William Wordsworth

Romanticism in poetry arose in response to the morals and beliefs that prevailed in the 18th century. This form of poetry, which began somewhere around the end of the 18th century, focuses on emotions rather than reason. Some of the important romantic poetry characteristics are imagination, emotions, nature, pastoral life, symbolism and individualism.

The phenomenon of imagination is the essence of romantic poetry as it attains an excellent experience by means of imagination as it takes us near to the spiritual truth.

When it comes to romantic poetry, the influx of emotions portrayed through romantic poetry surpasses the boundaries of logical reasoning reason. The one thing which regulates the world of romanticism is emotion. Romantic poetry is one of the best ways to let loose one's emotions through words.

Spontaneity in romantic poetry arises from an emotional outflow, and sometimes pain is the inspiration for composing a good piece of poetry.

A romantic poet is imaginative in interpreting natural phenomena. It is said that romantic poetry associated with nature is a meditative practice. Nature is also viewed as a setting or place which offers relief from the artificial world that we inhabit.

The pastoral life, culture and traditions are mentioned on a frequent basis in romantic poetry. Romantic poetry makes use of this feature in order to present before readers the complexities of life in a simple manner. Contrasting features of country and urban life can also be depicted by the portrayal of pastoral life.

Symbolism is a way of expressing so much in so little. The use of symbolism in literature allows inferring different meanings from a single expression. Symbolism provokes the curiosity of readers and also adds a kind of mystery to the expressions or thoughts of the poet. Representing a particular thing symbolically, lies at the core of symbolism.

Individualism is one of the important romantic poetry characteristics. Heroes are depicted as personalities which exhibit boldness. This quality boldness is in contrast with that of restraint depicted in ancient classics.

My choice of poet, William Wordsworth, fits into this era after careful evaluation of two of his most profound poems, Three Years She Grew and Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 and his past which played an influential role in his work. Wordsworth, who together with his four siblings was an orphan, embarked on a walking tour of Europe which influenced his poetry and his outlook on politics greatly. Having experienced the French Revolution first hand, he became a lot more sympathetic towards life, its troubles and the voice of the common man. Both of the poems which I have selected encompass the main characteristics of Romantic poetry – which one can argue is the result of his life experiences.

The poem, upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, depicts many characteristics of romantic poetry such as concern with being in harmony with nature in ‘Earth has not anything to show more fair’. Though exaggerating, he means that at that particular moment, he could not imagine anywhere being more beautiful than the place at which he was standing. It is almost more a manifestation of his mood than what he is seeing.

Nature imagery is also very prominent throughout the poem. ‘This City now doth, like a garment, wear the beauty of the morning;’ hint that maybe the morning, not London itself, is responsible for the stunning quality of the view. ‘Never did sun more beautifully steep; In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill’ specifically compares the morning sunlight falling on the city to the sunlight that might cover more remote parts of the countryside, such as a valley, a boulder or mountainous cliff or a hillside. ‘The river glideth at his own sweet will’ engages in the personification of various elements of the picture. Here the river is described as a patient person who takes his time and doesn't allow himself to be rushed.

‘Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!’ depicts nature as divine as the speaker gets more excited about this view after declaring it the most beautiful thing on earth and cries out to God as if he has just recognised something astonishing he had not noticed before.

Emotional connection to visual stimulus ‘Earth has not anything to show more fair’ and ‘Never did sun more beautifully steep; In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;’ the speaker elaborates on his bold statement that he has found the most beautiful scene on the planet which is indicative of Wordsworth’s emotional state towards the view he sees.

Similarly, when looking at the poem Three Years She Grew, we see that the poet writes about real life and we also see that nature takes on an interesting role in this poem - she is beautiful and giving, and yet ultimately dictates the circumstances of Lucy's death.

Concrete situations in a natural setting where nature promises to make Lucy into a part of nature itself. She will be a part of the rocks, the earth, the heaven, the glades, the mountain springs, the clouds, the trees, and the storms. Supernatural imagery, which might be interpreted as individualism and solitude, are also evident in this poem. A strong example of this is ‘In earth and heaven, in glade and bower; Shall feel an overseeing power’.

William Wordsworth made a valuable contribution to literature as he was one of the forerunners in developing romantic poetry in the Romantic Era as the basic traits of romanticism such as the love of nature, the belief in humanity; mysticism and revolutionary spirit were early developed in his poetry. He also wrote many great sonnets which allowed awoken England from a deep slumber to denounce Napoleon and record some of his own moods. These sonnets aroused a sense of responsibility in international affairs and also created a sense of immortality. Thus, Wordsworth stands apart as the pioneer of Romantic Movement by his great contribution in English literature.