Essay Questions

Why is the nightingale such a common symbol used in the romantic poems?

In many romantic poems, the nightingale is a common element. The bird is analyzed by many poets and writers and given almost a mythical significance. The reason why the nightingale is such a common element is because the bird is associated with night time, a subject also approached by the romantic writers. The nightingale is also a deeply symbolic bird and thus it is used in the poems as a symbol for love, loneliness, pain and literary inspiration.

What are some of the common traits of the romantic poems?

The poems included in the collection are mostly romantic poems and thus we find in the poems many characteristics of the movement. First of all, the action of the poem takes place during the night. The nighttime was considered by many romantics as being the perfect time for meditating and analyzing emotional matters. Second, natural elements and animals are mentioned. They are either used as the main characters or as important elements in understand the story. The tone used in the poems is also predominantly a tragic one as the poems deal with sometimes painful and hard to understand subjects. All these characteristics can also be found in the poems included in the collection and many of the poems have the above mentioned traits.

What could be the meaning behind the poem "About Beachy Head’’?

In the poem, the narrator describes how a calm and beautiful beach is attacked by the sea, the weather, animals and humans. One by one, each come to the beach and leave a scar behind. The narrator ends the poem by expressing her wish that someday, the beach and the sea will be calm and everything will be alright. The poem can be considered an allegorical poem because it may make reference to the attacks on the British Isles by other nations. If some country wanted to attack Britain, the only way they could do it was by coming from the sea and then on the shores of the country. The scars left behind by the forces mentioned above could actually be the scars left behind b the forces that attacked at one point Britain and damaged it in one way or another.