‘It is often suggested that the source for many of William Wordsworth’s poems lies in the pages of Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal. Quite frequently, Dorothy describes an incident in her journal, and William writes a poem about the same incident, often around two years later.’ It is a common observation that whilst Dorothy is a recorder – ‘her face was excessively brown’ – William is a transformer – ‘Her skin was of Egyptian brown’ . The intertextuality between The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals and ‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’ allows both Dorothy and William to write about the same event, being equally as descriptive, but in very differing ways. Dorothy writes in a realist ‘log-book’ like style, whereas William writes in a romantic ballad style. This can be very misleading, as it gives William’s work more emotional attachment even though his work is drawn upon Dorothy’s diary, which in its turn is very detached, including little personal revelation. When read in conjunction with William’s poetry, Dorothy’s journal seems to be a set of notes written especially for him by her. In fact, from the very beginning of the journals Dorothy has made it quite clear that she was writing them for William’s ‘pleasure’ . This ties in with many of the diary entries in which she has described taking care of William in a physical sense. In a way this depicts the manner in which William uses his sister’s journal to acquire the subject of his poetry, which makes it seem as though Dorothy is his inspiration. Unlike her brother, Dorothy seems to be less solitary in her experiences, her accounts of what happened and who was with her are less personal than William’s. Dorothy tends to include everyone who surrounded her at that point and time – ‘We [Dorothy and her brother William] were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park’ – whereas William makes it a companionless experience, he forgets everyone that may have been sharing the moment with him – ‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’ . This, in conjunction with the use of imagery, similes and personification, not only makes William’s poems more accessible to a wide range of readers but it also adds character and personality, whereas Dorothy’s journal tends to be more reserved and closed to interpretation. Although both use semantic field of nature, William’s use is more affective as it conveys emotion, passion and attachment to his work.
...xperiences of their readers. The poems express critical and serious issues that surround the heartfelt childhood memories of the readers. The surrounding circumstances and situations are different in each household. The readers are personally drawn to feel expressions of abuse, emotional issues and confusion as the poets draw them into a journey through their own personal life experiences from childhood to adulthood. These experiences are carried throughout a person’s life. Readers are somewhat forced to immediately draw themselves closer to the characters and can relate to them on a personal level.
‘Brothers’ written by Andrew Forster is an autobiographical poem and is written in three stanzas which account for three different stages in the narrators’ afternoon. This poem explores the relationship between two siblings which can subsequently be compared with George and Lennie’s relationship. The ‘Farmers Bride’ is another poem which can be compared with ‘Of Mice and Men’ this poem explores the nature of the famers ‘bride’ and can also be interpreted to indicate that the poem is a metaphor for the way women are treated in Mews society? Charlotte Mew lived through the First World War and the women suffrage therefore it can be collated that her writing was influenced by the events in her time both historically and socially. In addition to this her personal life has an impact too as she made a pact never to marry because her family went through a tough time- they were mentally ill. Therefore she did not want insanity to be passed on to her children. Nonetheless Mew was bisexual and in her time period homosexuality was illegal, these things in her time period could be considered a source of stimulation for the deception in the poem. The third poem which links with ‘Of Mice and Men’ is ‘Hour’ by Carol Ann Duffy which explores the nature of love not typical richness of love but how spending time with a loved one is priceless and valuable. ...
Furthermore, Wordsworth’s assertion of feelings as the effects of an action or a situation, which means that actions should influence the emotions of the character and not the other way around, is dissimilar to The Raven’s character’s feeling of desperation in which he succumbed to his distress. However, the lesson derived from the bizarre workings of the human mind in preferring more devotion to the pain for the sake of “preserving the memory,” as “The Raven” illustrates, exposes to us how a particular person behaves towards grief. The statement thus proves in relation to Coleridge’s statement of the readers’ elicitation of the poem is more significant than the poem itself (in reference to his emphasis on the importance of the “Return”). Another variation between Wordsworth and Coleridge is that the former claims that the writer must bring the language near to the language of men, whilst the latter believes that the language of poetry should beautiful and elevated. “The Raven” in this case
(ll. 19-24) Wordsworth’s famous and simple poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” expresses the Romantic Age’s appreciation for the beauty and truth that can be found in a setting as ordinary as a field of daffodils. With this final stanza, Wordsworth writes of the mind’s ability to carry those memories of nature’s beauty into any setting, whether city or country. His belief in the power of the imagination and the effect it can have on nature, and vice a versa, is evident in most of his work. This small
Dalloway and Preface to Lyrical Ballads and Wordworth’s and Woolf’s texts are similar in Essay on Criticism and Tragedy and the Emotions of Pity and Fear, also how modern poetry would relate to Wordsworth’s poetry, and how Woolf’s poetry can only be written dramatically. Woolf and Wordsworth wrote their life experiences. They wanted to make their writings very personable to the reader, so that one could read their piece and find a way to relate their life to the text. Also, if Wordsworth’s followers were to write poetry it would compare with music. Music is poetry with a beat and tune. Then lastly, Woolf is very dramatic when it comes to her texts. She makes sure to include numerous characters, in which have a conflict. With this form of writing she, not only grasps the reader’s attention more the amount of suspense, but she also creates a story that others can relate too. Poetry is such a diverse topic, with each poet have a certain method or style preferred to than another, and others prefer different subjects. Although, each poem has one detail in common. Each has a lasting impact on the reader or the student studying the intricate literature. Perkins stated it perfectly, “Though many still roll their eyes at the idea of poetry, there is no disputing its impact on modern society.” As soon as one thinks they have poetry figured out, they
Wordsworth uses figurative language when he says, “I wandered lonely as a cloud “ He started with a nostalgic diction used the word “lonely” with a negative connotation of being alone, “cloud” floating by himself. Then he shifted to joyful diction as he notices a field of daffodils, “ When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;” Wordsworth is able to get out of his somber mood when he saw "golden daffodils," because he appreciates the beauty in nature . Equally, he illustrates in detail images of the daffodils, “And twinkle on the milky way,” “Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” , "Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance." William Wordsworth is saying that the field full of flowers looks more like a sky filled with starts , when he writes that they were “tossing their heads “gives us the feeling of people dancing at a party . As a result, I can imagine the daffodils blowing in the wind, he helped me to create and impressive image of the daffodils; this is so far my favorite imagery of his
To show their audience that their appreciation for nature is very strong and dear, both authors use diction to describe the beauty and feeling of being surrounded by nature. In his poem, William
Despite his position, Wordsworth can hear the “soft island murmur” of the mountain springs. As “five long winters” suggests, Wordsworth is cold and dreary—London, we must remember, is a bitter place. He longs for the islands: the sand, sun, and warm waters that those murmurs suggest. The coldness of winter could be brought about by Rebecca’s distance from her brother; they had been, at the time of the poem’s writing, separate for five long years. But he can hear reconciliation coming just at the edge of hearing: he can spot the horizon of friendship. But no sooner does friendship appear in the poem than it is thwarted by these lines:
Five different situations are suggested in "Lines" each divided into separate sections. The first section details the landscape around the abbey, as Wordsworth remembers it from five years ago. The second section describes the five-year lapse between visits to the abbey, during which he has thought often of his experience there. The third section specifies Wordsworth's attempt to use nature to see inside his inner self. The fourth section shows Wordsworth exerting his efforts from the preceding stanza to the landscape, discovering and remembering the refined state of mind the abbey provided him with. In the final section, Wordsworth searches for a means by which he can carry the experiences with him and maintain himself and his love for nature. .
John Wright sets the scene at another’s farm, lying in a hammock; the poem comes across as being in a conscious dreamlike state. The butterfly is asleep and blowing like a leaf- Wright paints these dreamy images of nature, his mind moving from the butterfly to the empty house to the retreating cowbells, to the horse golden droppings, to the time of day, and to the lone hawk. Each example, each personification blurs the line between human and non human life, the edge of reality. Every line, every image- sight or sound- is held with higher regard, ever building on the last. Each phrase is a critical part of the process, no note should go disregarded. Not the two trees, or the horse droppings beautified, not even the title should go without a pause and a thought.
Wordsworth's Poetry A lot of literature has been written about motherhood. Wordsworth is a well known English poet who mentions motherhood and female strength in several of his poems, including the Mad Mother, The Thorn, and The Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman. This leads some critics to assume that these poems reflect Wordsworth's view of females. Wordsworth portrays women as dependent on motherhood for happiness, yet he also emphasizes female strength.
First of all, Dorothy Wordsworth traveled with her brother a lot in the early 1800's; during this time she kept a journal and wrote, in rich details, about the landscape. Although she wrote predominately with a picturesque tone, she made an effort to pay attention to the sharp, jarring contrasts in nature, like crags, rough edges, and precipices. William Snyder's essay "Mother Nature's Other Natures: Landscape in Women's Writing, 1770-1830" suggests that it was Dorothy's intention to use the paradoxes in nature to focus on Nature's contrast. Snyder's source for his theory comes from his close readings of Dorothy's journals; he explains that her language and vocabulary are picturesque, but that she "presents Nature in need of care" (146). Snyder infers that for Dorothy, "maternal care flows out from the human heart, not to it from above or beyond" (146). Snyder comments that Dorothy made a point of highlighting the irregularities in nature and draws her inspiration on the irony of ordered chaos. Snyder concludes that Dorothy likens Nature to a dress-maker, the "female as pattern-maker" (148). He suggests that she places emphasis on what "the hands, not the breasts, do" (148). Snyder also points out that Dorothy usually referred to Nature with "the impersonal pronoun 'it,' and not with 'she' or 'her'" (147); Snyder believes that Dorothy deliberately "overlooks possibilities for maternal symbolism or personification" (147). Dorothy does not view maternality with fertility and bounty, but with "protection and intimacy" (148). However, she does use the feminine pronoun in some of her works, but Snyder explains that "she," the metaphoric woman, is a "craftsperson, not a mother" (147).
In the latter part of the romantic period, Wordsworth, as a part of his lyrical ballads, wrote “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal.” Although not initially intended, the poem eventually became part of a series labeled as the “Lucy Poems.” The five poems, in some way or another, address loss, separation, and their connection to nature. Recent analyses have yielded interesting results in interpreting the poem. Because of the ambiguity present within the lines, varying interpretations have emerged.
When a man becomes old and has nothing to look forward to he will always look back, back to what are called the good old days. These days were full of young innocence, and no worries. Wordsworth describes these childhood days by saying that "A single Field which I have looked upon, / Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"(190) Another example of how Wordsworth uses nature as a way of dwelling on his past childhood experiences is when he writes "O joy! That in our embers / Is something that doth live, / That nature yet remembers / What was so fugitive!" (192) Here an ember represents our fading years through life and nature is remembering the childhood that has escaped over the years. As far as Wordsworth and his moods go I think he is very touched by nature. I can picture him seeing life and feeling it in every flower, ant, and piece of grass that crosses his path. The emotion he feels is strongly suggested in this line "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." (193) Not only is this showi...
His poem recognizes the ordinary and turns it into a spectacular recollection, whose ordinary characteristics are his principal models for Nature. As Geoffrey H. Hartman notes in his “Wordsworth’s poetry 1787-1814”, “Anything in nature stirs [Wordsworth] and renews in turn his sense of nature” (Hartman 29). “The Poetry of William Wordsworth” recalls a quote from the Prelude to Wordsworth’s 1802 edition of Lyrical ballads where they said “[he] believed his fellow poets should "choose incidents and situations from common life and to relate or describe them.in a selection of language really used by men” (Poetry). In the shallowest sense, Wordsworth is using his view of the Tintern Abbey as a platform or recollection, however, this ordinary act of recollection stirs within him a deeper understanding.