Woodsworth Romantic Poetry

Wordsworth’s Definition of Poetry

Wordsworth defines poetry as the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” and further elaborates that poetry “takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility” (26-27). The mind transforms the raw emotion of experience into poetry capable of giving pleasure. The statement that “all good poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (27) occurs twice in the preface and suggests that the poetic creation is an intense emotional activity. Wordsworth emphasizes that this poetic creation needs calmness and tranquility. Wordsworth tells that for the Lyrical Ballads, he chose “incidents and situations from common life”, intending to make them interesting “by tracing in them….the primary laws of our nature” (27). He claims that his selection of language is more closely connected to “the primary laws of nature”. For that purpose, “Humble and rustic life was generally chosen” (27), implying that rural life and village communities show human nature in a pure state. He employs a language that is spoken by common men and the reason for its usage is, “they convey their feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions” (26), indicating that Wordsworth likes simplicity. Wordsworth believed that poetry should reveal general truths, and in particular truths about human nature. Wordsworth’s preface emphasizes a relationship between a poet and his poem, which is the romantic ideal.

William Blake’s “The Echoing Green” shares a lot of the same characteristics that Wordsworth used to define poetry. The poem is very simple and shows human nature in a pure and humble state. It is a detailed exploration on the cycle of life. The line “The sun does arise, And make happy the skies” (1,2) creates a fresh feel of energy that is felt with the arrival of a new morning and similarly, a new life. Likewise, “The sun does descend, And our sports have an end” (23,24) is representative of the ending of a life. What is happening on the...