Romantic Poets' Dislike of Newton

Although I don't necessarily agree with them, I think that I can understand the Romantic poets' dislike of Newton. As we discussed on Monday, Newton strives to avoid the rather occult notion of substantial properties, which essentially add a sense of ignorance, mystery and ambiguity to scientific theories. Even in his study of more abstract subjects such as theology, it seems that Newton was very methodical. This is evidenced by his belief that one should consistently make use of one method of interpreting scripture.

I think that the Romantic poets find it hard to identify with Newton's precise, methodical way of thinking and working. As poets, these men thrive on ambiguity and a sense of ineffable mystery, while Newton's work typically seeks to eliminate any room for doubt or speculation. As Keats says in his narrative poem Lamia, "Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,/ Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,/ Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine". It seems to me that Newton and the poets may already be members of a kind of intellectual divide such as the one that Snow discusses in The Two Cultures, in that they experience the world in fundamentally different and distinct ways.