëincreasing urbanization gradually removed a large part of the population from direct experience of farmingâ⬠¦This promoted the nostalgic, sentimental, and idealized version of nature that we now call Romanticââ¬â¢ (p.2). In this instance one may align the act of farming to represent the entirety of the natural world and its many intricate and functional simplicities whilst simultaneously doing the same to the motif of the plough; in having it fundamentally represent urbanization and the beginnings of the later industrialization period of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries respectivel y. The poetic persona in To a Mouse does go on to label the modern instrument a ââ¬Ëcruel coulterââ¬â¢ after it ââ¬Ëblast[s]ââ¬â¢ (Burns) through the ââ¬ËMousieââ¬â¢ home. Burnsââ¬â¢ persona in this poem seems to pine for the simpler days and the destruction of this ââ¬Ëwee beastieââ¬â¢sââ¬â¢ (L.1) home has ultimately confirmed that not even technology can overcome ââ¬Ëthe best-laid schemes oââ¬â¢ mice anââ¬â¢ menââ¬â¢ (L.40). The poem seemingly shifts tone towards the end, and there are also hints at the equality between ââ¬Ëmice and menââ¬â¢ with the poetic persona referring to the mouse as ââ¬Ëanââ¬â¢ fellow mortal!ââ¬â¢ and this idea is further explored in To a Louse in that as a poet of the Romantic era Burns attempts to discover a higher truth of meaning through the contemplation and analysis of the natural world. In this sense we may conclude that to Burns, industrialization and the dependence upon technology reduces humanityââ¬â¢s ability to find the truths about life and value of meaning. What is interesting is that regardless of the interpretation that the poem To a Mouse somewhat goes about revealing manââ¬â¢s sense of superiority to the animal kingdom like that in the biblical book of Genesis, the idiomatic message of the poem on face value to ââ¬Å"take each day as it comesâ⬠and resist attempts to meticulously plan out our lives is applied to both the farmer and the mouse. It must be noted for matters of contextual factors that as David Perkins points out ââ¬Ëscientists and philosophers were narrowing the gap between humans and animalsâ⬠¦Listening to young birds learn their songs, Locke concluded that they had perceptions and memoriesââ¬â¢ As the antithetical partner to To a Mouse, Burnsââ¬â¢ poem To a Louse overtly offers more of an insight into the macrocosmic universe of the book of Genesis and humanityââ¬â¢s reduced preeminence to the animal kingdom as shown by Burnsââ¬â¢ representation of the louseââ¬â¢s relationship with w ell-to-do young lady Jenny. Conversely to To a Mouse, this Burns poem is extremely overt in its satirical tone and style and this perhaps brings forward the idea that Burns means to make a sort of mockery at humanityââ¬â¢s superior opinion of itself when compared to the animal kingdom particularly the gentry and middle classes. The fictitious louse in this poem fundamentally acts as a parasitical creature living in the bonnet of ââ¬Ësae fine a ladyââ¬â¢ (L.10) and the poetic persona is for the majority of the poem largely distressed that this woman should be tainted with the louse as a infesting creature tarnishing all her finery. Of course the hyperbolic language to illustrate the personaââ¬â¢s exaggerated indignation is seen throughout with such incredulous outbursts as ââ¬Ëbut Missââ¬â¢s fine Lunardi! Fye! / How daur ye doââ¬â¢tââ¬â¢ which acts as being somewhat comically ironic in the face of a message of equality between man and the natural world. The v ulgar and diseased connotations of the parasitical louse contrasted with the prim and superior social stance of the woman further mocks humanityââ¬â¢s obsession with dignity as the leading species whilst also creating social commentary and criticizing the class conventions of eighteenth century Great Britain. When balancing and considering Burnsââ¬â¢ two adjoining poems To a Mouse and To a Louse it seems equitable to argue that his poetry largely aims to display humanity in a more satirical manner. In hyperbolizing humanityââ¬â¢s consistent desire to maintain dignity and grow higher in rank Robert Burns shows that this ultimately puts them at odds with the natural world and this idea can be further bolstered by referring to the anthropomorphized God in his most human form. Through contextual details of urbanization in eighteenth century society, alongside Godââ¬â¢s flawed error in creating facets of the universe that go against his will it may be conceded that it is larg ely humanityââ¬â¢s own internal nature to consistently compete with and outwit the natural world. Works Cited Burns, Robert, and Carol McGuirk. Robert Burns. London: Penguin Books, 1993. Print. Greenstein, Edward L. Presenting Genesis 1, Constructively And Deconstructively. Prooftexts 21.1 (2001): 1-22. Web. McGuirk, Carol. Sentimental Encounter In Sterne, Mackenzie, And Burns. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 20.3 (1980): 505. Web. Morris, David B. Burns And Heteroglossia. The Eighteenth Century 28.1 (1987): 3. Web. Perkins, David. Human Mouseness: Burns And Compassion For Animals. Texas Studies in Literature and Language 42.1 (2000): 1-15. Print. The Bible: Authorized King James Version,. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Williams, Raymond. Keywords. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Print.
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