Wordsworth as a Critic

(A )William Wordsworth as a Critic

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) was a central figure in the Romantic movement and is best known for his deep love of nature, his focus on personal emotions and his belief in the transformative power of poetry. As a poet, he sought to capture the beauty and simplicity of rural life through using accessible language to express profound feelings. His major works, such as Lyrical Ballads (co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge) and The Prelude, represent his conviction that nature and human experience are closely associated, and that poetry should evoke a “spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions.”

As a literary critic, Wordsworth challenged the formal, artificial conventions of 18th-century poetry. In his Preface to Lyrical Ballads, he puts down his revolutionary ideas and promotes for the use of plain language and focuses on the emotions of everyday life. His belief that poetry should reflect the language of common people, especially those living in harmony with nature noticed a significant change in literary thought. Wordsworth’s emphasis on simplicity, spontaneity, and emotional authenticity helped in redefining the role of poetry and the poet in society.

A well-known criticism of Wordsworth's poetic theory comes from T. S. Eliot, who remarked on Wordsworth's preference for rustic simplicity in language. He said, " his theory of Poetic diction has cerainely resuled in a good dealof bad poery, but it has also rsulted in a good of good poetry." This quote reflects the mixes rception of Wordsworh's ideas that led to some shortcomings and also produced long lasting and noteworthy contribution to literature.

1. Wordsworth’s Principles of Literary Criticism

In his Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth articulates his principles of literary criticism. He starts with a strong aversion to several aspects of contemporary writing: artificiality, restrictions on poetic form, the use of overly ornate language, and erratic expression. (1) He believes that poetry should emphasize vivid sensations and spontaneous emotions.(2) His aim is to make ordinary incidents and situations interesting by reflecting the primary laws of nature, at the same time avoiding ostentatious language. This simplicity leads him to portray humble, rustic life, where the purity of language and experience best reflects his ideals. (3) He advocates that a poetic language can be close to prose when it is well-written, and, (4) for him, the emotions of rural people are more genuine than those of urban life.

Merit : Wordsworth’s emphasis on natural language reflects his belief in emotional authenticity.

Limitations: (However) His critics question whether the emotions of rural life are truly deeper or more significant than those of city-dwellers. The language of the rustic may, at times, be too limited to encompass the broader range of human experience.

2. Simplicity and Spontaneity in Poetry

Wordsworth famously defines poetry as the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," in contrast to Dante’s view of poetry as a laborious craft. (“Poetry and language proper for it are an elaborate and painful toil.”) However, he clarifies that spontaneity should not equate to carelessness; rather, it arises from deep thought and heightened sensibility. For Wordsworth, a poet’s acute sensitivity, followed by reflection, leads to vivid impressions. These impressions are then transformed by the imagination. This spiritual awareness in everyday experiences is a key to the poet's task. It links the beauty of nature with the intensity of human emotion.

Merit:  His argument for spontaneity tempered by deep thought enriches poetry, allowing for both emotional immediacy and intellectual depth.

Limitations: However, the romantics, particularly the lesser poets, often indulged too much in sentimentalism and subjectivity, sometimes drifting into triviality.

3. The Role of Nature and Experience

For Wordsworth, experience is central to poetry, but not merely for its own sake. He contends that the contemplation of nature evokes profound experiences in both poet and reader allowing poetry to serve as a bridge between nature and human emotion. According to Wordsworth, this connection with nature brings an authenticity and universality that urban life cannot. Poets should draw inspiration from common life and use language that is accessible and genuine through choosing rustic characters who live in harmony with nature.

Merit: Wordsworth’s belief in the spiritual value of nature gives his poetry a timeless quality, promoting a deep connection with universal truths.

Limitations: (Yet,) His insistence on rustic simplicity may overlook the richness and complexity of urban or more diverse human experiences.

4. The Language of Poetry

Wordsworth rejects the use of artificial poetic diction. He asserts that the language of poetry should not differ greatly from prose. He believes that when poetry reflects authentic emotions, the simplicity of language is more effective in reaching the audience. Though he acknowledges that heightened emotions can sometimes necessitate more elevated language, he generally pleads for a clear, direct style that resonates with the common person. He views the poet as a man speaking to other men who aims to provide pleasure through theme and form and also elevaes the human spirit.

Merit: This focus on clarity and accessibility brings a democratizing effect to poetry, making it more inclusive.

Limitations: However, Wordsworth’s theory has its contradictions. While advocating for simplicity, he sometimes embraces more elaborate language particularly in moments of high emotion. He complicates his own stance on poetic diction.

5. Poetry as the Pursuit of Truth

Wordsworth envisions poetry as a medium for expressing deep truths about the relationship between man and nature. He aligns with Plato in seeing the poet as a teacher, who is capable of making society wiser, better, and happier. In his view, the poet binds humanity together through knowledge and emotion by promoting love and connection across differences in culture and time. The pursuit of truth in poetry is thus not abstract but deeply tied to human experience and natural harmony.

Merit: Wordsworth’s vision of the poet as a moral and spiritual guide elevates the role of poetry in society, giving it a purpose beyond mere entertainment.

Limitations:Critics might argue that his idealized view of the poet as a teacher places too much responsibility on art to enact moral or societal change.

(B) Wordsworth's Views on Poetic Diction

William Wordsworth, one of the leading poets of the Romantic Movement, revolutionized English poetry with his ideas on poetic diction. Through his seminal work, Lyrical Ballads (1798), co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wordsworth aimed to challenge and redefine the conventional poetic norms that dominated the 18th century. In his preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth articulated his theory of poetic diction, advocating for a more natural and accessible style of poetry, in contrast to the artificial, highly structured forms of the neo-classical era.

1. The Classical School of Poetry and Its Dominance

During the 18th century, the classical school of poetry held sway over English poetry. Critics and poets like Dr. Johnson and Alexander Pope believed that the best poetry was derived from imitating the ancients, with a strict adherence to polished, well-crafted couplets. Poetry of this period was characterized by a high degree of artificiality and focused on nature as seen through classical lenses rather than real-life experiences. This reliance on formal structure, particularly the heroic couplet, made poetry seem rigid and monotonous.

2. Wordsworth's Criticism of Classical Poetic Diction

Wordsworth reacted against the artificiality and lifelessness of 18th-century poetic diction. He believed that classical poets had distanced themselves from the common man by using elaborate and affected language. He believed that their poetry lacked genuine emotion. In his preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth expressed his disdain for the "gaudiness and lifeless phraseology" of modern writers and criticized poets who catered to the fickle tastes of their time. According to Wordsworth, true poetry should resonate with the feelings and experiences of ordinary people rather than adhering to the formal conventions of previous eras.

3. Wordsworth's Theory of Poetic Diction

At the core of Wordsworth’s poetic theory was the belief that poetry should focus on the expression of emotion rather than on intricate plots or structured forms. He argued that the essence of poetry lies in its ability to convey "essential passion" in a way that feels natural and unpretentious. To achieve this, Wordsworth deliberately chose subjects from humble and rustic life, because he believed that rural people, being closer to nature, spoke in a more direct and authentic language. He argued that this simplicity was the ideal medium for poetry, as it brought the reader closer to the true feelings of humanity.

4. The Language of Common Men

One of Wordsworth’s most radical ideas was his insistence on using the language of common men in poetry. He argued that the language spoken by rural people, who lived closer to the rhythms of nature, was the most fitting for expressing sincere emotions. Wordsworth believed that good poetry should reflect everyday speech, emphasizing that the language of prose, when well written, could serve as a model for poetry. He aimed to strip poetry of its artificial and ornate elements, keeping the reader "in the company of flesh and blood." 

T.S. Eliot who is generally critical of some spects of Romantic poetry, acknoledges the influence of Wordsworth's poetic diction when in The Use of Poetry and Use of Criticism (1933), he views Wordsworth's theory of Poetic diction as "a necessary protest against the artificiality of much 18th century verse, and his achievement in making poetry out of speech of ordinary people was revolutionary."

5. Criticism of Wordsworth’s Approach (Limitations)

Though Wordsworth’s emphasis on simplicity and the language of rustics showed a significant change in English poetry, it also received criticism. His focus on rustic subjects and simple language was seen by some as limiting,  because it has the risk of the poetry becoming trivial or mundane. Critics pointed out that rustic language, though natural, did not necessarily convey profound emotions or universal truths. Additionally, his claim that there should be no distinction between the language of poetry and that of prose was a controversial idea, as many believed that poetry required a more elevated style than everyday speech.

6. The Evolution of Poetic Diction After Wordsworth

Wordsworth’s ideas on poetic diction paved the way for new styles and forms of poetry in the 19th and 20th centuries. Though his theory challenged the classical school, it was not the final word on poetic diction. Later poets, such as Alfred Tennyson, Algernon Swinburne, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, experimented with different poetic styles, finding their own ways to balance emotion and form. By the modern era, poets like T. S. Eliot had introduced new movements, such as imagism and existentialism broadening the range of poetic expression. Though Wordsworth’s theories were groundbreaking, the ongoing evolution of poetic diction reflects the continuous search for new ways to express human experience.

Summing up:

Wordsworth’s views on poetic diction reshaped the landscape of English poetry.  He also acknowledged that poetic diction alone does not make great poetry. Imagination, the poet’s creative powers, and the ability to reveal a rich personality are the true essentials of poetry. Poetic diction, in any era, is merely the means by which poets dress their thoughts and emotions. Wordsworth’s contribution was significant in advocating for a more authentic and emotional approach to poetry that continues to influence poets even today.

Study of Wordsworth, Chapter XIX  from The Making of Literature by R. A. Scott James

WORDSWORTH (1770-1850)

Wordsworth's principles of literary criticism have been stated in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads (second edition)

Wordsworth starts with a dislike of:

(i) artifice

(ii) restrictions on a part

(iii) gaudiness and inane phraseology of the writers

(iv) capricious habits of expression.

1. Wordsworth lays emphasis on vivid sensation and spontaneous feeling. For him it is the feelings that matter in poetry.

2. In Preface to Lyrical Ballads he makes "incidents and situations interesting by tracing in them......primary laws of nature," not ostentatiously.

3. He eschews artifice and loves simplicity. Simplicity for him comprises subjects from humble and rustic life. He wants to portray the villagers in their simplicity.

4. He advises the poets to avoid poetic diction. Poets should use the language of men, "the language of prose when prose is well-written." He advocates the use of the language and emotions used by simple country people.

Was he right in this? Are the emotions of rustics deeper than the emotions of city-dwellers? Does not language of prose and of rustics become trivial and mean? And is not this humble rustic life devoid of many essential elements of human experience? Do not the emotions of villagers limit the range and quality of emotions? Really speaking he should have selected characters set in the midst of beautiful and permanent forms of Nature.

5. Poetry, according to Wordsworth, is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings whereas Dante calls it an elaborate and painful toil. Spontaneity demanded by Wordsworth is not that of a careless or thoughtless person. Good poems could be produced only by "a man being possessed of more than usual organic sensibility, had also thought long and deeply" Sensibility and deep thinking precede spontaneity in a poem. A scene affects the sensibility of a poet, awakens vivid impressions and his imagi- nations bathes it in the rainbow colours of beauty.

6. So the poet must be possessed of the awareness of spiritual significance in common things.

True the romantics had their defects also. They, the lesser ones, made too much of their emotions, wrote only subjectively and became trivial.

They are often guilty of too much sentimentalism and sickly preoccupation with their own feelings without any relevance to life.

True the romantic poets rated personal experience very high but art for the sake of experience would be a wrong approach. For Wordsworth experience meant the experience of a poet in contact with Nature. The contemplation of nature would evoke similar contemplation in his readers.

So the essentials for Wordsworth and the romantic poets were:

1. Interest in life rather than in art.

2. Their impressions of life gave value to their poetry.

3. The impression was the most important thing for a poet.

4. The impression should be worth-while.

5. Poets should choose incidents and situations from common life and to relate or describe them......in a "selection" of language really used by men.

6. People of low and rustic life should be chosen for this purpose. Their language is more permanent and philosophical.

7. Poets should not cut themselves off from people or furnish food for fickle tastes.

8. The language of poetry should not materially differ from the language of prose, when prose is well written. Wordsworth admits that sometimes a selected subject leads to passions which are expressed in an exalted language alive with metaphors and figures. Thus, there is a contradiction in his own theory of poetic diction.

9. Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. It is also emotions recollected in tranquillity. So while pleading for spontaneity, he does not forget the need of workmanship.

10. The aim of poetry is self expression. The poet is a man speaking to men. He must give pleasure through his theme, treatment etc.

Wordsworth says: "Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all Science. Emphatically may it be said of the poet, as Shakespeare hath said of man, "... that he looks before and after. He is the rock of defence for human nature; an upholder and preserver, carrying everywhere with him relationship and love. In spite of difference of soil and climate, of language and manners, of laws and customs in spite of things silently gone out of mind, and things violently destroyed; the poet binds together by passion and knowledge the vast empire of human society, as it is spread over the whole earth, and over all time."

11. Poetry is the pursuit of truth. But the truth of poetry concerns the relation of man to man and Nature. He even speaks the language of Plato when he says, "Every great poet is a teacher" The poet will touch human nature and will make men wiser, better and happier. Relationship and love must be promoted by poetry.

12. Wordsworth is the High Priest of Nature. He wants poets to follow Nature, select their subjects from nature, to give up the barren books and come forth with open hearts to Nature. Nature will reveal the highest truth to the poet.

THE POETIC DICTION

(1) Poets of all ages have tried to find out the right type of ways and means to express their vision of life. Each age has its own fashions of writing and it is not surprising to note that a poetic diction which is universally praised by people like, say, Dr Johnson and others, should be challenged and replaced by a different type of poetic diction. In truth, it appears that the spirit of each age finds its own medium and its manner to express its hoper, ambitions and dreams.

(2) That is how the 18th century proved to be an age in which the classical or the so-called classical school of poetry dominated the literary scene. The poets and the critics of the classical age believed that the best way to write good poetry, was to imitate the ancients. Avoid extremes, polish the lines and make them perfect. Thus it came to happen that under the influence of Boileau, Racine and others, classicism made its way everywhere.

(3) In England, Dr. Johnson and Pope are the greatest names in the classical school of writing. Somehow these neo classical poets believed that the couplet was the most perfect stanza form to be used in poetry. If any poet was foolish enough to write in any other diction or form, naturally the poets of that period would attack him and finish him. They copied nature, but it was nature methodized or nature as seen in ancient literature. Thus, in the Augustan age or in the neo-classical age, there prevailed the classical school of poetry and poetic diction. In was a highly arti- ficial school which became monotonous because of its insistence on writing in couplets only.

(4) The came a reaction when Wordsworth published, in collabo- ration with Coleridge, his "Lyrical Ballads" in 1798. By this, he rang the death-knell of the classical school of poetry and poetic diction.

(5) In the Preface to the second edition of "Lyrical Ballads", Wordsworth stated his theory of poetic diction. He starts with the dislike of the artificial and restricted forms of approved 18th century poetry. Disgusted by "gaudiness and lifeless phraseology of many modern writers, he castigates the poets who separate themselves from the sympathy of men, and indulge in arbitrary and capricious habits of expression in order to furnish food for fickle tastes and fickle appetites of their own creation."

(6) Wordsworth, thus, came out with his own gospel of poetic diction. The plot or the situation is not the first thing; it is the feeling that matters; and the strong-feeling carries its own pass- port. Wordsworth's main aim was to find the best style for the "essential passion." In eschewing artifice, he looked for simplicity. Therefore, he deliberately chose subjects from humble and rustic life. He laid emphasis on the language of men, "the language of prose, when prose is well written" and and thereby he tried to "keep the reader in the company of flesh and blood."

Wordsworth insisted on the use of the language used by the rustics, under the impression that "the rustics, being nearer to the nature, speak in language that the emotions of the rustics are not because their experience is narrow. a is natural." He forgets that necessarily profound simely Wordsworth, thus, advocated language ge that was always in the danger of becoming trivial and mean.

(7) It was emotion, which he sought to display. But by sticking to the rustic subject, he narrowed his range without depending upon the quality of emotion. And whenever he followed his theory of poetic diction he wrote his least satisfactory poems. Wordsworth's second contention was that there should be no difference between the language of poetry and the language of prose.

(8) In this way, the face of poetry goes on changing. In the place of the old couplet, there came the new stanze forms and in the place of the old poetic diction, there came the new style of poetry. But even Wordsworth's theory of poetic diction is not the last word. Later poets have tried newer forms, new styles and even new topics. Tennyson, Swinburne, Arnold, Rossetti and a host of other poets have used their own poetic dictions. But so numerous are the poets today that to put them under a heading like "the classical school of poetic diction" or "Wordsworth's poetic diction" is impossible. But modern poetry can rightly be called the age of T. S. Eliot. There is more emphasis on modernization ; the Georgian poets had produced works sound in style and construction. But events are on the march, imagism, impressionism and now existentialism are new fashions in literature. Even modern experiments in strange types of verse have berome quite common.

(9) But we must remember that as important as poetic diction is, it is not the thing which makes poetry. Imagination, creative powers of the poet and the revelation of a rich personality are the first essentials of poetry. Poetic dictions are simply the different garments in which the poets of various ages have dressed their thoughts.