The Sea View

The Sea View, written by Charlotte Smith, gives a vivid story of a shepherd who is laying on a mountain side, taking in the beautiful view.  The shepherd's description of the land and sea is very peaceful and calm, as well as paradisaical.  However, as he is observing this tranquil scene, "war-freighted ships" come in, and destroy the land and kill those inhabiting the land.  The last lines in the poem are "Ah! thus man spoils glorious works with blood," displaying how man has the ability to destroy the beauty of nature.  Using effective techniques, Smith exemplifies both the beauty of the world as well as the destruction instigated by mankind. 

I would argue that one of the most well used techniques by Smith is her ability to create a sense of

relaxation. The poem opens with a shepherd "reclining" on a soft turf. Her description as the sun as purple

also adds to the sense of peacefulness. Her description of the sea as "magnificent and tranquil" adds to the

feeling of total relaxation. Smith has captured in totality the serenity of the setting. 

Smith is even more effective in her writing when capturing man's destruction. She describes it as 

a "dark plague-spot by the demons shed." It's as if a plague, or a sickness, has overcome this beautiful scene,

corrupting nature, and taking away its beauty to replace it with death and blood. The use of the word "mangled"

is also effective, exemplifying the negative point of view that the author holds. Rather than discuss the

sadness felt by the death of another human being, the poem focuses on the pollution to nature itself that death

causes. In other words, I feel as if the author has almost taken an extreme stance against the human race,

so far as to take the side of nature over the side of her peers. Smith did an outstanding job of capturing

the tranquility of nature, and the destructive habits of humans, displaying both the beauty of peace as well as

the carnage of war.