Theme of poetry

                 Assignment

Name: Rupa Bambhaniya

Paper No: 3: literary Theory and criticism

Enrollment no: 2069108420200002

Class: M.A sem 1

Submitted by:  Smt.S.B.Gardhi, Department of English

Email I'd: rupabambhniya166@gmail.com

                Theme of poetry.

In the “Advertisement” to the 1798 edition of Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth and Coleridge state that the poems in the collection were intended as a deliberate experiment in style and subject matter. Wordsworth elaborated on this idea in the “Preface” to the 1800 and 1802 editions which outline his main ideas of a new theory of poetry. Wordsworth explained his poetical concept:

Definition of poetry

For all good poetry is the spontaneous Flow overflow of powerful feeling and though this be true, Poems to which any value can be attached were never produced on any variety of subjects but by a man who, being possessed of more than usual organic sensibility,  had also

Thought long and deeply.

What is a Poet?

He is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness.

The Prelude" relates Wordsworth's love of nature and beauty and its importance in his life. It then deals with his disconnection from nature and ends with Wordsworth's reconnection with nature. Wordsworth's themes include nature's great significance to humankind than simply aesthetic beauty.

Theme of poetry.

If the experiment with vernacular language was not enough of a departure from the norm, the focus on simple, uneducated country people as the subject of poetry was a signal of shift to modern literature. One of the main themes of "Lyrical Ballads" is the return to the original state of nature, in which man led a purer and more innocent existence. Wordsworth subscribed to Rousseau's belief that man was essentially good and was corrupted by the influence of society. This may be linked with the sentiments spreading though Europe just prior to the French Revolution.

Mortality

Wordsworth's fascination with death frequently shows up in his poetry. The Lucy Poems, for instance, are a series of poems about a young girl who may or may not have been a figment of Wordsworth's imagination, and who ultimately dies. Wordsworth looks at the event from several angles. In "She dwelt among the untrodden ways" he focuses on the unexpectedness of her death, and the unpredictability of life and death in general. In "Three years she grew" Wordsworth creates a fanciful rationale for her death: Nature became entranced by her and promised to give her an incredible life, but once all of her promises were fulfilled Lucy had to die.

Religion

Religion, while not as prevalent as in the poetry of the Enlightenment, does have a place in much of Wordsworth's poetry. Often religion is included simply to help Wordsworth's more pious readers understand the level of his commitment to and faith in nature. Wordsworth uses religious imagery and language in his poems in order to convey his ideas about the power of nature, the human mind, and global interconnectivity.

Transcendence and Connectivity

The idea of transcendence did not gain full speed until the Romantic Movement moved to America, but Wordsworth was certainly a fan of the idea long before then. "Transcendence" simply means "being without boundaries." For Wordsworth, this means being able to connect with people and things outside of oneself, especially in terms of nature. It was Wordsworth's supreme aspiration to metaphorically transcend the limitations of his body and connect completely with nature.

Humanity

One of Wordsworth's greatest worries is the descent of humanity. As man moves further and further away from humanity he seems to be losing more and more of his soul. Often when Wordsworth is in nature he is saddened because he is forced to think about the people trapped in cities, unable or unwilling to commune with nature.

Nature

"Come forth into the light of things,  Let Nature be your Teacher." No discussion on Wordsworth would be complete without mention of nature. Nature and its connection to humanity makes an appearance in the vast majority of Wordsworth's poetry, often holding a poem's focus, and has become the cornerstone of the Romantic Movement primarily because of him. For Wordsworth, nature is a kind of religion in which he has the utmost faith. Nature fills two major roles in Wordsworth's poetry:

Even though it is intensely beautiful and peaceful, nature often causes Wordsworth to feel melancholy or sad. This is usually because, even as he relishes in his connection with nature, he worries about the rest of humanity, most of who live in cites completely apart from nature. Wordsworth wonders how they could possibly revive their spirits. In the end, however, he often decides that it is wrong to be sad while in nature: "A poet could not but be gay, In such jocund company."

   Nature also gives Wordsworth hope for the future. Form past experience Wordsworth knows that spending time in nature is a gift to his future self, because later, when he is alone, tired and frustrated in the busy, dirty city, he will be able to look back on a field of daffodils he once spent time in and be happy against.

The Beneficial Influence of Nature

Throughout Wordsworth’s work, nature provides the ultimate good influence on the human mind. All manifestations of the natural world—from the highest mountain to the simplest flower—elicit noble, elevated thoughts and passionate emotions in the people who observe these manifestations. Wordsworth repeatedly emphasizes the importance of nature to an individual’s intellectual and spiritual development. A good relationship with nature helps individuals connect to both the spiritual and the social worlds

The Power of the Human Mind

Wordsworth praised the power of the human mind. Using memory and imagination, individuals could overcome difficulty and pain. For instance, the Speaker in “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” (1798) relieves his loneliness with memories of nature, while the leech gatherer in “Resolution and Independence” (1807) perseveres cheerfully in the face of poverty by the exertion of his own will. The transformative powers of the mind are available to all, regardless of an individual’s class or background. This democratic view emphasizes individuality and uniqueness. Throughout his work, Wordsworth showed strong support for the political, religious, and artistic rights of the individual,

Object

The principle object, then proposed in these poems was to choose incidents and situations from common life, and to relate and describe them, throughout, as far as possible in a selection of language really used by men, and , at the same time, to throw over them a certain colouring of imagination, whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual aspect; and, further,, and above all, to make these situations and incidents interesting by tracing in them, truly though not ostentatiously, the primary laws of our nature: chiefly as regards the manner in which we associate ideas in a state of excitement. 

Languages

The language, too, of these men has been adopted -purified indeed from what appear to be its real defects, from all lasting and rational causes of dislike and disgust- because such men communicate with the best objects from which the best part of language is originally derived; and because, from their rank in society and the sameness and narrow circle of their intercourse, being less under the influence of social variety, they convey their feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions. Accordingly, such a language, arising out of the repeated experience and regular feelings is a more permanent, and a far more philosophical language, than that which is frequently substituted for it by Poets

Humble and rustic life

Humble and rustic life was generally chosen, because in that condition, the essential passions of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity, are less under restraint, and speak a plainer and more emphatic language; because in that condition of life, our elementary feelings co-exist in a state of greater simplicity, and consequently, may be more accurately contemplated, and more forcibly communicated; because the manners of rural life germinate from these elementary feelings, and, from the necessary character of rural occupations, are more easily comprehended, and are more durable; and lastly, because in that condition the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature.