Wordsworth(b)

1. According to Wordsworth, most readers have a specific set of characteristics that they ascribe to poetry. These characteristics include fanciful or performative language, with more subtle reference to the ultimate meaning implied by the poet. Additionally, readers are used to being prefaced with what specific rules of poetry the poet will be following and not following(though not as explicitly as Wordsworth) such as those of meter. Finally, readers are used to characters and societies of poems to be presented through the lens of their current hierarchies and values- and thus will also ascribe to them in their writing. (“It is supposed that by the act of writing in verse an author makes a formal engagement that he will gratify certain known habits of association; that he not only thus apprizes the reader that certain classes of ideas and expressions will be found in this book, but that others will be carefully excluded.” Pg. 137)
a. The poems in the Lyrical Ballads differ from the rules which are expected of poetry at that time, in various ways. Wordsworth addresses the ambiguity of his poetic divergence by stating, “I will not take it upon me to determine the exact import of the promise which by the act of writing in verse an author, in the present day makes to the reader; but I am certain, it will appear to many persons that I have not fulfilled the terms of an engagement thus voluntarily contracted.” Pg. 137. However, in more specific terms he defines that his poetry will be written in the common-language of men whom often comprise the middle class, and will as such address things in the manner they would also- directly, simply, and in a way that he finds more “permanent” (Pg. 138). Thus, his occupation is not to burden the poems he writes with numerous implications, but rather to write reflectively on their meaning- and to present the aspects of normal life in a novel and ‘purposeful’ way. He writes on page 139, that this purpose will be “…to, illustrate the manner in which our feelings and ideas are associated in a state of excitement.”.
b. Wordsworth provides numerous examples of the everyday objects/subjects that will be traced through his poetry on page 139. Such as, the nuances of motherly love, the ponderances and trials of a human as they’re about to die, how children view death- and the fact that this is not widely accepted in society, brotherly bonds formed by nature, and natural tendencies of humans not formed by society.

2. Wordsworth processes feelings through poetry, but moreover through thought- which he proclaims as memories of past feelings. Additionally, the opposite is true to him- our ideas are processed by our feelings just as our experiences are, which thus affect our present and future experiences. (“For our continued influxes of feeling are modified and directed by our thoughts, which are indeed representatives of all our past feelings…” Pg.139)
a. I believe Wordsworth thinks the purpose of this is to hone our own understanding of how the external world effects our internal state of being. To explain, I think Wordsworth views the paradoxical relationship between the intrinsic and extrinsic influences on a person as a dichotic balance which feeds into a sort of feedback mechanism. Eventually, an equilibrium will be reached, but until then we will continue to need to process our thoughts through feelings. So when there is an excess amount of feeling, we express this through intense outpourings of thought, or poetry. Wordsworth extrapolates the purpose of his poetry on this regard, writing, “… it to follow the fluxes and refluxes of the mind when agitated by the great and simple affections of our nature.” (pg. 139).
b. Wordsworth regarded industrialization as an obstacle which worked against the poetic process. On page 140 he writes, “… the increasing accumulation of men in cities, where the uniformity of their occupations produces a craving for extraordinary incident, which the rapid communication of intelligence hourly gratifies.”. Essentially, the mundanity of urbanization had led to a thirst for escapism- or fantasy, which leads away from acceptance and glorification of the simple or novel perspectives on the everyday life. This leads to conformity of expression, and thus negates (especially Wordsworth’s) poetry.

3. A poet, in Wordsworth’s opinion, is someone that has the gift of insight and articulation. While before, this gift was conveyed through the specific jargon which perpetuated classism and social constructs- Wordsworth argues that it is simply the passion a poet is able to channel and express that identifies him as one. Furthermore, he views the poet as connection between Men and their emotions. In a way, he almost argues that the poet is a bit of an empathetic median between the passions and despairs of the world, and the more analytical and logic-bound minds of the average man. He discusses this deeply on page 143, writing “However exalted a notion we would wish to cherish of the characteristics of a poet, it is obvious, that, while he describes and imitates passions, his situation is altogether slavish and mechanical, compared with the freedom and power of real and substantial action and suffering.”. In this excerpt, he is referencing the work of the poet, as one that is purely communicative. In many instances, it requires transgression of the poet outside of his present state into the more ‘passion’-oriented, or emotionally honed state of mind. In this state of ‘delusion’, the poet is able to truly embody the state which he needs to comprehend the passions which he is sensing. This is connected back to the argument of language, and how this is the ultimate expression of feelings, on page 143, when Wordsworth writes, “…it is impossible for the poet to produce upon all occasions language as exquisitely fit for the passion as that which the passion itself suggests, it is proper that he should consider himself as in the situation of a translator…”. Wordsworth is communicating through this quote that, as there is no direct and accurate translation of the same phrase between two languages, the same is true between language and emotion- the poet must use a more accurate, though still inadequate, phraseology to express himself in order to fulfill their more ‘mechanical’ duties. On page 144, he discusses the natural inclination of the poet in comparison to other professionals in theory-based disciplines, and argues that the poet’s role is to fulfill “…our natural and unalienable existence…” while others (historians, scientist etc.) simply hone a skill that is given to them, though is not inherent: thought. Further still, Wordsworth argues that the role of the poet is to be the connection between global man, and not the professor of a specific mindset. As the astronomer studies stars, the poet, according to Wordsworth, studies man; on page 145 he explains his opinion that, because of the poets role as global bard, he is always embracing truth (which might be argued by more fact-based disciplines) writing, “… the poet, singing a song in which all human beings join with him, rejoices in the presence of truth as our visible friend and hourly companion.”. To conclude, the poet, to Wordsworth, “Poetry is the image of man and nature.” (Page 143). Meaning, he believes that poetry is told by people designated to describe the pleasurably painful experience of humanity.

4. Poets get in the mood to write by, as discussed before, by being inspired, or experiencing something that triggers“… the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings…”, meditating on it, and then connecting this feeling back to whatever initial feeling allowed that overflow to occur. In my interpretation of Wordsworth’s description, the poet must both embrace the environment he is in, and recall the more philosophical or cognitive environment he is producing as a result. In this way, poetry is grounded in the human experience, but is engaged quite substantially by the detachment and witnessing of the sublime. However, Wordsworth clarifies (on page 146) that over anything, pleasure is the feeling that prevails and sustains poetry, and any emotion that allowed/triggered “… the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings…” while have derived from some type of ‘pleasure’. Wordsworth is especially alluding to the multi-faceted inspiration a poet must engage in, in order to write poetry, which result in poetry that both describes the more cognitive pleasure (and displeasures) while still maintaining it’s ability to level with men, and overwrite each poem with some sense (simple or complex) of pleasure. He expresses this principle difference between poetry and prose on page 147, writing, “… of two descriptions, either of passions, manners, or characters, each of them equally well executed, the one in prose and the other in verse, the verse will be read a hundred times where the prose is read once.”. Ultimately, Wordsworth is providing the processing of poetry as evidence for the deep connection a poet must make with both his experience and himself in order to write it.

5. In many ways, “Tintern Abbey” is the perfect example of a poem that transgresses typical expectations of early 1800’s poetry, yet fulfills all of the requirements provided in the preface. Wordsworth’s poem, “Tintern Abbey”, is both transcendental and elusive of practical constraints (i.e. time) yet simultaneously embraces nature and it’s beauty and the drear of mankind. The dichotomy of mankind’s mundanity, and nature’s harmony(Lines 23-48)— yet further presented as the latter being a salve for the former— presents the deep pain-found pleasure which Wordsworth speaks so highly of on pages 146-147. Additionally, “Tintern Abbey” is presented in the words of prose, yet embodies the spirit of poetry, which further proves Wordsworth’s point, that poetry is, at its heart, founded on the translation of passion to language- which is facilitated by the cognitive and physical environments in which the poet experiences their essential “… spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings…”.