Summary of preface to lyrical ballads by william wordsworth. Preface to the Lyrical Ballads Themes 2022-12-21
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The Preface to Lyrical Ballads, written by William Wordsworth in 1798, is a key document in the history of English literature. It is a defense of the poet's new approach to writing poetry, which emphasizes the use of everyday language and the expression of personal emotions and experiences.
In the Preface, Wordsworth argues that poetry should be more closely tied to real life and the experiences of ordinary people. He criticizes the poetry of the time for being overly formal and artificial, and for lacking authenticity and sincerity. He asserts that poetry should not be concerned with grand themes or abstract ideas, but should instead focus on the "language of conversation" and the "real language of men."
Wordsworth also emphasizes the importance of imagination in poetry, arguing that it is the poet's imagination that allows them to create works of art that are both true to life and emotionally powerful. He believes that the poet's imagination should be guided by emotion, and that the poet should seek to evoke strong feelings in the reader through the use of simple, direct language.
Finally, Wordsworth asserts that poetry should be accessible to all, and not just a privileged few. He believes that the common language of the people is just as capable of expressing complex and profound emotions as the more formal language of the aristocracy.
Overall, the Preface to Lyrical Ballads is a powerful statement of Wordsworth's belief in the value of simple, sincere, and emotionally powerful poetry that speaks to the experiences of ordinary people. It has had a significant influence on the development of English literature, and is still widely studied and discussed today.
Preface to Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth Summary
This exponent or symbol held forth by metrical language must in different eras of literature have excited very different expectations: for example, in the age of Catullus, Terence, and Lucretius and that of Statius or Claudian; and in our own country, in the age of Shakespeare and Beaumont and Fletcher, and that of Donne and Cowley, or Dryden, or Pope. William Wordsworth, who was a major English romantic poet, helped to spark the Romantic Age in English literature with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He appears willing to view his own work as an experiment in poetic diction, newly formed and purified of what he believes it lacked before. He portrays the passions and feelings of other human beings sharply. Wordsworth addresses possible faults of his ballads: he may have written on an unworthy subject, and he may have made arbitrary connections between things that no one would understand except himself. And it would be the easiest task to prove to him, that not only the language of a large portion of every good poem, even of the most elevated character, must necessarily, except concerning the meter, in no respect differ from that of good prose,  but likewise that some of the most interesting parts of the best poems will be found to be strictly the language of prose when the prose is well written.
Also, Wordsworth's emphasis on emotions will eventually lessen his influence, as new ways of looking at the world will emerge and people will judge the Romantic era with different eyes. Poetry and Prose Wordsworth devotes much of the Preface to examining his views on poetry and prose. Still, as his poetry is so revolutionary and different from all other poetry, Wordsworth remains somewhat afraid of criticism from the masses. His family relocated from Allan Bank to Rydal Mount in 1813, where he spent the rest of his life. The emotions that are left after contemplation are different from the emotions that a poet received in the first stage. The topics covered include the following: 1.
Poetry, Nature, and Humanity Theme in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
Read the introductory part, body and conclusion of the paper below. The language, too, of these men is adopted purified indeed from what appear to be its real defects, from all lasting and rational causes of dislike or disgust because such men hourly 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 vanity they convey their feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions. Source: - Wordsworth, William. I have also informed my Reader what this purpose will be found principally to be: namely to illustrate how our feelings and ideas are associated in a state of excitement. So he has deliberately avoided personification of abstract ideas in his poems contributed to Lyrical Ballads.
Preface to the Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth Plot Summary
He goes on to cite many great yet different poets of old, from Catullus Terence to Alexander Pope. In other words, each generation lives in a different situation and thus naturally prefers a different style of poetry that somehow aligns with or responds to the times. Wordsworth asks readers to form their own feelings and opinions, and not go by what others think, when judging his poetry. For this, tranquility may be a must. The foundational aspects of poetry are passion and emotion. During the high point of the Romantic movement, which the manifesto seems to have ushered in, his emphasis on feeling and individualism became commonly held.
He wanted to seek out out if conversational language might be used effectively in poetry. I should note, however, have requested this assistance, had I not believed that the Poems of my Friend would in a great measure have the same tendency as my own, and that, though there would be found a difference, there would be found no discordance in the colors of our style; as our opinions on the subject of poetry do almost entirely coincide. He tends to believe that it can be the work of nature which makes the ground swell under it. Now, these men would establish a canon of criticism which the Reader will conclude he must utterly reject if he wishes to be pleased with these volumes. His answer illustrates the underlying assumptions about the poet as the genius, as the special person, capable of re-articulating thought and feeling so as to educate the reader. This was a departure from the Neoclassical belief that poetry should be objective and objective. Such contemplation is personal, intended only for the poet.
In time, the effort to convince the world that poetry and prose are essentially similar in approach and content can be judged independently of form will result in these becoming commonplace ideas. What is a Poet? Wordsworth is regarded as one of the first English Romantic poets. A few pages into the text, Wordsworth harshly criticizes the 18th-century poet Thomas Gray. This new class of poetry will also use the language of the common people, as this language carries a certain universality and permanence, having none of the fickleness of poetic diction. The radical poetry of William Wordsworth In his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, William Wordsworth sought to redefine poetry for the Romantic era. His aim to raise his readers' moral sense appears untouched by scientific study or research.
Preface to Lyrical Ballads summary & analysis : Thinking Literature by Shyam
Neoclassical writers looked forward to Cicero and Horace as their role models and based on their standards, formulated their poems. Furthermore, poetry and prose are, in essence, the same. He wants poetry to center on rustic, humble situations using rustic, humble language. While the specifics of what Wordsworth wrote about have changed, the general idea that poetry should be about everyday life and accessible to all still holds. He considers man and nature as essentially adapted to each other, and the mind of man as naturally the mirror of the fairest and most interesting qualities of nature. Wordsworth sees his Lyrical Ballads as innovative and connected to a high level of truth and significance, if not a high level of life and society.
He had a broad and thorough education in the canon of Western literature and used this background in new ways. . Accordingly, his emotions and feelings are more passionate. Wordsworth expresses his belief that poetry should be used to encourage people to think more deeply about the world around them and to better understand the human condition. In general, Wordsworth seems to dismiss any nonsensical declaration with the claim that it is too long to explain, as seen here. He awaits to hear from readers whether they think he has achieved his purpose, and whether that purpose was worth achieving. Wordsworth devoted his life to writing, never having had another occupation or seeming to search for one.
