Art and Human Nature

Paper Summary:

The paper contrasts how the three authors use art in their works to redefine human nature. The paper looks at how Victorian poet Tennyson uses history to paint a romantic and yet disturbing look at the legend of Camelot in "The Lady of Shallot." The paper also illustrates how Blake uses his personal experiences in "The School Boy" to show childish human nature torn between summer and the schoolroom. Finally, the paper shows how Keats speaks of music, heard and unheard, in "Ode on a Grecian Urn".

From the Paper:

"Comparing these works can be difficult, because they all have such different views of art and human nature. Keats statement, "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know'" (Keats), is pure Romantic - hopeful, positive, and full of future promise. Tennyson, on the other hand, is just the opposite. His poem is not totally depressing, but it certainly has a darker view of humankind. Blake's work falls somewhere in the middle, it is a more realistic look at one small part of human nature, and how to enjoy life to the fullest, one (summer) day at a time."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Blake, William. "The School Boy." Plagarist.com. 2001. 26. Feb. 2007.<http://plagiarist.com/poetry/1850/>
• Keats, John. "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Bartleby.com. 2007. 26 Feb. 2007.<http://www.bartleby.com/101/625.html>
• Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "The Lady of Shallot." VictorianWeb.org. 11 Jan. 2005. 26 Feb. 2007.<http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/los1.html>

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