Tuesday, 18 January 2022

Wordsworth's preface

Hello! I am divya parmar. I am writting this blog to complete my class activity or task which is given by dilip barad sar. This is the part of Bridge course: Wordsworth's preface. In this blog i cover the first question: What is your understanding of views expressed in wordsworth's preface.

➡️Who was Wordsworth?



William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). Preface of Wordsworth is the second edition of Lyrics ballads. 

➡️ Wordsworth's preface : Lyrical Ballads


Lyrical Ballads was a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. That was First published in 1798 with short foreword (Begging of the Romantic age). The final volume of the Lyrical Ballads was published in 1802 with a revised and expanded preface.

'The Preface' is a critical statement by William Wordsworth, who wanted to free poetry from an artificial style of writing and bring it nearer to life, to the common people. The preface is decided into 4 parts: 

1️⃣ What is poetry?
2️⃣ Characteristics of poet
3️⃣ Value of poetry
4️⃣ Poetic Diction 
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What is poetry? 


William Wordsworth at first emphasized on the importance of spontaneous expression. He said that emotions or powerful feelings are the raw material needed to create a poem. Those emotions or powerful feelings must settle and mature until they arrive for delivery. Then the poet can sit in peace and recollect those powerful feelings and then with the help of his imagination he can write a beautiful poem. So this was William Wordsworth's own practice of writing a poem and according to Wordsworth such poetry touches the deepest gods of human heart. A poet can experience the beauty of ordinary life and capture those feelings then he sits in a peaceful place and recollect those powerful feelings, That he experienced. Finally with the help of his imagination, he writes a beautiful poem that can touches human heart. 
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➡️ Characteristics of good poet:                                

William Wordsworth said that there are three main characteristics of good poet: 

1️⃣ A good poet is exceptionally sensitive :


A good poet has a more comprehensive soul than other human beings that allows him to feel and empathize deeply. This allows him not only to feel what happens with him but also to feel what happens with other human beings. He can empathize and feel the pain and happiness of others. 

2️⃣ A good poet is "A man speaking to men":


William Wordsworth said that a good poet is a human being with the social responsibility. He does not write poems for self- indulgence but to uplift and enlighten other human beings according to Willing Wordsworth every great is a teacher. 

3️⃣ A good poet has an extraordinarily strongs imagination :


Imagination makes a poetry beautiful. So neaturally every good poet has a very strong imagination that allows him to write a great poems.
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➡️ Value of poetry : 


The universal function of poetry is to make readers sensitive and humane. Poetry does not merely provides pleasure, but teaches morals & philosophical values to the readers. In this materisltics age the mechanical and industrial age. Poetry is very much needed so that human beings do not become extremely materialistic. According to William Wordsworth, every great poet is a teacher. Poetry can refine and regenrate mankind poetry is the fruit and flower of human knowledge. Poetry is the image of man and neature. 

William Wordsworth believed that every poet has the social responsibility of strengthening and promoting human culture through his poetry.
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➡️ Poetic Diction/ Language : 


Wordsworth's views on poetic Diction were quite controversial at first he criticizes new classical writers such as John Dryden and Alexander pope for using artificial poetic Language. William Wordsworth was not against using smiles metaphors and figures of speech in a poem but he believed that figures of speech should be very organic to a poem they should not be added like mere ornaments.

William Wordsworth said that he will use the real Language of common man in his poetry. He further said that he will choose the Language of rustics. That is people living in villegers because just like their way of living their Language is also very very neatural.

William Wordsworth said that there cannot be any essential difference between the language of pem and prose.
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➡️ How Coleridge criticized wordsworth's views on poetic Diction in his critical work 'Biographia Literraria' :


So Coleridge at first said that what was wrong when he said that there cannot be any difference between the language of poetry and prose because what makes the language of poetry and prose difference is the use of meter. Further Coleridge said that, In poetry words are ordered arrenged in a very different way. Then how words are arrenged in prose for example ,
Prose= "She went to the park."
Poetry= "To the park, she went."

How words are differently ordered in poem therefore Coleridge said that the way words are ordered in a poem makes its language very different from the language of prose. Coleridge said that, 'Wordsworth's theory of poetic Diction was very different from Wordsworth's own practice of writting poems because Wordsworth wrote in a beautiful language that is lofty, impassioned and sustained. It is very different from the Language of common men and rustics. 

Finally Coleridge said that, the language of men varies on the basis of his knowledge, emotions & activities. No two men can speak in exact same manner. Therefore wordsworth's emphasis on using real language of common men makes little sense. Which is make by Coleridge.

Word count : 937


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