This task is assigned by Prof. Dilip Barad and is handled with the help of his material; you can access it by clicking here.
Introduction
William Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1800), co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, marked a seismic shift in English literature, ushering in the Romantic era with its emphasis on emotion, nature, and the common man. This manifesto challenged the ornate, artificial poetry of the 18th century, advocating for a more authentic, accessible form of expression. In this blog post, we'll explore key elements of Wordsworth's poetic philosophy, addressing his inquiry into the nature of the poet, his revolutionary ideas on language, his definition of poetry, and more. By examining these concepts with examples from his work, we can appreciate how Wordsworth democratized poetry, making it a vehicle for universal human experience.
Why "What Is a Poet?" Instead of "Who Is a Poet?”
One of the most telling questions Wordsworth poses in his Preface is "What is a poet?". He deliberately avoids asking "Who is a poet?". This isn't just a semantic game. Asking "who" would lead to a list of names. Asking "what" forces us to define the essence, the function, and the very nature of the poet.
For Wordsworth, a poet isn't some elite, divinely inspired being living in an ivory tower. Instead, he defines a poet as "a man speaking to men." This is a radical, democratic idea. The poet is one of us, a member of the human community. However, this "man" is also special. Wordsworth clarifies that he is:
"...endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness... a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind."
So, the poet is both ordinary and extraordinary. They are a fellow human who feels things more deeply, understands the human heart more intuitively, and possesses a profound empathy. Their job isn't to show off their cleverness but to connect with their fellow humans by articulating universal feelings and truths. They act as a translator for the heart.
A New Language: Wordsworth's Theory of Poetic Diction
Before Wordsworth, much of English poetry was characterized by what he called "gaudiness and inane phraseology"—a highly artificial and ornate style known as poetic diction . He argued that this style created an unnecessary barrier between the poem and the reader. In his "Preface," Wordsworth critiques this tradition, stating, “A language was thus insensibly produced, differing materially from the real language of men in any situation” . This "distorted" language, he believed, was unsuited to expressing genuine emotion and the realities of life .
In its place, Wordsworth advocated for a new kind of poetic diction rooted in simplicity and accessibility. His key principles were :
The Use of Real Language:
Poetry should employ "a selection of language really used by men" . He believed the language of humble and rustic life was particularly suitable because in that condition, passions are more direct and expressed without the influence of social vanity .
Language of Vivid Sensation:
While the language should be simple, it must also be colored by imagination and feeling . The poet selects and refines this common language to convey experiences and emotions in an immediate and powerful way .
No Essential Difference from Prose:
Wordsworth controversially claimed there is no "essential" difference between the language of prose and metrical composition . The same words can be used in both; the distinction lies in the arrangement (meter) and the heightened emotional and imaginative coloring provided by the poet .
Wordsworth's Definition of Poetry and Its Philosophical Ties
So, if a poem should use simple language and be written by an empathetic "man speaking to men," where does it actually come from? Wordsworth's most famous definition provides the answer:
"For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."
This is a two-part process that's crucial to understand.
The Spontaneous Overflow of Powerful Feelings:
This is the initial experience. The poet sees something—a field of daffodils, a solitary reaper—that triggers a powerful emotional response. It's a moment of intense, unfiltered feeling.
Emotion Recollected in Tranquility:
This is the artistic part. The poet doesn't write the poem in that first moment of overwhelming emotion. Instead, they go home, and later, in a calm and reflective state ("in tranquility"), they revisit that emotion in their memory. The initial feeling is reborn, but now it can be shaped by thought and crafted into a poem.
This process ensures the poem has both powerful, genuine emotion at its core and the thoughtful structure of art. It’s not just a raw diary entry; it’s a carefully composed piece designed to recreate a version of that original feeling for the reader.
Theory in Practice - An Analysis of "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
The poem serves as a masterclass in the practical application of Wordsworth's principles, from its choice of subject and language to its enactment of the creative process itself.
Subject Matter and Diction:
In keeping with his manifesto, Wordsworth elevates a simple, common experience—stumbling upon a field of daffodils by a lake—into a moment of profound spiritual significance. This is an incident from "common life," not a heroic or mythological tale. The language is a model of his ideal: it is clear, direct, and accessible, a "selection of language really used by men." Phrases like "lonely as a cloud," "a crowd, / A host, of golden daffodils," and "fluttering and dancing in the breeze" are simple yet powerfully evocative, avoiding the "gaudiness" of Neoclassical diction.
Embodying the Creative Process:
The poem's temporal structure is a direct dramatization of "emotion recollected in tranquility." The narrative arc of the poem perfectly mirrors the two-stage creative process outlined in the Preface.
Stanzas 1-3 (The "Spontaneous Overflow"):
The first three stanzas are written in the past tense, recounting the initial, overwhelming sensory experience. The poet describes seeing the "never-ending line" of daffodils "Tossing their heads in sprightly dance". This is the moment of pure, unanalyzed feeling. Crucially, he admits that at the time, he did not fully grasp the event's importance: "I gazed—and gazed—but little thought / What wealth the show to me had brought". This line perfectly captures the "spontaneous overflow" of feeling before it has been processed by intellectual reflection.
Stanza 4 (The "Recollection in Tranquility"):
The final stanza marks a dramatic shift to the present tense and a different setting. The poet is no longer wandering outdoors but is lying on his couch "In vacant or in pensive mood". This is the state of "tranquility." It is here that the memory of the daffodils "flash[es] upon that inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude". This is the moment of tranquil recollection, where the experience is re-lived in the mind and its true "wealth" is finally understood. The result is the birth of the second, purified emotion: "And then my heart with pleasure fills, / And dances with the daffodils." This is the very emotion that gives birth to the poem we are reading. The poem concludes at the precise moment of its own genesis.
The Poet's "Comprehensive Soul" in Action:
The poem is a testament to the poet's unique sensibility. He begins in a state of detachment and "loneliness," floating aimlessly "as a cloud". Through the power of his memory and imagination—his "inward eye"—he transforms this passive loneliness into an active and joyful "bliss of solitude". He applies a "certain coloring of imagination" by personifying the daffodils, describing them as a "crowd" and a "jocund company" that "dance" and toss their heads. This reveals the deep, empathetic connection between the poet's comprehensive soul and the living spirit of the natural world.
The Tyranny of Artificial Language
Wordsworth’s critique of the prevailing poetic style of his era was pointed and specific. When he stated, “A language was thus insensibly produced, differing materially from the real language of men in any situation,” he was referring to the dominant neoclassical tradition . This tradition favoured a highly artificial and stylized form of poetic diction that he believed had become detached from genuine human experience .
This "insensibly produced" language was characterized by several key features that Wordsworth rejected :
Personification of Abstract Ideas:
Poets would frequently personify concepts like "Sloth," "Delight," or "Want," a device Wordsworth saw as a mechanical trick to "elevate the style" rather than a natural expression of feeling .
Ornate and Inane Phraseology:
The language was often filled with elaborate, decorative words and convoluted sentence structures that obscured, rather than clarified, meaning . Wordsworth provided an example by contrasting a flowery 18th-century paraphrase of a biblical passage with the direct, powerful language of the original text from Proverbs .
Alienation from Common Speech:
This specialized poetic vocabulary created a barrier between the poet and the common reader . Wordsworth argued that by indulging in these "arbitrary and capricious habits of expression," poets were separating themselves from the sympathies of humanity and writing for a niche, fickle audience .
To illustrate his alternative, one need only look at a poem like Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey. Instead of abstract personifications, Wordsworth offers concrete, sensory details: "the quiet of the sky," "the steep and lofty cliffs," and the "wreaths of smoke... sent up, in silence, from among the trees" . The language is simple and direct, yet it conveys a profound emotional and philosophical experience without resorting to the artificial "hubbub of words" he so strongly criticized.
The Poet: "A Man Speaking to Men"
Wordsworth's view of the poet is profoundly democratic. He describes a poet as "a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness."
The poet is not a separate species of being but a fellow human. What sets the poet apart is not social rank or divine inspiration in the classical sense, but a heightened capacity for empathy and feeling. The poet:
- Has a "lively sensibility" that allows them to perceive the world more deeply.
- Feels "enthusiasm and tenderness" more profoundly than the average person.
- Possesses a "greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul."
This "comprehensive soul" allows the poet to not only feel their own emotions but to understand and voice the universal feelings of humankind. The poet finds joy in the passions and volitions of the world and has a unique ability to conjure them where they do not exist. Their purpose is to use this gift to connect with readers, to awaken their sympathies, and to reveal the fundamental truths of human experience.
The Poet's Greater Knowledge of Human Nature
The claim that “A poet has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than one supposed to be common among mankind” builds directly upon the idea of the poet's heightened sensibility . This "comprehensive soul" is the faculty that allows the poet to see beyond the surface of things and understand the deeper currents of human life.
This greater knowledge and comprehensiveness stem from several sources:
Deep and Passionate Observation:
The poet does not just see the world; they feel it. Their "lively sensibility" allows them to observe human life and nature with an intensity that yields profound insights .
The Power of Imagination:
Wordsworth believed the poet possesses a unique ability to be affected by "absent things as if they were present" . This imaginative power allows them to empathize across time and space, to understand the joys and sorrows of others, and to connect disparate experiences into a unified whole.
Reflection and Contemplation:
The poet's knowledge is not merely intuitive; it is also the product of deep thought. As seen in his definition of poetry, the process of "recollection in tranquility" allows the poet to meditate on their experiences and feelings, drawing out their universal significance .
This "comprehensive soul" is what enables the poet to create works that resonate on a universal level. They are able to tap into the fundamental truths of human nature and express them in a way that feels both personal and timeless.
The Spontaneous Overflow of Powerful Feelings
So, if a poem should use simple language and be written by an empathetic "man speaking to men," where does it actually come from? Wordsworth's most famous definition provides the answer:
"For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."
This is a two-part process that's crucial to understand.
The Spontaneous Overflow of Powerful Feelings:
This is the initial experience. The poet sees something—a field of daffodils, a solitary reaper—that triggers a powerful emotional response. It's a moment of intense, unfiltered feeling.
Emotion Recollected in Tranquility:
This is the artistic part. The poet doesn't write the poem in that first moment of overwhelming emotion. Instead, they go home, and later, in a calm and reflective state ("in tranquility"), they revisit that emotion in their memory. The initial feeling is reborn, but now it can be shaped by thought and crafted into a poem.
This process ensures the poem has both powerful, genuine emotion at its core and the thoughtful structure of art. It’s not just a raw diary entry; it’s a carefully composed piece designed to recreate a version of that original feeling for the reader.
conclusion
Wordsworth’s poetic revolution was rooted in a new understanding of the poet’s role, the purpose of poetry, and the language appropriate to both. Rejecting the artificiality and elitism of his predecessors, he championed simplicity, emotional authenticity, and democratic accessibility. For Wordsworth, the poet is a deeply feeling human being who speaks to shared experience, using language that all can understand, but with a power and clarity that few can match.
In reading Wordsworth, we encounter not just a theory of poetry, but a vision of what it means to be human—to feel deeply, to observe closely, to remember vividly, and to communicate honestly. His legacy is a poetry that celebrates the ordinary and finds the extraordinary within it, a poetry that speaks, as he intended, to all.
References
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd., Akash Press, 2005.
Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. Oxford University Press, 1953.
Abrams, M. H., editor. Wordsworth: A Collection of Critical Essays. Prentice-Hall, 1972.
Barad, Dilip. (2023). William Wordsworth's Preface to the Lyrical Ballads. 10.13140/RG.2.2.17305.39521.
Barad, Dilip. "Poet | William Wordsworth | Preface to Lyrical Ballads." YouTube, Department of English, MKBU, 2012, https://youtu.be/_G4qbdTlAa0.
Barad, Dilip. "Poetic Creed | Daffodils | William Wordsworth | Preface to Lyrical Ballads." YouTube, Department of English, MKBU, 2012, https://youtu.be/QvCiqJ2L6Xw.
Barad, Dilip. "Poetic Diction | William Wordsworth | Preface to Lyrical Ballads." YouTube, Department of English, MKBU, 2012, https://youtu.be/ajxDUfFjHb0.
Barad, Dilip. "Romanticism and Classicism | William Wordsworth | Preface to Lyrical Ballads." YouTube, Department of English, MKBU, 2012, https://youtu.be/JBiZALdl73E.
Barad, Dilip. "Summing UP | William Wordsworth | Preface to Lyrical Ballads." YouTube, Department of English, MKBU, 2012, https://youtu.be/qQkL7ucOTVE.
Cuddon, J. A. Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Penguin Books, 1977.
Hill, John Spencer, editor. The Romantic Imagination: A Selection of Critical Essays. The Macmillan Press Limited, 1977.
No comments:
Post a Comment