William Wordsworth was a Romantic poet who believed that poetry was an overflow of feelings and emotion according to what he wrote in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads. His poem She Dwelt in Untrodden Ways, part of the grouping called the Lucy poems, certainly shows the reader a wealth of emotions. The Lucy poems variously ordered in different editions tell...of an uneasy courtship, blissful domestic life, and abrupt and devastating loss (Jackson). According to most, the Lucy poems are seen as a lyrical sequence, according to Mark Jones, but that interpretation may be much too simple. However, in any event, the power of Wordsworths poetry is undeniable and the feelings that he brings forth are remarkable. As Matthew Sneider, a professor at Chapman University says, Poems like this evoke the speakers peculiarly mingled feelings of grief and awe be leaving out the narrative details one would expect to encounter in conventional elegies and laments. Who is Lucy? Why did she die? (Sneider 25). He is right, and this adds to the power and talent of Wordsworth. Normally the reader would be interested in the specifics of the event, but we lose ourselves in the sparse beauty of the words. We forget to ask those other questions. The poem She Dwelt in Untrodden Ways is very simple. It consists of three short stanzas. The first two stanzas focus on Lucy while she is still alive, and the last stanza tells the reader of Lucys death and the poets response to it. In these short stanzas, the poet tells of his admiration and singular devotion to Lucy and his utter despair over her death. Using simple diction, the poems words take on even more meaning. His simple, economical stanzas of four lines each with every second line (abab) rhyming give the poem simplicity, like the subject itself. The poem used the typical ballad meter of iambic stressed/unstressed, in which the first and third lines typically have four stresses, and the second and fourth have three stresses. Even his words mostly consist of one syllable, signifying the simple, country life of his subject. The simplicity and sparseness of this poem capture Lucys beauty all the more. The untouched and remote location the setting itself as well as the woman help to produce the romantic feel of this poem. In fact, being a romantic himself, Wordsworth would have been more attracted to her because of her seclusion from the rest of the world and her presence in nature. His purpose in writing this seems to be twofold. The poem is his own pensive meditations or reflections about his feelings of loss, particularly in losing Lucy. And the other purpose is to elevate her status by offering her this ode in which he praises the unrecognized beauty of this ideal woman. In the first stanza, the reader learns that Lucy comes from the country by the river Dove, and that she was virtually unnoticed there. There are a few different Dove rivers that this place could refer to, and he also may be calling to mind the associations the reader would have with the bird named dove. Like the woman herself, the place where she lives is virtually unnoticed and untouched. Lines like, none to praise, very few to love, and the word untrodden tell the reader that Lucy was a nobody to everyone except the poet. These choices in diction are meant to reinforce her isolation. The word untrodden itself means unexplored, not walked upon, roadless, or pathless. The word means that Lucy was unexplored because no one was interested in her. She was unnoticed, untouched, and overlooked. However, not just in a physical sense but in an emotional one as well. If her physical beauty was overlooked, it is almost certain that no one got to know her mind, her inner workings either. So, she is untrodden in every aspect of her personality. However, like the nature surrounding her, her eloquence and beauty were almost sacred, in adhering to the romantic ideas about nature. In the second stanza, Wordsworths aim is to show her innocence and beauty again. He uses two simple metaphors to emphasize these qualities. A violet by a mossy stone and Fair as a star, when only one is shining in the sky. Diction is also used here to create impact. She is a flower unnoticed, half-hidden from the eye. So, she is not the beautiful violet out in full glory for the world to see but is half-hidden by a stone instead. The violet as a symbol has been used in many ways and all seem appropriate to this poem. A violet can be a symbol of innocence, modesty or mourning. It has stood for modesty and humility in that it grows so close to the ground and its blooms can be found under the leaves. Like those blooms of Lucy, the blooms of the violet cannot be seen easily. One must look closely to discover the true beauty. In Greek mythology, Zeus fell in love with a nymph named Io, who spent her days in fields of violets. Zeus turned her into a white heifer to protect her from his wife but left her to roam around in violets. Greeks revered the violets. In the Middle Ages, it became a symbol of faithfulness and crowns of violet were made for the winners of courtly poetry contests. And still it is said that violets were white until Mary watched her only son suffer on the cross, then they turned purple in mourning. The poem is also one of mourning and demonstration of Lucys faithfulness and modesty. A violet is sometimes used in Chinese lore to signify harmony of the universe. That could certainly be Wordsworths intent here as well. Her isolation is also revealed in the second metaphor. She is fair as a star, but when there is only one star in the entire sky. She is pure and rare. Some speculate that Wordsworth is referring to the star Venus who comes out all alone after sunset and is hence, the first star. Venus is also the Goddess of love, and in contrast to the violet, very public for all the world to see. In his choice of diction, Wordsworth makes clear his feelings for this woman. Romance and love are shown in comparing her to a star and a flower. As critic Brooks says, she is the single star, completely dominating [his] world, not arrogantly, like the sun but sweetly and modestly (Brooks 119). She is beautiful and rare and deserved recognition for these qualities but got none. She is unrecognized in her natural surroundings and yet is an amazingly beautiful woman, according to the poet. In the third stanza, Wordsworth tells the reader of Lucys death. He doesnt just say she died. He says, She ceased to be, which creates greater impact with the typical expectancy of an infinitive. Again, the diction of anonymity is shown in that she lived unknown and few could know. However, in the last two lines, her significance to Wordsworth is made very clear with and oh, the difference to me! Wordsworth clearly experiences a great sense of loss at her death. This last line also emphasizes her only one status as the only star in the sky. She is extremely special and the embodiment of beauty to the poet. The exclamation point at the end of the poem puts even more emphasis on his feelings of love and loss, even though they seem sparsely understated. The reader feels as though the ending has caught the poet unaware, and he can scarcely put his sentiments into words. Not describing the difference but leaving it to the imagination of the reader is much more powerful than trying to explain what her passing meant. Besides metaphors, there are also other literary techniques used to emphasize portions of the text. However, the sparse diction is part of the appeal so there is not an abundance of elements. Alliteration is used in lines like half-hidden. Sibilance is used throughout with lines like as a star and sky. The sibilance serves to emphasize the remoteness of the subject and the poem itself. It serves to emphasize the lonely atmosphere and woman that Wordsworth describes. Assonance is used in almost every line of the poem. Dove, none, love, mossy stone I shining, sky, unknown, know, ceased, be, she, me and many more. The use of this repeated assonance gives the poem a musical or nursery rhyme quality about it. Verbs are used often in the infinitive form to signal hope. To love, to praise, and to be are examples. His two metaphors serve to illustrate the contrast in her. In some ways, she is a half-hidden flower and in other ways the only star in the sky. In either case, she is completely isolated from others and almost seems a part of Nature. In many ways, this poem is a beautiful elegy. As Wooding says, If all elegies are mitigations of death, the Lucy poems are also meditations on simple beauty, by distance made more sweet and by death preserved in distance (Woodring 48). William Wordsworth has shown the reader through economical diction and beautiful simplicity his love for this neglected woman whose beauty and dignity were overlooked by everyone but the poet. From his short descriptions, the reader almost feels that she can picture this woman in her mind and feels a sadness at the passing of one so largely ignored by everyone but the poet.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 13:58:37 +0000
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