INTRODUCTION:-
Our life reflects through literature. 'Literature shows the direction of life’s movement’. This literature is also divided in many genres like Poem, Novel, Novella, Drama, Epic, Prose, Short-story, Song, etc. If we go genre to genre in that there were also many writers who were called as father in their category. In this blog I am going to discuss one of the famous genre poetry and Father of the Romantic poetry William Wordsworth, a Romantic Poet.
William Wordsworth born on 7th April 1770, Cockermouth, Cumberland, England and died on 23rd April 1850, Rydal Mount, Westmoreland. He was the second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson. Wordsworth's father was a legal representative of James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale. He is one of the pioneers in beginning the romantic moment with Samuel Tyler Coleridge (1772-1834). Wordsworth was Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death from pleurisy on 23 April 1850. The Monarch of that time was Queen Victoria. He was Preceded by Robert Southey and Succeeded by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Mary Hutchinson was considered as his wife. He has one girl child named Dorothy "Dora" Wordsworth. His major works are as follows:-
Here is a video on William Wordsworth, maybe it helps you to understand him more clearly.
1 - WHAT IS POETRY?
"Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."
- William Wordsworth
That means one cannot plan a poem, it comes naturally with overflowing powerful feelings. According to Wordsworth, there are four stages in the creation of poetry of a true poet:-
- Observation
- Recollection
- Contemplation
- Creation
WORDSWORTH'S POETIC THEORY :-
Wordsworth was profoundly influenced by the French Revolution it's slogan 'Liberty, equality, and fraternity.' The three magic terms were one of the triggers for Wordsworth to break away from the rule bound poetry of the previous Neo-classical age into a whole new poetic theory of 'inner evidence of sensation and spontaneous feeling.'
Found the need of writing the preface in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads to respond to the question raised to his advent of a new type of poetry. which is preface he has put for his point of you and remove the bitter criticism of his poems. Secondly, he made readers aware about the different type of poetry he had composed to make them understand his poetry. Lastly, he wanted to re-establish Shakespeare in Milton over 'frantic novels, sickly and stupid German tragedies, and flood of idle and extravagant stories in verse'.
Wordsworth gives a voluminous explanation on the meaning of the word 'poet' and 'what is poet?' rather than 'who is poet?' he says a poet is a man speaking to man, affluent with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and delicacy, who has a greater knowledge of human nature, who knows how other man are feeling, who knows how my writing affect them, and a more capacious soul. Who deeply knows and who rejoices, more than other men in the spirit of life, habitually urged to create volition, passion and situations where he does not find them.
William Wordsworth speak about it in preface of Lyrical Ballads that,
"He is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endued with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind; a man pleased with his own passions and volitions, and who rejoices more than other men in the spirit of life that is in him; delighting to contemplate similar volitions and passions as manifested in the goings-on of the universe, and habitually impelled to create them where he does not find them."
R.A. Scott-James calls it 'The Summum Bonum of the poet's life'.
Through this lines Wordsworth gave his point of view that poet should be one who know to write on that Something comes from the heart. The general people don't have that sense and inner understanding. A poet is more happy and delightful than the ordinary person. And he should know to make how to make volition where he does not find it. He should please with his own passion. And most importantly he should have the great knowledge of human nature and personality that how my writing affect everyone.
Here is a video on this topic coverd by Professor Dilip Barad and Dr. Sanjay.
In his works Preface to Lyrical Ballads an essay, he addresses his point of view and meaning of poetic diction.
If we look at the dictionary meaning of poetic diction it simply means 'choice of words' which used as a style by or in the particular poet and poem. Here Wordsworth, poetic diction means, 'a selection of language really used by men' specially man of 'humble and rustic life' to make the poetry more interesting, popular among common readers and to give poetic pleasure to all. He avoids poetic diction of the previous age, he doesn't support the idea of using artificial metaphors and other figure of speech or any other device to decorate the poem or to make the style higher.
Wordsworth also described that there is no difference between language of prose and poetry. The arrangement or order of words used in the best poetry can also be found in the prose. Only the use of metre can differentiate the difference between the poetry and prose. According to him, readers can easily follow the rules of metre. It does not make any interference with the passion of readers.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
The poem I wondered lonely as a cloud also know as Daffodils. The poem does describe the beauty and power of the flowers. Daffodils ultimately turns out to be a beautiful, dramatic lyric on the poets spiritual conversation in the company of nature. Daffodils based on a real life experience of the poet and his sister Dorothy helps him to write it. This poem was composed in 1807.
The poet narrates his experience when he used to wander as a cloud on the highest pick of hills and vales. During his wandering he happened to see a lot of yellow flowers which tall stems and long narrow leaves. They were Daffodils. There were spread around lake, beneath the trees. When he saw the Daffodils he feels like Daffodils are dancing with the breeze. It also shows that daffodils enriches the beauty of nature. Than Wordsworth compared daffodils with shining star. In a milky way there are thousands of stars like that there were large number of Daffodils. The Daffodils were becoming more and more beautiful and shining brightly with flashes of light.
In last the poet says his personal experience. When he is alone lying in his sofa and having serious mood, suddenly he thinks of his past experience of looking Daffodils. This experience gives him a lot of pressure, bliss and happiness. He immediately forgets that he is alone and having serious mood. And that's how he tells us that only nature has that capacity to convert human being from unhappiness to highest bliss.
Through this poem and brief introduction of the poem that what in this poem and how it came to existence clearly shows the poetic creed of Wordsworth. His belief that poetry must be with full of emotions and spontaneity. He described his highest emotions in this poem.
NOTE:- If you find any problem or question or suggestions please let me know ☺️ some of the information are collected from the different sources which I mentioned after the perticular lines.
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