Assignment
Name:
Trivedi Disha Hiteshbhai
Paper no: 5
Topic:
Year:
2015-2017
M. A. Sem = 2
Submitted
to: Smt. S. b. Gardi Department of English M. K. Bhavnagar University (Gujarat)
Topic: examine Wordsworth’s views on nature of
poetry and the process of poetic creation.
Wordsworth was primarily a poet not
a formal critic. He became a critic of contemporary poetry out of sheer
necessity of his creative genius. He is the first critic to turn from of poetry
to its substance. He is the first critic who builds up a theory of poetry and
gives an account of the nature of the creative process. His emphasis is on
novelty, experiment, liberty, spontaneity, inspiration and imagination as
contrasted with the classical emphasis on authority, tradition and restraint.
Rene wellek states:
“Though Wordsworth left only a
small body of criticism, it is rich in suggestions, anticipations and personal
insights.”
Wordsworth’s ‘Preface to Lyrical
Ballads’ opens with a declaration that this volume was published as an
experiment. His aim in writing it is to demonstrate the need of writing a new
kind of poems and to reevaluate the poetry of the bygone period.
First of all Wordsworth defines who
is a poet? The poet is essentially a man. He differs from other man not in
nature, but merely in the degree of his gifts. He is a man of greater
imagination and greater power of communication. He can, therefore, comprehend
truths to which others remain blind. The poet is a more comprehensive soul- who
can transport his feeling to others.
Then Wordsworth prefers incidents and
situation of humble life on the themes of his poetry. Because in rustic and
humble life, one can easily study the fundamental passions of human heart. More
so the language should be the language used by simple rustic people so that one
can express emotions lively. He does not consider meter essential to poetry. He
regards it as merely pleasure separated, but at the time he allows its use
while he rejects the use of poetic diction, because it is artificial,
capricious and lawless.
According to
Wordsworth, the use of meter adds to the charm and appeal to a poem. It control
the over excitement. The use of meter gives the reader a sense of the poet in overcoming artistic difficulties. Wordsworth says:
“The
metrical arrangement continues to give us continual and regular impulses of
pleasure surprise.”
Thereafter Wordsworth discusses what is poetry?
He defines,
“Poetry is
the spontaneous overflow of the powerful feelings; it takes its origin from
emotion recollected in tranquility.”
There are
four stage through which an experience passes and a successful composition
takes place. First of all, there is the observation of some of some object,
character or incident which sets up powerful emotions in the mind of the poet.
Secondly, there is recollection of that emotion in tranquility. Thirdly, the
integration of memory by the poet sets up emotion in the mind itself. The
fourth is that of composition.
It should be
noted here though” spontaneous overflows of powerful feeling’ and ‘emotion
recollected in tranquility’ are the very opposite to each other yet Wordsworth reconciles these two opposites.
Then Wordsworth
tells about the function of poetry i.e. “to produce excitement in o-existence
with an overbalance of pleasure.”
Here he puts accent on pleasure but
‘pleasure’ does not mean purely aesthetic one, but moral too, which is much
higher result from the retaliation of truth. He calls poetry;
“The most
philosophical of all writings.”
“The beneath and finer spirit of all knowledge.”
Wordsworth considers poetry
superior to science. Science studies only through the intellect, the truths of
science are discovered by intellect while the truths of poetry are discovered
by imagination and intuition. So the truths of science are merely personal and
they can be enjoyed only by the scientist. While the truths of poetry are
common heritage to all and they can be source of pleasure to all its readers.
Of course, there are certain pitfalls in Wordsworth
theory. As Scott- James points out that flesh and blood of a rustic is not mere
human then the flesh and blood of townsmen. Besides by confining himself to
rustic life, he excludes many essential elements in human experience.
Looking at it as a whole it can be said that Wordsworth’s
contribution to English literary criticism is manifold. He pioneered
romanticism. He gave a new theory of poetic diction. He demolished the
neo-classical cannons of correctness, accuracy, authority, rule etc. And put
emphasis on spontaneity, imagination, intuition and inspiration. His ‘preface
to lyrical ballads’ gave valuable, new insights into the nature, scope and
function of poetry and its creative process. It heralded the new dawn of
democracy in literature and criticism.
Coleridge’s
criticism on Wordsworth’ theory of poetic diction:
Coleridge
was mainly a great poet. He was also a great philosopher and profound thinker.
He differs from other English critics as his main pre-occupation was not to lay
down the rules of criticism but to go deep into the process of literary
writing. He wanted to establish the principles of writing rather then to
furnish the rules of art. Thus, he was the first critic to pounce upon
wordsworth’s theory of language and to expose its weakness.
In Lyrical
ballads, Wordsworth gives a few ideas regarding poetic diction that the language
of poetry should be the language really used by rustic people, who are very
close to nature. Of course, there should be selection of words while employing
in poetry. Moreover the language should be live and it can express real
emotion. T should have a certain coloring of imagination and there is o
essential difference between language of prose and poetry.
Coleridge
argues against Wordsworth an concept of poetic diction. According to Coleridge,
if there is selection of language as Wordsworth says, then there would be no
difference between the rustic language and the language used by men of cities.
More so the best part of a man’s language dose not result merely from
communication with nature, but from education, from the noble thoughts etc.
Coleridge further says that as a man grows, he come across new ideas which cannot
be expressed through primitive and undeveloped rustic language. Then, there
must be polished and metrical language.
Coleridge objects
to the use of the word real. Because every man has his individual vocabulary
capacity as per his knowledge. Thus, the word real should be substitute by
ordinary.
According to
Coleridge there is and there out to be, unessential difference between the
language of prose and poetry. Because poetry requires meter and meter requires a different arrangement of words. Meter is an essential, organic part a poem. Thus, there is a bound to be an essential difference between language of prose
and poetry. Moreover, the language poetry selective and purified.
In this way
Coleridge gives a new path to the process of poetic diction and he also throws
lights on the process of poetic creation.
Thank you...
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