CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
A. The Description of the Main Character of the Poem “Michael”
Michael is the main character in the poem. The character of Michael is described in two conditions, when he was a boy and when he is old.
As a boy, he is not a clever or smart boy. He is lazy to study. He loves to live freely with the nature.
“… while I was yet a boy careless of books, yet having felt the power of
nature , by the gentle agency Of natural objects, led me on to feel
For passions that were not my own, and think” Stanza 1, lines 27-31.
After that, Michael is described as an old man. He is a shepherd in Grasmere Vale. He lives near the forest. He is described as a strong man and has a keen mind.
He is prompt, stout of heart, and strong of limb. He has the ability to watch the shepherd better than the others. He can know everything which will happen by
noticing the nature. He is a cheerful person and so lively. He is kind and skillful as a shepherd. He has many experiences as a shepherd, joy and fear. He has a big
responsibility as a shepherd. He can be said as the friend of nature. His age is around eighties.
“Upon the forest-side in Grasmere Vale, thee dwelt a shepherd, Michael was his
name… the pleasure which there is in life itself” Stanza 2, lines 40-77.
21 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Inside those lines, there are more specific descriptions of Michael. Many of his characteristics reflect the economical power. It is shown by his ability and instinct
as a skillful shepherd which can make him prosperous. He is better than the other shepherd and this gives him more ‘natural capital’ to be rich as a shepherd.
“his mind was keen, Intense, and frugal, apt for all affairs,
And in his Shepherds calling he was prompt And watchful more than ordinary men.”
Stanza 2, lines 44-47.
Michaels stout heart may signify one of his minds, which is clearly that of a successful businessperson: apt for all affairs. He has the capacity to solve many
problems and he has the creativity and ideas to control many shepherds’ ‘affairs’. His mind is able to read its ancestral lands like a text but Michael is neither a nature poet,
nor a natural theologian, nor a naturalist. He is very close to the nature. Nature is his friend, teacher, master, father, and his worker. The nature is his pleasure and
absolutely his life.
“grossly that man errs, who should suppose That the green Valleys, and the Streams and Rocks,
Were things indifferent to the Shepherds thoughts” Stanza 2, lines 62-65.
The natural setting provides both a necessary backdrop for Michael to perform his acts of heroism and a mnemonic album in which to preserve the memory of these
acts, all of which have to do with the dumb animals, which he had saved. He also PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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