Ihab Salloum[ad_1]
Dude, so William Wordsworth was all about that poetry theory, ya know? And he got into it because Coleridge asked him to write a theory for the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads. The first edition got some mixed reviews because people thought his use of everyday language, natural settings, and normal people was weird. But Wordsworth was like, “Nah man, this is some innovative stuff.” According to S.M. Parrish, he really thought his ideas on poetry were groundbreaking, even if they weren’t really that original (85).
But here’s the thing, right? I’m gonna argue that both Wordsworth and Coleridge were actually influenced by the poetic theories from the 18th century, especially Dr. Johnson. And they were also influenced by a bunch of poetry magazines. But here’s the kicker, even though they borrowed some ideas, Wordsworth’s poetry was still unique because of how he used dramatic form, characters, storytelling, imagination, and nature themes. And it’s that combo that makes his poetry so enduring, man.
So, in this essay he wrote, the Preface of 1815, Wordsworth says that poetry is all about using everyday language to create a vivid and exciting experience for the reader. He wanted to choose incidents from daily life and show the laws of human nature in them. He believed that the language of regular folks was the best because it’s where all the good language comes from. He thought that these simple people had a more authentic voice than poets who try to sound fancy (791).
But here’s the thing, right? Wordsworth thought that poetry wasn’t just about giving pleasure. It also had to have a moral purpose. In the Preface, he talks about how reflection is important in writing poetry and how the poet’s thoughts can benefit the reader. Basically, he’s saying that good poetry comes from powerful feelings and deep thoughts (791).
And then there’s this whole thing about nature and how Wordsworth used it. He believed that scenes of nature were common to all people and that the poet had to write about the sensations evoked by it. Like, he wanted the reader to feel the same things he felt when he experienced nature. It’s like he’s saying that nature is this universal thing that we can all connect to (795-6).
In the Appendix to the Second Edition, Wordsworth talks about how poets used to write from real and unaffected passion. But then people started writing in this fancy, poetic style that he didn’t like. He specifically calls out Dryden and Pope as examples of this affected style. He even says that works of imagination and sentiment can be in prose or verse, as long as they use the right language. Basically, he’s saying that poets shouldn’t sound all fancy if they want to be good (800).
In the Preface to the Third Edition, Wordsworth goes deeper into the whole imagination thing. He’s like, “Yo, imagination isn’t just copying what you see. It’s about using your mind to transform what you see into something poetic.” He talks about how the imagination shapes and creates by combining and separating things, and it’s all super majestic and stuff (804).
And finally, in the Essay Supplementary to the Third Edition, Wordsworth says that the purpose of poetry is to treat things as they appear, not as they really are. He’s all about how poetry is about the senses and the emotions, not just reporting facts. He wants poets to tap into the heart of things and show them as they seem, man (807).
By the time of the third edition, people were starting to dig the Lyrical Ballads and Wordsworth’s other poetry. He even says that great authors have to create the taste for their own work, and that’s exactly what he did, man (807). So, in conclusion, Wordsworth was all about that everyday language, nature, imagination, and moral purpose in his poetry. And that’s why his stuff is still respected today, bro.
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