Charlotte Smith wrote her poem “Beachy Head” in 1806. In her piece of art, the author manages to merge the near and the far into an entity and present an introspective perspective on the dynamism of time and life itself. Although Smith doesn’t lose her connection to social and political contexts, the first and foremost describes the discovery of the human self through nature, which means, the natural world appears both a key character and the catalyst of the free flow of consciousness.
In the very beginning of the poem, the author reflects upon the rules, established by nature itself, but violated by contemporary people: “These are the toys of Nature; and her sport/Of little estimate in Reason’s eye: /And they who reason, with abhorrence see/ Man, for such gaudes and baubles, violate/The sacred freedom of his fellow man” (Smith, 1998, p. 5). In this short passage, the author tries to convey that natural laws should be prioritized over the currently domineering laws of human society, in which human life and freedom can be easily devalued and abused. This theme is particularly important nowadays when human society has finally consented to the so-called ‘relative freedom’ (in contrast to the liberty from the absolutist position, glorified in the poem), whereas the freedom of the natural world is ignored, which means, individuals often proclaim themselves as the possessors of the environment and often hold others’ fates in their hands. Thus, our society is dependent, because individuals are too often driven by Reason, as Smith suggests.
Another important point of the literary work is the description of a ‘natural man’, who should be contrasted to a ‘social individual’; “Is the rough dweller among scenes like these,/”Scenes are unlike the poet’s fabling dreams/Describing Arcady/ – but he is free;/The dread that follows on illegal acts/He never feels”. The natural man, as the author suggests, knows no fear of misdemeanor, as he doesn’t live in the dimension of social rules, which determine the frames of appropriate behavior and deviance. The person learns about their misdeed only after they gain the knowledge about ‘decent behavior’. In addition, the natural man simply cannot behave illegally, as he always acts in accordance with natural rules, the basic principles, comprehended and learned by humanity, whereas social norms are merely a fragile superstructure, which might once fall under its own weight. Glorifying the ‘descendant of nature’, Smith implies that civilization imposes a number of needless responsibilities upon human-being, which finally lead to the justification of slavery and social inequality, as in ‘natural societies’ individuals are absolutely equal and free.
England’s colonial violence is among the most important themes in the poem: “The pirate Dane, who from his circular camp/Bore in destructive robbery, fire and sword/Down thro’ the vale”. This aggression, directed towards other nations, will end soon, as Smith believes. The poet predicts the fall of Britain as an empire, as the land, seized through using armed intervention, cannot be maintained for a long time. The narrator appears as a peacemaker, which actively propagates to end the oppression of the Earth, which has already endured enough from human civilization. Thus, the author switches to the description of the post-Apocalyptic settings, which include ruined mansions and castles, the fragments of buttresses, and the blossom of nature, which begins to renovate, so that plants grow through walls. In addition, she depicts humans, who managed to survive: they live in caves and “flint-surrounded homes”. In this tranquil world, the individual is surrounded by beauty and therefore transforms from the ‘social man’ to the ‘natural’. In this sense, the author describes civilization as a human vice, which will sooner or later be contested by the forces of nature.
To sum up, the poem is very edifying and makes the reader consider their lifestyle and their consumerist approach to the environment, which might not excuse such treatment. The theme of water, however, suggests that the collapse of civilization will take place not soon, as the author implies that thousands of years are a short moment in the context of the Universe. Thus, individuals still have time to make peace with the immense natural world and establish the harmony idealized in Smith’s poem.
Works cited
Smith, C. “Beachy Head”.