Older poets

born on April 7^th, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumbria, England
after his mother´s death in 1778 he was sent to live with his uncle and attend the prestigious Hawkshead Grammar School
it was at school where Wordsworth established his love of poetry
during his time at school, his father dies leaving him and his four siblings orphans
after finishing Hawkshead he studied at St. John´s College in Cambridge
before his final semester he set out on a walking tour of Europe (the Alps, France, Somerset, Germany). This trip influenced his poetry and his political sensivity
while touring Europe, Wordsworth came into contact with the first intimation of the French revolution
his earliest poetry was published in 1793 in the collections "An Evening Walk" and "Descriptive Sketches"
While living in France, Wordsworth had a daughter, Caroline, out of wedlock. He left France, however, before she was born
1799 he settled in Grasmere
1802 he returned to France with his sister to meet Caroline
later that year he married Mary Hutchinson, a childhood classmate. They had five children together.
1812 he grieved over the loss of two of their children, Catherine and John, who both died that year
a deep friendship connected him with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge
together with him Wordsworth published the famous "Lyrical Ballads" in 1789. These "Lyrical Ballads" introduced the English Romanticism.
later there followed a deep commitment to the Church of England. But he never made a clear confession of orthodoxy
Wordsworth´s most famous work was "The Prelude" which was written in 1850
Devastated by the death of his daughter Dora in 1847, Wordsworth lost his will to compose poems
in his final years he settled at Rydal Mount in England, travelling and continuing his outdoor excursions
William Wordsworth died at Rydal Mount on April 23^th, 1850, leaving his wife Mary who published "The Prelude" three months later.

His view of the importance of nature to the poet

aus. www.wwf.de

For William Wordsworth nature was one of the most important factors for developing the poet`s spirit.During his lifetime various experiences of nature, for example his crossing the Alps formed his mind. Wordsworth always observed nature with the eyes of a painter. Nature inspired him in such a way that he devoted his attention to poetry . ( "The Prelude": "Nature from the first intended him to be a poet.")

He saw the world as a natural phenomenon and identified himself with his surroundings and felt like a part of the God-given nature. Writing his poems Wordsworth felt in harmony and union with nature. In addition to that he created a connection between the worldly and the godly. In other words he was a servant of God and had the ability to transform the supernatural that he found in nature into shapes and figures. Another influence of nature on the human beings is the poets inspiration by nature. So nature is a very complex idea representing a moral landscape and a fusion of the world and the universe. .

Wordsworth‘s theory of the relationship between the human being and nature is based on the understanding that a constant, improved process of an exchange between the human being and nature takes place and is never-ending. Life itself represents for him a never-ending process of learning in which stand-still is tantamount to death.

("Prelude": "Our destiny, our nature, and our home, Is with infinitude, and only there- With hope it is, hope that can never die, Effort, and expectation, and desire, And something evermore about to be.")

Every new experience with nature creates a deeper connection between the human being and nature. A poet finds the reality of nature more in the spirit of things than in their real shapes and tries to keep up the childlike perception of nature with the age, too.

IMAGINATION:

It is the poets creative and productive force. It is the poet’s third eye. That means he can perceive supernatural forces and images. He is capable of expressing his inner feelings and emotions and transmits them to the reader. "The imagination sees the heart and inner nature, and makes them felt, but is often obscure, mysterious, and interrupted, in its giving of outer detail..." Through his imagination the poet is able to recognize truth and beauty in its timelessness. It originates directly from a preceding happening. Nature is a source of a poet’s inspiration. The poet feels in a harmonious connection with natural happenings and surroundings. Imagination is the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" So the poet‘s own feelings are important.

FANCY:

The poet uses the fancy to shape and form the products of his imagination. "The fancy is indeed no other than a mode of Memory emancipated from the order of time and space; while it is blended with, and modified by that empirical phenomenon of the will, which we express by the word CHOICE.".

Westminster Bridge

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

The poem "Westminster Bridge", written by William Wordsworth is typical for the Romantic movement.

The poem consists of 14 verses. Moreover it is divided into two quartets and two tercets. The rhyme pattern of the first two quartets is a b b a (crossrhyme), while the pattern of the tercets is c d c and d c d (alternate-rhyme).

The speaker tries to describe the beauty of a city during the morning. But he also tries to connect the architecture of the city with nature to show the prevailing harmony between them.

At the beginning he says that there is not anything more beautiful than these natural cirumstances.(line 1). But the soul has to be very sensitive to realise the beautiful sight of the city (lines 2f). Further the speaker compares the beauty of the city with nature and thus builds up a connection with it ( lines 4-8). The city stands in harmony with nature. After that the speaker judges on his impressions and finally says that there has never been such a beautiful harmony between creation by human beings and nature (lines 9-14).

In the first three verses the speaker tries to explain that on earth there could not be a more beautiful sight which is described in the following. It can be assumed that the speaker criticizes the advancing process of industrialization. Maybe the world can hardly offer such beautiful moments to its inhabitants. The speaker forces the readers to realise and to properly enjoy nature as a whole.

Further the "city" and the "beauty of the morning" melt into a unity by building up a perfect synthesis between nature and this creation by humans. This unity is underlined by the word "garment". This garment, concerning the city, is decorated with "ships, towers etc."

Like the "city" they are also personified and appear like jewels on the "garment". These examples can be found in the fields - staring at and maybe touching the sky. In addition to the obvious harmony between nature and the creation by the human beings there is also a connection between the godly and worldly.

"Smokeless air" refers to the pausing machines in the factories. So the happening is fixed in the morning, when everything is still calm and clean.

The sextet contains a kind of judgement. "Never saw I..." expresses the speaker's admiration for the river’s natural flowing without being interrupted by the shipping.

In the last 2 verses the speaker addresses God directly . ("Dear God") The end contains the peaceful calm of the city because "mighty heart" is lying still.

In conclusion the poem expresses the synthesis of culture and nature. Nature transforms with its magic the atmosphere of the city into a lovely and peaceful place.

Literatur:

www.hausarbeiten.de/faecher/eng_5.html

"literary criticism" by William K. Winsatt jr. and Cleanth Brooks, Bd. 3

"Lyrical Ballads" by Wordsworth and Coleridge

Verfasser: Julia Dünnebacke, Diane Winkelmeyer, Andreas Bruns, Natascha Winter

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