Poetry is a writing form with loose guidelines, making it the perfect vessel to share abstract ideas without the restraints of proper formatting.  Romantic poets used this form of writing in attempts to translate their personal experiences.  The unrestricted nature of the form allowed them to write figuratively rather than literally, and allowed them to create vivid descriptions of images that are more powerful than their literal counterparts.  The role of the reader is also changed.  Rather than mere observers of a story, readers minds are replaced with that of the author’s.  In addition to the image that the author presents to them, they are also given the eyes in which to see this image.  Not only is the reader given “what” to experience, they are also given the “how”.

Tu Fu’s Spring Prospect and The Opening of The Koran both use poetry as a way to place the reader in a higher state of consciousness.  However, each piece does so in their own unique way which defines the perspective in which it is to be read and experienced.  Tu Fu sets the perspective of his poem by giving the reader an omnipotent view of the current state of his country. “The nation shattered, hills and streams remain (Line 1)”.  By removing his writing from the first person perspective, the reader must experience the piece from a perspective outside the limits of his own body(a bird’s eye view of the world).  The Opening of The Koran also changes the way in which the reader views the world.  However, instead of viewing the world from above like in Spring Prospect, the reader views the world from below.  “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate(Line 1).”  In this piece, the reader is belittled and humbled by the presence of an almighty God where in Tu Fu’s piece, the reader transcends his own literal reality to that which might equate to a god.  While both pieces change the reader’s perspective in different ways, both pieces are highly effective when it comes to shifting the reader’s mindset.  To fully understand these pieces is to fully immerse oneself into each and every word written on the paper and both pieces have paved this road for the reader to walk on.  This is the “how” to experience.

While the images that the words convey are to be read and visualized literally, the meanings of them are not.  Instead, each visualization’s purpose is to create emotion and feeling within the reader.  “Feeling the times, flowers draw tears(Line 3)”.  Here, Tu Fu personifies the sadness he feels in the image of dew on flower pedals.  While he does not explicitly say he is feeling negative, he turns the feeling itself into a character.  Instead of just knowing that Tu Fu is experiencing this feeling, the reader has to live it in this form.  “It is You whom we worship and You whom we ask for help. Show us the upright way (Lines 5-7)”.  In The Opening of The Koran,  the reader asks God for guidance.  As the reader recites these lines, he becomes humbled by the idea of God.  Interestingly enough, there is no image in this particular passage.  One might even add that God is “sublime” and this lack of an image immerses the reader in complete fear.  This is the “what” to experience.

Romantic poets and their poetry teach us new ways to view the world.  While these perspectives may not always be practical, there is much wisdom and insight to be gained when one is fully immersed in these writings.