Representing a powerful reaction against Puritanism, an English Protestant literary movement based on the rigid and logical belief in a God ready and willing to punish his followers, Romanticism challenged virtually all major Puritan beliefs. The newfound trust in the human imagination, the free will of the brain to use the intellect and imagination, and the incredibly sinful and corrupt character of the human mind were all main ideas held by the Romantics. The Romantic emphasis on human nature is an excruciatingly complex system to which various authors of Romantic literature have drawn attention, alluding to various sinful characteristics of man that depict the ultimate horror behind the pretty face. Not only is human nature emphasized in the Romantic literary movement, but the role of nature and the tedious detail given to descriptions of this phenomenon also constitute a crucial aspect of American Romanticism. The poem "A Winter Piece", written by William Cullen Bryant, addresses the romantic ideals of an accepting God, complex human nature and the importance of unique personal experiences by joining these three systems and using the very detailed description of nature. to describe the rather unstable complexity of humanity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Through Bryant's delicate descriptions of earthly nature, a loving, caring, and comforting God is found connected to every aspect of man. As the narrator dwells in the beauty of a forest, he finds himself in a relationship with someone he has known since his own childhood: While I stood in the solitude of nature, I was with someone with whom I very early became familiar, someone who never frowned upon me, whose voice never chastised me for the hours I stole from worries I disliked , but whom the world considers the highest, to converse with her (Lines 16-22). This being also has the ability to speak with nature. like the ability to be affectionate and passionate towards the narrator. This individual holds God-like powers which he refuses to abuse and instead uses his powers for tender love and compassion. Through nature, the narrator is allowed to become one with this individual, who we can call God, describing the primal affection that God brings into the narrator's life. This is solely due to the romantic belief that God is not to be feared, that God is to be loved and praised, and that He will be loving and passionate in return. God and Nature are connected rather than separated; they talk to each other, they interact with each other, and God does not have complete and total power over the blissful perfection of Nature. This vision of God created by the Romantics is in direct opposition to the Puritan belief that God is to be feared like no other. Puritans strongly believed in the "Great Chain of Being", in which God is held above nature, while nature is seen simply as rocks and earth. This poem completely refutes this strict and rigid idea by simply going into the pristine details of every aspect of a forest throughout the poem, describing each perfect element of nature as much more than just rocks and dirt. Overall, the romantic connection made between Nature and God in the poem alludes to God being a caring and loving being, unlike the Puritan belief that God is simply waiting to send hisdisciples straight to hell. Additionally, Bryant uses impeccable terms. description of nature to explain the complex and unreliable natural tendencies of the human soul and spirit. For example, near the middle of the poem, the narrator finds himself contrasting the different seasons and how each affects the appearance and beauty of the forest: But winter has still brighter scenes: it extols splendors in -beyond what the magnificent summer knows; Or Autumn with its many fruits and its woods All blushed with many hues (57-60). Continuing the theme of the poem, these seasons represent the different layers that make up human nature, layers that all contribute to the extreme complexity of humanity as a whole. Bryant writes that each individual season is "filled with many hues" to further explain how confusing and complicated each individual component of human nature is, as each layer retains its own unique aspects. This imaginative idea proves the romantic belief that human nature cannot be explained in a rigid and strict manner, but rather will flow freely within the individual's mind and function as the individual sees fit. This allows human nature to be stripped of all logic and coherence, as it is incapable of being understood or anticipated. Puritans disdain any idea suggesting a lack of control over any aspect of the world, believing that everything must make complete sense, that everything can be understood, and that control is necessary to explain and understand all components of life. Yet romantics instead cherish a lack of control and understanding, finding beauty in what cannot be understood. In addition to the complexity of humanity, Bryant also uses a faithful depiction of Earth's natural processes to reveal the many terribly evil and uncontrollable layers of human nature that ultimately crush helpless individuals or ideas. The poem spends the majority of its time searching for the beauty of nature, which, in turn, alludes to the beauty of human nature. However, the end of the poem takes a graphic turn, as the "little flower of the wind, which has just opened the eye" (114) is destroyed by the "swift clouds" (120-121) which "shade the sky” (121) and send “Their provisions in volleys, rounded like hail/ And white as snow, and the North noisy again/ Will suffocate the angry forest in its rage” (122-124). This horrible turn of events represents the evil and sinful element of human nature: an element that is ruthless and destructive, for no predetermined reason. This abrupt change from beauty to pure evil once again proves both the illogical and limitless concepts on which romanticism is built as well as the inexplicably sinful characteristics of humanity. Puritanism fears these concepts and characteristics because these concepts represent something that the Puritans cannot control. Therefore, through this idea, individuality becomes the major difference. The romantic view of individuality accepts the corruption and complexity of humans, while the Puritans think the opposite way, as everyone and everything is believed to be controlled by God. Overall, Bryant's use of nature to describe the complexity and evil of the human mind leads to enormous dissimilarities between Puritan and Romantic beliefs. Finally, the personal experiences of both the author and the reader combine to give the poem a rather unique style and feel. Throughout his life, William Cullen Bryant loved solitude and silence in the woods because it helped him collect his thoughts and calm down in,.