Nature is an important feature of Poetic Realism, a branch of late 19th-century German realism. Gottfried Keller, the author of the novel Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (Romeo and Juliet in the Village), is a Swiss writer who belongs to this concept of poetic realism. This style seeks to portray inner truth through romantic exaggeration. In the sense of poetic realism, this novella contains an immense set of emblematic natural phenomena. Throughout the narrative, perceptions of nature such as the overgrown field, stones, river, weather, and stars are described in detail; drawing the reader to notice greater connections and symbolism that are pertinent to Keller's critique of 19th century society. Natural events are omnipresent and nature's uncertainty reflects the characters' helplessness over their own destiny. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The novel Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe alludes to Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet and echoes the climaxes of the plot. Instead of an Italian city, however, a Swiss village is the backdrop to the tragic love story. The narrative takes place in the fictional town of Seldwyla and incorporates the farmers Marti and Manz and their respective children Sali and Vrenchen. At the beginning of the story there is a piece of uncultivated land between the fields of the two farmers. It is assumed that the homeless schwarze Geiger (black violinist) is the nephew of the deceased owner of the camp, so the piece of land actually belongs to him. The Black Violinist, however, has neither a baptismal certificate nor a citizenship certificate to prove his heritage, and as a result the field is auctioned off (Keller 38). Neither Marti nor Manz consider the black violinist to be the true owner and, by a twist of fate, the two farmers become the only bidders for this field. When Manz wins the race and consequently the ground, Marti tries to keep the corner of the unkempt field that he had taken care of. In this way the camp triggers conflict between the farmers. The family feud has begun; Marti and Manz go to court and their children are forbidden to interact. Symbolism and foreshadowing of this feud is found in the opening scene, in which the golden wheat field reflects the friendship between the farmers. In pleasant silence, Marti and Manz plow their respective fields in opposite directions; a reflection of their disagreement and a hint of the feud to come. Furthermore, the camp serves as a meeting point for lost lovers Sali and Vrenchen. The two lovebirds hardly have a moment to themselves in this tarnished field before the Black Violinist arrives and recognizes them as the children of the farmers who stole his land. Very close to the theme of the field - and another, important element of nature - is stone. Certainly the field stones were involved in the dispute between Marti and Manz, given the riots that followed after Manz threw stones at the disputed piece of land. Furthermore, the stone symbolizes the sufferings of the young newlyweds with Keller's phrase, "and their minds became heavy as stones," after being scolded by the black violinist for their fathers' misdeeds (38). In another incident, which occurred shortly after meeting the Black Violinist, Sali throws a stone at Marti; resulting in Marti's mental handicap and destruction of the possibility of marriage between Sali and Vrenchen (43). Throughout the story the river is only mentioned in passing. However, it is perhaps one of the most important aspects of nature in the novel. Both the river and the weather reflect the atmosphere of the plot and predict future conflicts. Before the feud, it's a "sunny September morning" and beautiful.