The Creation of a Melancholy World...

“In nature there is nothing melancholy,” and yet the speaker in Coleridge’s ballad, The Nightingale, recalls that the bird’s song has been accused of being exactly this - melancholy. The speaker however, is sitting upon an old mossy bridge watching the water flow silently beneath. It can be assumed the speaker himself is connected with nature and understands the beauty of the bird’s song.

However, in today’s society the thought of sitting on an old mossy bridge can seem rather abstract and distant. We have unintentionally taken the beauty out of nature in pursuit of a better life. Unfortunately, because of this separation, we ourselves have become a population of melancholy souls. The sweet song the Nightingale, instead of being delightful, reminds us of the sorrow we have in our hearts. It can be argued that “When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.” Coleridge gives a great example of this when he speaks of the child whose cries are comforted once taken outside into the pristine and undisturbed moonlight.

A child such as Severn Suzuku, who pleads to the people of the world to save the environment for the children of the future; a child who cries at night and cannot be comforted by becoming one with undisturbed nature because it no longer exists.