William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Wordsworths Life
The 20
th
-century hilosoher !ertrand "ussell summed u Wordsworths career as#
$%n his youth Wordsworth symathi&ed with the 'rench "e(olution) went to 'rance)
wrote *ood oetry) and had a natural dau*hter+ ,t this eriod he was called a
-.ad man+
Then he .ecame -*ood) a.andoned his dau*hter) adoted correct rinciles) and
wrote .ad oetry+/
- this is amusin* .ut unfair+
0a(in* *raduated from 1am.rid*e in 1721 (with an undistin*uished de*ree)
Wordsworth returned to 'rance+
1
There he fell in lo(e with ,nnette 3allon) the dau*hter of a sur*eon+
They had a dau*hter) 1aroline) in 1722
Wordsworth returned to 4n*land .ecause war with 'rance meant it was too
dan*erous for him there+
0owe(er) he 5et u corresondence with ,nnette and e(idently intended to marry
her+
%n 1802 6 a decade later 6 he decided to marry childhood friend 7ary 0utchinson+
0owe(er) .efore doin* so) he too5 ad(anta*e of a temorary ,n*lo-'rench eace to
*o to 'rance with 8orothy and s9uare thin*s with ,nnette+
4(en after this he 5et in touch with ,nnette and 1aroline+
%n 1820 William too5 7ary to 'rance to meet ,nne and 1aroline+
,nnette finally died in 18:1+
1
he had .een on a wal5in* tour in 'rance in 1720
;ther 4(ents
1770 .orn in the La5e 8istrict
177< educated in 1oc5ermouth school) 1um.erland) with 'letcher 1hristian
2
=
1778 mother dies+
178> father dies+
1787 *oes to 1am.rid*e
172> wal5in* tour of southwest 4n*land and Wales+ 'irst (isit to Wye (alley+
1727 colla.orates with 1olerid*e+ William and 8orothy mo(e to ?omerset to .e
near him+ ,lthou*h they were innocently writin* oetry the trio was (iewed
with susicion .y the local rural oulation and were monitored .y
@o(ernment a*ents as ossi.le 'rench sies=
1728 Lyrical Ballads
1722 William and 8orothy (isit @ermany and then settle in the La5e 8istrict
1800 1olerid*e mo(es family to La5e 8istrict to .e near the Wordsworths+
1802 marries 7ary 0utchinson ( - 1852) and they ha(e fi(e children .y 1810
180> -il*rima*e to ,yrshire to (isit !urnss *ra(e and sites associated with the
?cottish oet+
1810 falls out with 1olerid*e+
1812 reconciled with 1olerid*e
181> Wordsworth aointed stam distri.utor (financial indeendence)
1817 Wordsworth meets Aeats
>
(que rima)
18:2 1i(il Lists (ension)
18:> aointed oet laureate+ 'rom then until his death he didnt write a sin*le
oem+
1850 dies+
Wordsworths .est wor5 was all written .efore 1810+
%ronically) as his literary a.ilities declined in the last :0 years of his life his
reutation soared+
'rom the 1820s onwards tourists thron*ed to (isit the -sa*e of "ydal at home+
?ometimes there were as many as >0 (isitors er day) who were usually char*ed for
tea+
8orothy was more or less a (e*eta.le for the last 20 years of her life (18>5-55)) cared
for .y William and 7ary+
?he Bust sat .y the fire ha(in* lost almost all her memory (thou*h she could still
recite her .rothers oems)+
2
yes) the .lo5e who or*ani&ed the famous -7utiny on The Bounty
3
the youn* oet tried to inter(ene durin* one of Wordsworths erorationsC 7ary Wordsworth laid
a hand on his arm and whisered -7r Wordsworth is ne(er interruted+
Wordsworths "eutation
Wordsworth is hated .y li.erals .ecause he *a(e u his radicalism and .ecame art
of the Tory 4sta.lishment+
- !yron and ?helley were two early critics on these *rounds+
Aeats admired Wordsworth more than his two aristocratic contemoraries .ut e(en
so coined the term -e*otistical su.lime to descri.e some of Wordsworths
writin*+
- Wordsworths poems are almost always about himself.
The 3ictorians laced Wordsworth alon*side ?ha5eseare) 7oliDre) 7ilton and
@oethe+
Wordsworth oetry .ecame a 5ind of 3ictorian reli*ion#
$Wordsworth tau*ht eole how to feel and how to mana*e their feelin*s/+
Eartly .ecause of the 3ictorian hyer.ole Wordsworths reutation has fallen
almost continuously since the late 12
th
1entury+
%n 1822 Fames ?tehens famously descri.ed Wordsworth as)
$, half-witted shee who .leated articulate monotony/+
0is renunciation of democratic (alues has come .ac5 to haunt him alon*side the
unfair criticisms we ha(e seen re*ardin* his first dau*hter+
Esychoanalytical critics ha(e accused him of half-reressed incestuous lo(e towards
his sister+
4&ra Eound commented) $7r Wordsworth ne(er ruined anyones morals) unless)
erhas) he has dri(en some susceti.le ersons to crime in the (ery fury of
.oredom+/
Lyrical !allads
, critic in The Guardian once comared Lyrical Ballads to un5 roc5 in terms of its
challen*e to con(ention+
There is not a sin*le character in Lyrical Ballads whom the ,u*ustans would ha(e
deemed worthy of oetic effort+
Wordsworths Ereface to Lyrical Ballads was the first serious attemt .y a oet to
eGlain and Bustify his methodC
in a sense the first real document of literary analysis+
The title -Lyrical !allads is almost an oGymoron+
Lyric#
a oem a.out feelin*
eGressed .y the oet as ersonal and indi(idual and
addressed to the reader in the manner of a ri(ate and intimate con(ersation
!allad#
narrati(e oem
usually resented from an anonymous oint of (iew
narratin* the fate of characters in relation to u.lic and historical e(ents) such
as war+
%nterest in .allads had .een *rowin* since Thomas Eercys Reliques of Ancient
English Poetry (17<5)
This interest in the oular tradition was the .edroc5 of "o..ie !urnss oetry
- howe(er) while !urns could aeal to oular nationalist sentiment .y writin* in
?cots)
there was no o.(ious dialect for Wordsworth to write in to tune into a similar
sentiment+ Lac5in* this) he wrote in collo9uial ?tandard 4n*lish (as oosed
to -oetic diction)+
%n any e(ent he 6 li5e !urns 6 was writin* for the ur.an middle class) not the
common eole) who didnt read oetry+
Lyrical Ballads (blend of genres and a turn from story to something more lyrical and
inward)
Written in reaction against his own earlier poetry (couplets and ornate).
Main tenets
o !anguage should mimic that used by ordinary eole in statements of strong
feeling"
o #oetry focuses on states of emotion rather than on ma$ing political points"
o Tra*ic comassion.
Eower of nature to gi%e access to &oy and lo%e.
'uestions of %oice and perspecti%e challenge the reader.
,ccordin* to "o.ert 7ayo there is nothin* (ery ori*inal in Lyrical Ballads and it is
mostly an imitation of oular (erse written to ma5e money (as Wordsworth
states in letters)+
The (ariety of su.Bects and styles
the themes of nature) simlicity and humanitarianism
were commonlace in .oo5s of oular (erse#
$+++ the more one reads the oular oetry of the last 9uarter of the 18
th
1entury) the
more he is li5ely to feel that the really surrisin* feature of these oems in
the Lyrical !allads (as well as many others) 6 aart from sheer literary
eGcellence 6 is their intense fulfilment of an already stale con(ention+/
#oetry about rural life had certainly been common in the latter half of the 1(
th
)entury
*oldsmiths The Deserted Village (1++,)
)rabbes The Village (1+(3)
We can e%en loo$ bac$ to *rays Elegy (1+-1)
.ature means se%eral things in Wordsworths poetry it can mean
1. hysical nature (a.$.a. the *reat /utdoors)0
2. the sense of unity or connection between e%erything (a.$.a. 1the 2orce in Star Wars)0
3. a di(ine -resence in .ature0 li$e Mother .ature.
Tintern Abbey
What would be the implication of a poem written about a ruined a..ey in the 1+3,s4
5oes the abbey ha%e a sym.olic function in this poem4
16intern 7bbey is about the ways that we chan*e o(er time0 and the ways that we try to
figure out &ust when and how and why we%e changed.
8n short0 it9s about trying to s:uare the person you used to be with the person you%e
become.
- When did 8 become the person 8 am now4
- Why dont my memories measure up with the facts4
8n 1+3( William re%isited the Wye ;alley with 5orothy. 6his ga%e rise to Tintern Abbey.
6his is the first poem in which Wordsworth0 instead of focusing on the e<ternal world0
eGamines his own consciousness.
8t is the first of his ma&or wor$s to be eGlicitly auto.io*rahical.
8t e<presses Wordsworths central ideas about
nature0
perception and
spiritual growth.
8t concludes the second edition of !yrical =allads.
=lan$ %erse unrhyming iambic pentameter0 also called 4n*lish heroic (erse0 a ten-
syllable line and the usual rhythm of >nglish dramatic and epic poetry. 2ull of
enBam.ments and different placed caesural pauses to reflect changing feeling and
thought.
)on%ersational :ualities from )oleridge.
.ear pantheism.
)ontrasts.
18mpassioned (Wordsworths own word in 1(,,) similar to an ode
?
)ritical poem" his earlier self seen from the calm achie%ed in 1+3(.
@ndercurrent of sadness0 occasionally surfacing.
=y contrast0 sadness amplifies the poems mood of happiness.
#assage of time .alance between 1loss and 17bundant recompense.
#lot return0 memory0 reflection.
6wo clima<es in the poem
o 6he affirmation of the %alue of memory which allow access to a :uasi-mystical
1.lessed mood (l. 3()"
o 6he acceptance that time is past and the weighing up of lost Boys against new
*ifts.
?
ode A a serious lyric poem celebrating a specific e%ent or sub&ect
6he code an<iety is relie%ed by turning to his sister (embodiment of his former self0
ally in his faith in nature0 a lo%ed other-person).
6itle no comments upon the conditions of %agrants who li%ed there.
Tintern Abbey is certainly not a .allad and is much closer to .ein* an ode
:
+
Tintern Abbey was only included in Lyrical Ballads .ecause Wordsworth finished it
Bust in time for its inclusion+ %t doesnt fit (ery easily with the other oems+
Wordsworth resents the (iew as somethin* constant that he eGeriences differently
on a second (isit after fi(e years+
This is disin*enuous since the (alley was in fact eGeriencin* raid chan*e+
Hotice Wordsworths deli.erate withdrawal from a statement of a.solute con(iction
6 this is characteristic of the "omantic mode#
To them % may ha(e owed another *ift (l+ >7)
%f this I !e .ut a (ain .elief (ll+ 50-51)
and so % dare to hoe (l+ <<)
Hotice how often ar*uments are eGressed in the ne*ati(e
- with -no) -not) -nor or -un-
7essa*e# that the memory of pure communion with nature in childhood wor$s upon the
mind e%en in adulthood0 when access to that pure communion has been lost0
and that the maturity of mind present in adulthood offers compensation for the loss of
that communion.
8s this &ust a restating of !la5es (iews on innocent and eGerience4
7lthough the spea$er seems to include 5orothy in the system of transformation brought
about by recollections of nature0
he is actually &ust roBectin* his own e<periences onto her.
6he real 5orothy is e<cluded from the system described by the spea$er.
6he Bi%er Wye is the real name of a waterway in the West of >ngland. Cowe%er0 is it
rele%ant that Wordsworth focuses his poem on a ri%er called 1whyJ4
What is the sym.olism of ri%ers4
Lines Written , 'ew 7iles a .o(e Tintern , ..ey
5
6intern 7bbey begins as a prospect poem
D
. However, after a brief descrition it beco!es
a !editation on
epistemology how "nowledge of the world is ac#$ired, and
psychology how e%erience is stored in the for! of !e!ory and $tili&ed in the !ind.
2i%e ye a rs ha%e p a ssed" fi%e summers0 with the length
/f fi%e long wintersE
+
a nd ag a in 8 he a r anahora
6hese w aters0 rolling from their mountain-springs
With a sweet inland murmur. /nce ag a in ersonification (murmur)
5o 8 behold these steep and lofty cliffs0
Which on a wild secluded scene impress
6houghts of more deep seclusion" a nd connect
6he la ndscape with the :uiet of the s$y.
6he d a y is come when 8 ag a in repose assonance
Cere0 under this d a r$ sycamore0 and %iew F1,G
6hese plots of cottage-ground0 these orchard-tufts0 internal rhy!e
Which0 at this se ason0 with their unripe fruits0
7mong the woods and copses lose themsel%es0
.or0 with their green and simple hue0 disturb
6he wild green la ndscape. /nce ag a in 8 see
6hese hedge-rows0 h a rdly hedge-rows0 little lines alliteration
/f sporti%e wood run wild" these p a storal fa rms
*reen to the %ery door" and wre a thes of smo$e
8

Hent up0 in silence0 from among the trees0 assonance
With some uncertain notice0 a s might seem0 alliteration
/f % agrant dwellers in the houseless woods0 F2,G
/r of some hermits c a %e0 where by his fire
6he hermit sits alone.
-
not actually true# he wrote the oem after he *ot home from the wal5in* holiday) not in the Wye
3alley
D
rosect oem A 1(
th
-century genre in which a landscape is described and moral reflections are attached
to it
+
notice how) from the .e*innin* Wordsworth connects hainess and sadnessC summer and winter
are ineGtrica.ly lin5ed
(
the smo5e that Wordsworth could see didnt come from (a*rants or hermits fires .ut from
charcoal .urnin* for the inciient iron industry=
Wordsworth's concern is not so !$ch with the scene itself b$t with the sensations it has
generated.
6hough a bsent long0
6hese forms of beauty ha%e not been to me0
2

7s is a landscape to a blind mans eye
=ut oft0 in lonely rooms0 and mid the din
/f towns and cities0 8 ha%e owed to them0
8n hours of weariness0 sensations sweet0
2elt in the blood0 and felt along the heart0
7nd passing e%en into my purer mind
With tran:uil restoration A feelings too F3,G
/f unremembered pleasure" such0 perhaps0
7s may ha%e had no tri%ial influence
/n that best portion of a good mans life"
Cis little0 nameless0 unremembered acts
/f $indness and of lo%e. .or less0 8 trust0
6o them 8 may ha%e owed another gift0
/f a spect more sublime" that blessed mood0
8n which the burthen of the mystery0
8n which the he a%y a nd the we ary weight alliteration
/f all this unintelligible world F?,G
8s lightend A that serene and blessed mood0
8n which the affections gently lead us on0
@ntil0 the breath of this corporeal frame0
7nd e%en the motion of our human blood
7lmost suspended0 we are laid asleep
8n body0 and become a li%ing soul
While with an eye made :uiet by the power synecdoche
10
/f harmony0 and the deep power of &oy0
We see into the life of things.
11

8f this
=e but a % a in belief0 yet0 ohE how oft0 F-,G
8n d a r$ness0 a nd am id the m any sh a pes alliteration
/f &oyless d a y-lights" when the fretful stir
@nprofitable0 a nd the fe%er of the world0
Ca%e hung upon the be atings of my he a rt0
Cow oft0 in spirit0 h a %e 8 turned to thee
/ syl%an WyeE 6hou w a nderer through the wood alliteration0 aostrohe
Cow often h a s my spirit turned to theeE
3
the (ersion in the Horton has $These .eauteous forms) I Throu*h a lon* a.sence) ha(e not .een to
me/
1,
it is not really his mind which is made 9uiet .ut his mind and .ody
11
1f+ !la5es Auguries of Innocence# $To see a world in a *rain of sand) I ,nd a hea(en in a wild
flower) I 0old infinity in the alm of your hand) I,nd eternity in an hour+/
7nd now0 with gleams of half-e<tinguished thought0
With many recognitions dim and faint0
7nd somewhat of a sad perple<ity0 FD,G
6he picture of the mind re%i%es again
While here 8 stand0 not only with the sense
/f present pleasure0 but with pleasing thoughts alliteration
6hat in this moment there is life and food
2or future years. 7nd so 8 dare to hope
6hough changed0 no doubt0 from what 8 was0 when first
8 came among these hills" when li$e a roe
8 bounded oer the mountains0 by the sides
/f the deep ri%ers0 and the lonely streams0
Where%er nature led" more li$e a man F+,G
2lying from something that he dreads0 than one
Who sought the thing he lo%ed. 2or nature then
(6he coarser pleasures of my boyish days0
7nd their glad animal mo%ements all gone by0)
6o me was all in all. A 8 cannot paint
What then 8 was0 6he sounding cataract
Caunted me li$e a passion the tall roc$0 antithesis
6he mountain0 and the deep and gloomy wood0 antithesis
6heir colours and their forms0 were then to me
7n appetite a feeling and a lo%e0 F(,G
6hat had no need of a remoter charm0
=y thought supplied0 or any interest
@nborrowed from the eye. A 6hat time is past0
7nd all its aching &oys are now no more0 o%y!oron
7nd all its diIIy raptures. .ot for this o%y!oron4
2aint 80 nor mourn nor murmur other gifts alliteration
Ca%e followed0 for such loss0 8 would belie%e0
7bundant recompense. 2or 8 ha%e learned
6o loo$ on nature0 not as in the hour
/f thoughtless youth0 but hearing oftentimes F3,G synesthesia
12
6he still0 sad music of humanity0
.ot harsh or grating0 though of ample power
6o chasten and subdue. 7nd 8 ha%e felt
7 presence that disturbs me with the &oy antithesis
/f ele%ated thoughts" a sense sublime
/f something far more deeply interfused0
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns0 alliteration
7nd the round ocean0 and the li%ing air0
7nd the blue s$y0 and in the mind of man0 consonance
7 motion and a spirit0 that impels F1,,G
7ll thin$ing things0 all ob&ects of all thought0 allitero(assonance
7nd rolls through all things.
12
the miGin* u of different senses sometimes indicates that a character is o(erwhelmed
6herefore am 8 still
7 lo%er of the meadows and the woods0
7nd mountains" and of all that we behold
2rom this green earth" of all the mighty world
/f eye and ear0 both what they half-create0
7nd what percei%e
1>
" well pleased to recogniIe
8n nature and the language of the sense0
6he anchor of my purest thoughts0 the nurse0
6he guide0 the guardian of my heart0 and soul alliteration
/f all my moral being.
(Addressing Dorothy)
.or0 perchance0
8f 8 were not thus ta ught0 Hhould 8 the more
Huffer my genial spirits to dec a y
2or thou art with me0 here0 upon the ban$s
/f this fair ri%er" thou0 my dearest 2riend0 F11-G
My dear0 dear 2riend0 and in thy %oice 8 catch
6he language of my former heart0 and read
My former pleasures in the shooting lights
/f thy wild eyes. /hE yet a little while
May 8 behold in thee what 8 was once0 F12,G
My dear0 dear HisterE 7nd this prayer 8 ma$e0
Jnowing that .ature ne%er did betray alliteration
6he heart that lo%ed her" tis her pri%ilege0
6hrough all the years of this our life0 to lead
2rom &oy to &oy for she can so inform F12-G
6he mind that is within us0 so impress
With :uietness and beauty0 and so feed
With lofty thoughts0 that neither e%il tongues0
Bash &udgments0 nor the sneers of selfish men0
.or greetings where no $indness is0 nor all F13,G
6he dreary intercourse of daily life0
Hhall eer pre%ail against us0 or disturb
/ur chearful faith that all which we behold
8s full of blessings.
13
the world is ossessed .y si*ht and hearin*C thin*s only eGists in ercetion
6herefore let the moon
Hhine on thee in thy solitary wal$" F13-G
7nd let the misty mountain winds be free alliteration
6o blow against thee and in after years0
When these wild ecstasies
1:
shall be matured
8nto a sober pleasure0 when thy mind
Hhall be a mansion for all lo%ely forms0 F1?,G
6hy memory be as a dwelling-place
2or all sweet sounds and harmonies" /hE then0
8f solitude0 or fear0 or pain0 or grief0
Hhould be thy portion0 with what healing thoughts
/f tender &oy wilt thou remember me0 F1?-G alliteration
7nd these my e<hortationsE
.or0 perchance0
8f 8 should be0 where 8 no more can hear
6hy %oice0 nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams
/f past e<istence0 wilt thou then forget
6hat on the ban$s of this delightful stream F1-,G
We stood together" 7nd that 80 so long
7 worshipper of .ature0 hither came0
@nwearied in that ser%ice rather say
With warmer lo%e0 ohE with far deeper Ieal
/f holier lo%e. .or wilt thou then forget0 F1--G
6hat after many wanderings0 many years
/f absence0 these steep woods and lofty cliffs0
7nd this green pastoral landscape0 were to me
More dear0 both for themsel%es0 and for thy sa$e.
1?
feminists ha(e ointed out how 8orothys -wild ecstasies contrast with the more mature attitude
to nature dislayed .y William+ 0owe(er) as 8orothy was youn*er (.y 1K years) and this was her
first (isit to the Wye 3alley and William says that he eGects she will attain his maturer state) this
doesnt seem an esecially (alid ar*ument+
% Wandered
15
Lonely ,s , 1loud
1<
Home critics ha%e e<presses discomfort with the first line (and title)
- at least in >ngland clouds are rarely 1lonely.
8ndeed0 we $now that the poet was accompanied on this wal$ by 5orothy0 though he has
painted her out.
8n fact0 5orothy may ha%e sa%ed 15affodils from turning into do**erel
1+
from the first
line.
Le*end has it that
1(
Wordsworth originally wrote0 K8 wandered lonely as a cowL and that
the last word was only changed to 1cloud on the insistence of his sister 5orothyE
Cowe%er0 a generous interpretation would claim that the spea$er is not troubled by the
absence of other people.
Bather0 he is lonely in the sense that he feels separated from the world around him
- a separateness that is emphasiIed by the comparison with a cloud K6hat floats on high
oer %ales and hillsL.
6his poem is unusually happy for Wordsworth there is no sense of death or despondency
5espite the fact that he li$ed writing about flowers0 Wordsworth had no sense of smell.
=oth poems deal with the restorati(e effect of remembered moments.
=oth suggest that leasura.le eGeriences often ha%e their most profound effects after
they ha%e been a.sor.ed and contemlated.
'orm# 6he four si<-line stanIas of this poem follow a :uatrain-couplet rhyme scheme
7=7=)). >ach line is metered in iambic tetrameter.
6he poems main brilliance lies in the re(erse ersonification of its early stanIas
the spea$er is metaphorically compared to a natural ob&ect0 a cloud and
the daffodils are continually personified as human beings
6his techni:ue implies an inherent unity between man and nature.
6he alchemical imagination of the poet transforms a lesser substance A the colour of the
daffodils A into a greater wealth0 something li$e metahysical Boy.
6hough the e<perience of the 1outer eye was &oyful0 the e<perience of the 1inward eye
was more &oyful.
1-
notice how wanderin* 6 condemned as an a.erration) strayin* from rectitude in the 18
th
1entury 6
is here the oets means of articiatin* in nature
1D
!ritains 5
th
fa(ourite oem in a recent sur(ey+
1+
do**erel A unintentionally idiotic poetry
1(
le*end has it that A according to legend
8 W7.5>B>5 lonely as a cloud
6hat floats on high oer %ales and hills0 ararhy!e
When all at once 8 saw a crowd0 assonance
7 host0 of golden daffodils"
12
assonance
=eside the la$e0 beneath the trees0 assonance
2luttering and dancing in the breeIe.
)ontinuous as the stars that shine
7nd twin$le on the mil$y way0 assonance
6hey stretched in ne%er-ending line assonance
7long the margin of a bay assonance
6en thousand saw 8 at a glance0 assonance (in WWs accent)
6ossing their heads in sprightly dance.
6he wa%es beside them danced" but they
/ut-did the spar$ling wa%es in glee
7 poet could not but be gay0 s$bstit$tion
8n such a &ocund company
8 gaIed A and gaIed A but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought
2or oft0 when on my couch 8 lie
8n %acant or in pensi%e mood0
6hey flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude" internal rhy!e
7nd then my heart with pleasure fills0 assonance
7nd dances with the daffodils. allitero(assonance (in WWs accent)
13
rather damnin*ly) 8orothy says that it was Bust a small clum of daffodils=
?ym.olism
5affodils are traditionally associated with the approach of srin*.
2rom this point of %iew the une<pectedness of encountering the daffodils on a stormy
2,
day is partly because winter is still being felt0 though spring is promised" e(ery lonely
cloud has a sil(er linin*
21
0 if you li$e.
/ne could also oint out
22
that daffodils are associated with Harcissus0 who fell in lo%e
with his own reflection.
8s Wordsworth commenting on his own o.sessi(e introsection4
2>

8ts unli5ely
2?
0 the poet too$ himself far too
2-
seriously for thatE
Wordsworths %nterretation of Hature
6hrough the power of nature the poet transcends natures material forms and
contemplates a higher0 more di(ine state of .ein*.
Wordsworths poetry is surprisingly undescripti%e of nature because what he is interested
in is his emotions aroused by scenes of nature.
Ce is interested in the influence of the natural world on human consciousness.
.ature teaches moral truth through our emotions.
Wordsworth belie%ed in a 1uni%ersal bene%olence in .ature
nothing could be further from 8arwinian Hature.
6hree stages of human life
childhood0
youth and
maturity
ha%e three different states of awareness.
%n childhood nature is enBoyed throu*h hysical acti(ity) there is no conscious
awareness of the natural world+
%n youth nature is enBoyed in emotional intensity
%n maturity a -sense su.lime relaces the cororeal fireC
throu*h it the oet can arehend the *reat soul of the uni(erse+
2,
stormy A tempestuous
21
e(ery cloud has a sil(er linin* A all difficulties bring some compensations
22
to oint out A mention
23
what Aeats called Wordsworths -e*otistical su.lime
2?
unli5ely A improbable
2-
far too A much too