Generations after influential writers have surpassed the peak of their literary career, it is typical to continue inspiration upon the following writing successors. In terms of the proclaimed "second generation Romantic writers", the "first generation" was extremely inspiring and important to the descendants of this type of writing and, essentially, this way of life. Upon further analysis of the poems addressed to Wordsworth by both Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, it is apparent that there is both a sense of bitterness and lovingness intertwined within the respective lines of prose. The depiction of William Wordsworth found within both Percy and Mary Shelley's designated poems are affectionately used to accentuate their own poetic ability and writing profession.
Quite commonly in published literary history, writers will use their idols to construct goals and ideals for themselves in terms of their present and future career. Frequently distinguishable in the second generation of Romantic poets, the previous generation was often times placed on a pedestal. Even more prominent in relating the second generation and their romanticizing of the first generation, is the use or mentioning of the ancestors and their infamous works. However, the second generation had a hard time attempting to follow up the immense success of the first generation, largely due to the drastic differences in their separate worlds. As a second generation poet, the influential writers of the previous generation were practically as colourful and intelligent as possible. Therefore, to be related in any manner to one of these poets gave the second generation great joy. For those writers who were not connected with an idol through the eyes of a fellow poet or potential audience, many used their own works to express the similarities between themselves and their favourite first generation poet. For Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and her husband Percy Shelley, this was none other than William Wordsworth. Their highest regarded association poems were entitled, respectively, On Reading Wordsworth's Lines on Peele Castle, and To Wordsworth. While the two poems express very different qualities viewed in Wordsworth, they present similarities in their feelings towards Wordsworth's ultimate status, and share unadulterated underlying tones.
Throughout On Reading Wordsworth's Lines on Peele Castle, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley has provided a minor attitude of resentment towards the direction of her attention. More overpoweringly though, is her immeasurable regard of William Wordsworth in terms of poetic hierarchy. It is apparent to her audience that she respects Wordsworth, especially at the height of his career.
Blake and Wordsworth both used their childhood experiences as a basis for their poetry. In the...
Wordsworth, William. Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. M. H. Abrams Gen. ed. New York, London: Norton. 2 vols. 1993.
Percy Bysshe Shelley died before seeing how influential and glorified his work would become. Shelley lived during the late 18th and early 19th century, during the industrial revolution. Seeing the evolving world, Shelley wrote for nothing more than to deliver urgent messages concerning humanity, humanity’s future, and who the powers at be should be. Shelley didn’t see the glory he deserved during his lifetime because his radical views of anti-tyranny were expressed in his poetry, driving them to underground distribution, but after his death he inspired countless other literary artists including including Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, and Upton Sinclair and became regarded as a major romantic poet. Shelley exchanged his ideas with a group of visionary
William Wordsworth, like Blake, was linked with Romanticism. In fact, he was one of the very founders of Romanticism. He wrote poems are about nature, freedom and emotion. He was open about how he felt about life and what his life was like. Also, Wordsworth wrote poems about the events going on around him ? for instance the French Revolution. Mainly, Wordsworth wrote about nature, however, rarely used simple descriptions in his work. Instead, Wordsworth wrote complexly, for example in his poem ?Daffodils?.
One of the most popular American poets is Walt Whitman. Whitman’s poetry has become a rallying cry for Americans, asking for individuality, self-approval, and even equality. While this poetry seems to be truly groundbreaking, which it objectively was, Whitman was influenced by the writings of others. While Whitman may not have believed in this connection to previous authors, critics have linked him to Emerson, Poe, and even Carlyle. However, many critics have ignored the connection between Walt Whitman and the English writer William Wordsworth. A major proponent of Romanticism, Wordsworth’s influence can be seen in Whitman 's poetry through a Romantic connection. Despite differences in form, one can see William Wordsworth’s influence on Walt
Stephen Gill, editor. The Oxford Authors: William Wordsworth, pp. 67-80. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
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.
Peters, John G. “Wordsworth’s TINTERN ABBEY” The Explicator(Washington) , Winter 2003, Vol. 61, Iss. 2, pg. 77 : eLibrary. Web 05 Mar 2002
William Wordsworth is a British poet who is associated with the Romantic movement of the early 19th century. Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. Wordsworth’s mother died when he was seven years old, and he was an orphan at 13. This experience shapes much of his later work. Despite Wordsworth’s losses, he did well at Hawkshead Grammar School, where he firmly established his love of poetry. After Hawkshead, Wordsworth studied at St. John’s College in Cambridge and before his final semester, he set out on a walking tour of Europe, an experience that influenced both his poetry.
...dly had a profound effect on poetry during their celebrated writing careers. They took a new direction to poetry, which in short, brought it to the mainstream. In this regard, they opened the door to poetry for many people who had never been exposed to it. The Romantic ?Revolution? sparked numerous writings and forever changed the way poetry was written. In essence, what Wordsworth and Coleridge did was make poetry more about himself or herself rather than the epic style of Dante or Homer. They wrote about what they knew best, their own personal experiences.
William was a kin to Dorothy Wordsworth and four other siblings yet he and Dorothy were the closest. Dorothy was a poet and diarist, she was known for starting a poetry tour in Scotland the year of 1803 (“Harold”). William was said to be on the tour with his sister and their good friend Samuel Coleridge ("Recollections”). Most of the places they had gone to on their carriage ride were not accessible therefore, they had to walk. The Scottish expedition that they went on was also known as the romantic Counterpart ("Recollections”). Dorothy was one of the main writers of the romantic expedition along with Samuel Johnson and James Boswell. Yet, you can argue that William wrote this from his perspective and not from the writings of another.
Both Shelley, in "Ode to the West Wind," and Wordsworth, in "Intimations of Immortality," are very similar in their use of nature to describe the life and death of the human spirit. As they both describe nature these two poets use the comparison of how the Earth and all its life is the same as our own human life. I feel that Shelley uses the seasons as a way of portraying the human life during reincarnation. Wordsworth seems to concentrate more on the stages that a person goes through during life. Shelley compares himself to such things as clouds, leaves, and waves. He is writing the poem as if he were an object of the earth, and what it is like to once live and then die only to be reborn. On the other hand, Wordsworth takes images like meadows, fields, and birds and uses them to show what gives him life. Life being what ever a person needs to move on, and with out those objects can't have life. Wordsworth does not compare himself to these things like Shelley, but instead uses them as an example of how he feels about the stages of living. Starting from an infant to a young boy into a man, a man who knows death is coming and can do nothing about it because it's part of life.
...eople that are from two different classes could talk about one poem and how they feel about it. This really changed the how poetry was viewed considering Wordsworth was one of the best of his time other poets look at what he was doing and responded to his actions and thoughts. Wordsworth explores common themes of the romantic era and makes them apparent to his readers by finding something important to the common man and using common diction.
Durrant, Geoffrey. Wordsworth and the Great System, A Study of Wordsworth’s Poetic Universe. Cambridge: University Printing House, 1970.
"The Poetry of William Wordsworth." SIRS Renaissance 20 May 2004: n.p. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 06 February 2010.