The Art of Travel
Alain de Botton
GUIDE: William Wordsworth |
Key Idea
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Anecdote: De Botton reflects on a journey he took to the Lake District with his lover. He notes that it is just a stop for some and that few people disembark. 2.
Reflection/Essay “The immediate motives for our journey were personal; but they might also be said to have belonged to a broader historical movement dating back to the second half of the eighteenth century, in which city dwellers began for the first time to travel … through the countryside in an attempt to restore health to their bodies and, more importantly, harmony to their souls.” There is irony that the hotel is called “The Mortal Man” and this is a place where De Botton reflects on the Romantic notion of immortality. The owl outside symbolises the wisdom sought. An a ‘long blonde hair…hinted at the many guests who had stayed … before us…” There are strong suggestions of the Romantic notions of the elements of life – the universal concerns of man – truth, beauty, wisdom, mortality… out ultimate ‘smallness’ in the face of landscape and the universe. |
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