A Delusive Art

A delusive art is what Charlotte Smith defines the game of a muse in Sonnet I. Therefore it is not surprising that the tone of the poem is overcast by a delusive and melancholy state as well. The Old English Dictionary defines delude as “to frustrate the aim or purpose of….” And the muse does exactly this – she confuses our feelings between friendship and unhappy love, between serenity and turmoil. But there must be more than just the muse on the surface.

As I read the sonnet over and over again I could not escape the idea of the muse representing the wildness of nature and its delusive state as well. Nature tricks us and frustrates us in the same way as a muse. It is pristine and beautiful and yet can be destructive and horrific without any notice. Nature tempts us and frustrates us but we would not be able to survive without the natural world and its elements.

Charlotte Smith notes that - those who never learn of the muse’s delusive art will be much happier. However this is also true in the representation of the wildness of nature. Those who turn a blind eye to the destructive beauty of nature are likely to be happier than those who have experienced firsthand the power and mockery of natural disasters. The picture below demonstrates the muse of nature – beautiful but destructive… a delusive art.

Top Left: Land before Hurricane Katrina
Bottom Left: Land after Hurricane Katrina
Right: The Delusive Art of the Nature