Alliance and Cooperation Between People and the Landscape Olivia Clare 12th Grade

A relationship of alliance between individuals and the landscape is one clearly represented within the poetry of Judith Wright and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, namely, through Moving South, Brother and Sisters, and This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison. This cooperation that occurs represents a clear connection between people and their respective environments. Though it can be positive or negative, such a relationship distinctly demonstrates mutual respect as depicted in the works of these two poets.

The persona of Judith Wright’s Moving South and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison both experience an allied, cooperative relationship with the landscape marked by deep respect and understanding, but also consistently yearn for other, differing environments. Within Moving South, kinesthetic and olfactory imagery portray an evocative, summery atmosphere that juxtapose the persona’s high-modality rejection of it, “cutting back fleshy stems, / smelling steam scented gardenias/ I think of winter.” The utilisation of first person further emphasises the individual’s connection with the cooler environment, though her vivid understanding of the summer landscape is made clear. The personality within This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison...