Question

The Romantic Movement had many tenets that guided its artists and writers—one such tenet was the ideal that nature offered nourishment for the soul. Which line from “Ode to a Nightingale” seems to support this view of the world?

A)
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
[...]
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,


B)
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
Eliminate

C)
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,


D)
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;

Answer 1

A.

This passage reflects the appreciation and importance of being surrounded by Nature that was a main part of the Romantic movement. "Flora" refers to the plants of an area, so the line "tasting of Flora and the country green" shows that Keats is soaking in all of the nature around him. Additionally, "Provencal" is a place in the South of France that often refers more broadly to an area that is lush with hills and nature and not many people. "Sunburnt mirth" refers to the happiness (mirth) he feels in the sun. The final line "that I might drink, and leave the world unseen" shows that Keats is "drinking in" the nature around him in order to nourish himself and escape from the 'real world'.