William Wordsworth (1770-1850), one of the greatest poets of England, was born at Cockermouth in 1770. He lost his mother in 1778 and father in 1783. So, he wished to live lonely under the influence of nature. Wordsworth's literary criticism is the manifesto of the British Romantic movement. His criticism consists of Advertisement to the Lyrical Ballads 1798, Preface to the Lyrical Ballads 1800, 1802, with an Appendix on Poetic Diction. He is the first English Critic to consider, at length, the nature of poetry and the creative process.
He rejected the diction of neoclassical poetry. He disliked personification,
pathetic fallacy (false appearance when one is emotional), inversions, use of
classical mythology, conceits, hyperbole and obscurity. According to him, good
poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, it is not a matter of
rules and regulations. He pleads for the retention of the common speech in
poetry.
Though he says that his writing, the Preface is not to give an elaborate account of his theory of
poetry, he gives a detailed account of the nature, qualifications and functions
of a poet and the nature of poetic pleasure. According to him, the materials
for poetry are to be found in every subject which can interest the human mind.
Moreover, simplicity is needed both in theme and treatment. So, there neither
is, nor there can be any essential difference between the language of prose and
verse. As the function of poetry is to give pleasure, a poet should not write
poetry for his pleasure but for the pleasure of his readers. So, a poet should
differ from an ordinary individual not in nature but in degree. He should have
greater power of imagination, greater knowledge of human nature and
sensibility. He should be sympathetic and have great power of communication.
So, the poetic pleasure is not a mere idle amusement. It is much greater and
nobler. Similarly poetic truth is also much higher than the truth of philosophy
or history. As the use of metre is traditional, he justifies the use of metre
but condemns the use of poetic diction as it is arbitrary.
A good poetry is never an immediate expression of powerful
emotions. A good poet must meditate and ponder over them long and deeply. In
other words, poetry has its origin in 'emotions recollected in tranquility'.
Moreover, according to him, the four stages through which poetic composition
takes place, are observation, recollection, contemplation and the imaginative
excitement of the emotions which were experienced earlier.
First of all, there is the observation 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. Here memory
plays an important role. Thirdly there is a process of Contemplation, where the
poet is in the 'State of enjoyment'. It is very much like the first emotion.
The fourth and the last stage is the Stage of Composition. Here the poet
differs from others. He succeeds in his attempt to convey his 'State of
enjoyment' to others through his poem that flows freely and spontaneously. With
his great communication capability, he gives his experience and pleasure to
others. It increases the reader's knowledge of human life and human nature and
so makes him wiser, nobler and better.
Wordsworth's criticism is of far-reaching historical
significance. He is the first critic to turn from the form of poetry to its
substance and the first critic who builds a theory of poetry and gives an
account of the nature of the creative process. He advocates a deliberate choice
of subjects from 'humble and rustic life'. Instead of being pre-occupied with
nymphs and goddesses, he portrays the emotions of village girls and peasants.
There is a healthy realism in his demand that the poet should use 'the language
of common men'. As Wordsworth was primarily a poet, he hasn't left behind him a
comprehensive treatise on criticism. Though the bulk of Wordsworth's criticism
is small, the core of his literary criticism is as inspired as his poetry.
-----Thulasidharan V Thillaiakathu
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