William Wordsworth

Lecture Outline

1.Appreciation: I wondered lonely as a cloud. She Dwelt among the

Untrodden Ways2.Summary of Wordsworth’s poetics3.Romanticism and Lake Poets 4.Wordsworth’s literary position5. Criticism on William Wordsworth

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud(To Daffodils)

I wandered lonely as a cloudThat 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.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

The waves beside them danced; but they

Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;A poet could not but be gay;In such a jocund company;I gazed-and gazed-but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had

brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Questions for Discussion

1. What is your general impression on this poem?

2. What does the image of cloud suggest to you?

3. What has cheered the poet up?4. What has the poet meditated from

what he has described? And the theme?

5. Do you think that nature can have the healing effect on mind?

6. Pay attention to the tense used in this poem. What does it indicate?

Question 1

What is your general impression on this poem?

Question 2

What does the image of cloud suggest to you? Loneliness, isolation, solitude, aimlessness,

aloofness I wandered lonely as a cloud---loneliness That floats on---aimlessness High over vales and hills---solitude, isolation

Cloud represents the feelings of the speaker (the poet) essentially.

Question 3

What has cheered the poet up? And how?

a host of golden daffodils, fluttering, dancing and glittering daffodils Shine and twinkle as the stars Stretched endlessly The cloud-like poet is deeply attracted by

the beauty of the nature and turns to be high-spirited, instead of being lonely any more.

Question 4

What has the poet meditated from what he has described? And the theme?

In loneliness or in low spirit, the recollection of the nature beauty brings him “the bliss” and “pleasure” in his heart.

Therefore the idea of going back to nature is advocated and clearly expressed in this

poem.

Question 5

Do you think that nature can have the healing effect on mind?

Question 6

Pay attention to the tense used in this poem. What does it indicate?

past tense

the recollection of the past experience will arouse a new sense of the old memories

“what wealth the show to me had brought”“the bliss of solitude/ flash upon that inward

eye”

Quotes

“ Poetry takes its origin from emotion recollections in tranquility…

tranquil contemplation of an emotional experience matures the feeling and sensation, and makes possible the creation of good poetry like the mellow of old wine”.

----- William Wordsworth

Summary of the poem

What does the poem impress you most?

Use of image Vivid description of nature Daily language

She dwelt among the untrodden ways

Beside the springs of Dove,

live never be stepped on

She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways

A maid whom there were none to praise

And very few to love

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways

A violet by a mossy toneHalf hidden from the eye!---Fair as a star, when only oneIs shining in the sky.

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways

She lived unknown, and few could know

When Lucy ceased to be;But she is in her grave, and, oh,The difference to me!

died

Questions for Discussion

1. What are the three stanzas about? 2. What’s significance of the girl to the

speaker “I”? 3. If we omit the second stanza, what

has left in the poem? What’s the function of the second stanza?

4. Why does the speaker compare Lucy to a violet, not a rose?

5. Do you think the image of star is contradictory to the image of violet?

Question 1

What are the three stanzas about?

In memory of a country-girl named Lucy An elegy : a lyric poem lamenting the

death of a friend or public figure, or reflecting seriously on a solemn subject

------Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms

Question 2

What’s significance of the girl to the speaker “I”? How do you know?

Lucy lived unknown and few to love She is important and her death is a great

shock to “me”. A violet, fair as a star shining in the sky When she ceased to me,/ the difference to

me

Question 3

If we omit the second stanza, what has left in the poem?

She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; But she is in her grave, and, oh, The difference to me!

Narration left; in regular rhyme scheme: abab cdcd Lucy lived remote from the world, and her death passed

unnoticed. Yet, Lucy’s passing made no difference to the world, it has made all the difference to her lover.

Question 3

What’s the function of the second stanza? Core stanza Lyric by using two dominant images1) Violet half hidden2) Star shining in the sky

Question 4

Why does the speaker compare Lucy to a violet, not a rose? The rose will not do to supply a vague

enhancement to Lucy. Lucy’s natural charm, like that of the violet, was derived from her modesty. She, too, was “half-hidden from the eye”, obscure and unnoticed.

Question 5

The prominence of the star suggests Venus as evening star, normally the first star to shine forth after the sunset. Do you think the image of star is contradictory to the image of violet? Paradoxical? Violet-Lucy: obscure, modest to the world Star-Lucy: bright and unmatched to the eye of her

lover: no contradiction!

Episode Summary

We notice that the imagery is not something additional---merely decorative. If poetry does bring together idea and emotion, rendering an experience dramatically in concrete terms, then stanza 2 of the poem is the core---the very heart---of the poem.

Wordsworth’s poetry

What are the main features of Wordsworth’s poetry? back to nature deep love of nature appeal to individual sensations attention to humble folk of rural life simplicity and purity in language

Wordsworth’s Poetics 1

Definition: A good poetry is the spontaneous overflow

of powerful feelings. Function of poetry: The function of poetry lies in its power to

give an unexpected splendor to familiar and commonplace things.

Wordsworth’s Poetics 2

Subject of matter: ordinary peasants, children, ever

outcasts, all may be used as subjects in poetical creation. (common people)

On language: real language of men

Comparison between Wordsworth and Pope’s poetics

William Wordsworth

Alexander Pope

Poetry definition

Overflow of powerful feelings

Lacked lyric giftSkills in versification in heroic couple

Function of poetry

Unexpected splendor to familiar things

DidacticSatiric

Subject matter

Nature and humble people

Upper class of city life

language Simple words in daily language

Smooth, balanced and concise in elegant diction

Pope’s famous lines

I corrected because it was as pleasant to me to correct as to write.

What oft was thought, but never so well expressed.

To err is human, to forgive, divine. For fools rush in where angles fear to tread. Hope springs eternal in human breast. A little learning is a dangerous thing. The proper study of mankind is man.

Wordsworth’s other works

Short lyrics: Lines Written in Early SpringTo the CuckooMy Heart Leaps upThe Solitary Reaper We are SevenLucy PoemsLines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey

Wordsworth’s main works

Long narrative poem Prelude 1) Autobiographic 2) Philosophic 3) Expression of his poetics on imagination 4) In blank verse

William Wordsworth’s Literary Position

A leader of English Romanticism

A lake poet Poet of nature

English Romanticism

Time: It prevailed in England during the

period 1798—1832; Beginning: Lyrical Ballads in 1798End: death of Walter Scott in 1832

English Romanticism

Main features: Imagination Imagination is the supreme faculty of the

mind. Imagination can change and create. Imagination can unify different elements

into a complex whole. Suggested poemThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge

English Romanticism

Idealization of Nature Nature has a healing power. Nature is a source of subject and image. Nature is a refuge from the artificial

constructs of civilization. "that Nature never did betray the heart that

loved her." ---WordsworthSuggest poemWordsworth’s Tintern Abbey

English Romanticism

Individualism Man is the center of all concern. Romanticists emphasized the dignify of man

and the importance of the present life. Man is an individual in a solitary state. Romanticists valued the exploration and

evaluation of the inner self.Suggest poem:George Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

Quote

“I am not made like anyone I have seen; I dare believe that I am not made like anyone in existence. If I am not superior, at least I am different.”

------Jean Jacques Rousseau ( 法 : 让 -雅克 -卢梭 )

English Romanticism

Glorification of the commonplace materials: the natural, the commonplace,

the simple common incidents and situations natural diction and languageSuggested poem: The Solitary Reaper by Wordsworth

English Romanticism

The lure of the exotic Wordsworth and Coleridge: lived by the

riverside Byron and Shelly: self-imposed exile expanded the imaginary horizons spatially and

chronologically ---the middle ages ---the distant places allow free play to the supernaturalSuggested poem:Coleridge’s Kubla Khan

English Romanticism

Representatives: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Byron and Keats

English Romanticism

William Wordsworth’s ContemporizesThe Lake Poets

The Lake Poets: William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge Robert Southey

They lived in the Lake District in the northwestern part of England.

They traversed the same path in politics and in poetry, beginning as radicals and ending up as conservatives.

Lake District

Lake District

Wordsworth’s birthplace in Cockermouth, Cumberland

Grasmere in Lake District and Dove Cottage

Dove Cottage

Old Residence of William Wordsworth

in Rydal Mount

William Wordsworth’s Change

From 1787-91, aroused by the French Revolution In 1790-92, twice visited France In 1973, disheartened by the outbreak of hostilities

between France and Britain. The rise of Napoleon (1799-1814): France invaded

other Europeans countries, revealing the desire for Empire instead of desire of liberty.

He gave up his former political enthusiasm and turned to be conservative in politics.

He retired to the northern lake district and lived in seclusion for a full half century.

He was made poet laureate in 1843. He died in 1850 at the age of 80.

Gravestone of Wordsworth, Grasmere

Criticism on William Wordsworth

In honored poverty thy voice did weave

Songs consecrate to truth and liberty—

Deserting these, thou leavest me to grieve,

Thus having been, that thou shouldest cease to be.

-------by Percy Shelley

Nearly all Wordsworth’s good poetry was written during the first decade of his literary career (1798-1807), when he still kept his early, political enthusiasm or at least retained some contact with the real life of his time.

Passive Romanticists ?

elder generation: Coleridge and Wordsworth

Younger generation: Byron and Shelley

Comparison between Wordsworth and Tao Qian

采菊东篱下，悠然见南山。山气日夕佳，飞鸟相与还。此中有真意，欲辩已忘言。

中西诗歌比较

西诗以直率胜，中诗以委婉胜；西诗以深刻胜，中诗以微妙胜；西诗以铺陈胜，中诗以简隽胜。

----朱光潜：《诗论》之中西诗歌情趣比较

Homework for next lecture

Appreciate the poem The Isles of Greece by Byron and try to answer the following questions:

1 ) What kind of feeling does Byron express in the poem?

2) What are the artistic features of the poem? 3) What is Byronic hero?4) What is ottava rima?5) to State Byron’s literary achievement.6) to Compare Byron with Wordsworth and then

state the differences between the elder and younger generation of English Romanticists.