So what is the connection between Natural History and English? you may rightly ask...
The world around us is something we take for granted - the universe and its structures; the moons and stars and heavens; the natural world and all its creatures....
Literature from the ancient Greeks to Harry Potter reflects man's continual relationship with the natural world. - Where do we come from? Does God exist? Who created all this? How do natural phenomena occur? Why do disasters such as earthquakes happen?
The metaphysical poets were chiefly concerned with man's relationship in the Universe. Galileo had disturbingly discovered the World was not flat - this threw into consternation the whole idea of everything centring around the Earth and God sitting up in Heaven...Shakespeare, Donne, Swift and Marvell questioned the very existence and nature of God, despite all being part of a society where the Church was a prominent feature of everyday life and Donne himself a high clergyman!
Darwin added even greater chaos with his theories on Evolution - impacting on the Victorian literature of morality and of the supernatural - Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll to name a few.... Creatures from ancient mythology to Alice in Wonderland and Narnia demonstrate our desire to personify human traits in natural or supernatural beasts. And what about sci-fi and dystopia? These genres too are based on the desire to explore how far science can go...
The Romantic poets and early novelists looked at nature and how that reflects our moods and lives - Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats and post-modern writers spend much energy trying to make sense of the universe inside our heads.
The trip was thus a fascinating look at the Darwin centre, the exhibitions of Dinosaurs and the Physical world of earthquakes, volcanoes and the impact of man on the millennia of existence - or rather, the other way around.
So before you become extinct, we recommend a visit!
Thanks to Mrs Warnock and Ms Kanwal.
Deadlines: - Contributiions 31st March
