Emotion
"Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples" is rooted in the speaker's abjection. No matter how beautiful the natural wonders around him may be, the speaker cannot alleviate his despair with anything but the idea of death. The speaker's expression of his intense emotions drives the poem with its highs and lows, settling finally on a thought close to hope.
Alienation
The speaker abandons the city for the beach, where his only company is the sea. In front of the ocean, the speaker feels the pain of alienation instead of solitude's delight. As he imagines his death, he thinks that a few people would miss him but that, unloved by many, his demise would be, on the whole, unremarkable. While the sight and sound of the waves provide some comfort, the speaker ultimately is lost in his loneliness, unable to connect with the world around him. At the same time, his pain has made him unable to connect with himself, as the beach's solitude only emphasizes his misery.
Nature
Alongside the speaker's despondency, the theme of Nature drives the poem. The coast of Naples provides the poem's setting and functions as a backdrop to the speaker's emotional state. As the speaker looks on in wonder at the coast's beauty, he can recognize joy, even if he can't feel it himself. Instead of precisely reflecting his interior state, nature acts like a broken mirror, revealing the cracks between the speaker and the world around him. By the end of the poem, Nature presents the possibility of hope: in spite of his depression, the speaker will have this beautiful day to remember.
