This crowding in of the thingness and man-made particularity of the contemporary world is rare in the Romantic poets, who were apt to subscribe to John Baillie’s notion of the sublime in which “Vast objects occasion vast Sensations.” Nevertheless, in Wordsworth, more than in Keats, Shelley, Coleridge, and Byron, we can see it beginning to encroach, for example in “Book VII of the Prelude: London Residency” and, another sonnet, “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.” Wordsworth’s recognition of these things is grudging and one feels his conviction is powered more by an argument that attempts to extend the range of the sublime-an aesthetic notion-rather than by a deeply held belief.Īlmost exactly a century later, Hart Crane can talk rather easily about the “Machine Age,” but like Wordsworth, he still needs to make a case for the worthiness of the machine as a poetic emblem. Steamboat, viaduct, and railway are all words that came into use during Wordsworth’s lifetime. Of hope, and smiles on you with cheer sublime.Īlthough it is interesting to see how willingly Wordsworth makes art of metal and steel-the interchangeable part rushing to meet the assembly line-what is as equally interesting to me is the way the diction of the title stands in stark contrast to the diction of the poem itself.
Pleased with your triumphs o’er his brother Space,Īccepts from your bold hands the proffered crown Her lawful offspring in Man’s art and Time, In your harsh features, Nature doth embrace Of future change, that point of vision, whence
To the Mind’s gaining that prophetic sense Nor shall your presence, howsoe’er it mar Shall ye, by Poets even, be judged amiss! Motions and Means, on land and sea at war
whence / May be discovered what in soul ye are.” Regardless of how “harsh” these features are, Wordsworth concedes that they should be embraced by “Nature” because they are products of “Man’s art.” Tops of the highest Mountains above the grosser Clouds.In Wordsworth’s 1833 sonnet, “Steamboats, Viaducts, and Railways,” the poet of recollection and tranquility is forced to look into the future by these conveyances and conveyors, these “Motions and Means,” to consider how they might “mar / The loveliness of Nature” and “prove a bar / To the Mind’s gaining that prophetic sense / Of future change. Remedy is a most serene and quiet Air, such as may perhaps be found on the Of the Rays which arises from the Tremors of the Atmosphere. Ones can do, but they cannot be so formed as to take away that confusion Telescopes may cause Objects to appear brighter and larger than short When viewed through Telescopes which have large apertures. "If the Theory of making Telescopes could at length be fullyīrought into Practice, yet there would be certain Bounds beyondįor the Air through which we look upon the Stars, is in a perpetual Tremor Īs may be seen by the tremulous Motion of Shadows cast from high Towers,Īnd by the twinkling of the fix'd Stars. Useful telephone numbers are written in the front of the NAOMI binder General information for observers can be found on the ING
NAOMI Setup, observing and analysis recipes.This page lists links to pages of NAOMI technical information
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