Friday, April 3, 2009
Andy Brown's Blog Post on Book First of William Wordsworth's Prelude of 1805
Wordsworth describes his struggles with writers block in lines 238-271 of Book First of the 1805 Prelude. His description of the struggle writers go through to produce meaningful work resonated especially well with me, seeing as I am currently writing this blog post and it is well past midnight. My despair is lessened upon careful consideration of the circumstances of Wordsworth’s struggle with a lack of poetic agency. These lines were new for the 1805 version of The Prelude, which means that in the time between 1799, when the first version of the poem was completed, and 1805, when this version was finished, William Wordsworth had still not made meaningful progress on The Recluse, his planned mother-of-all-philosophy-poems Poem. In fact, he would die before ever finishing or even really making significant progress on this philosophical epic.
Worse yet for the poet, he cannot even seem to come to terms with his need to write The Recluse. Is it a “vague longing that is bred by want of power” (241) or is it a “paramount impulse not to be withstood” (242)? His project is not getting off the ground because of the conflict between his own timidity and the necessity to write the poem, his prudence and his propensity for delay (243-244). The poet’s negative emotions, such as anger, self-pity, and helplessness, come through on the page, juxtaposed with the early optimism he displayed at the beginning of Book First. The “mild creative breeze” that filled Wordsworth with poetic energy in line 43 has given way to “a mind that every hour / turns recreant to her task, takes heart again, / then feels immediately some hollow thought / hang like an interdict upon her hopes” (259-262).
The passage that begins on line 271 after the conclusion of the “writers block” passage, confirms that Wordsworth had been stuck on The Recluse for quite some time. It is the same passage that opened the first part of the two part Prelude of 1799. The question asked, “Was it for this”, is the same, and the passage is exactly the same as it was in 1799, indicating that the poet had not made enough progress on the planned philosophical poem to satisfy himself. The issues that he was having in 1799 were the same that worried him in 1805. By this time, however, Wordsworth seems convinced that he would have been better off whiling away his days without the specter of unwritten Recluse haunting him. Had not the grand idea of The Recluse occurred to him, he could have spent his days in ”vacant musing, unreproved neglect / of all things, and deliberate holiday” (255-256) without worrying about the hours lost in the process.
One feels sympathy with Wordsworth when he complains that his creative faculties are “in blank reserve” (248) and that progress on The Recluse is stuck in the limbo of “infinite delay” (244). Unfortunately for Wordsworth, though, this limbo was not to be of the Dantean type, filled with poets, philosophers, and other great and creative types who in antiquity produced fine works of philosophy in Latin and Greek. Instead, his Recluse was to be condemned to the Miltonic depths of Pandæmonium for all time, never to come to fruition. The hope of potential readers was abandoned, and the paradisiacal pleasure of reading The Recluse was to be forever lost when Wordsworth died in 1850 without having written The Recluse. Truly, a writers block of hellish proportions.
Worse yet for the poet, he cannot even seem to come to terms with his need to write The Recluse. Is it a “vague longing that is bred by want of power” (241) or is it a “paramount impulse not to be withstood” (242)? His project is not getting off the ground because of the conflict between his own timidity and the necessity to write the poem, his prudence and his propensity for delay (243-244). The poet’s negative emotions, such as anger, self-pity, and helplessness, come through on the page, juxtaposed with the early optimism he displayed at the beginning of Book First. The “mild creative breeze” that filled Wordsworth with poetic energy in line 43 has given way to “a mind that every hour / turns recreant to her task, takes heart again, / then feels immediately some hollow thought / hang like an interdict upon her hopes” (259-262).
The passage that begins on line 271 after the conclusion of the “writers block” passage, confirms that Wordsworth had been stuck on The Recluse for quite some time. It is the same passage that opened the first part of the two part Prelude of 1799. The question asked, “Was it for this”, is the same, and the passage is exactly the same as it was in 1799, indicating that the poet had not made enough progress on the planned philosophical poem to satisfy himself. The issues that he was having in 1799 were the same that worried him in 1805. By this time, however, Wordsworth seems convinced that he would have been better off whiling away his days without the specter of unwritten Recluse haunting him. Had not the grand idea of The Recluse occurred to him, he could have spent his days in ”vacant musing, unreproved neglect / of all things, and deliberate holiday” (255-256) without worrying about the hours lost in the process.
One feels sympathy with Wordsworth when he complains that his creative faculties are “in blank reserve” (248) and that progress on The Recluse is stuck in the limbo of “infinite delay” (244). Unfortunately for Wordsworth, though, this limbo was not to be of the Dantean type, filled with poets, philosophers, and other great and creative types who in antiquity produced fine works of philosophy in Latin and Greek. Instead, his Recluse was to be condemned to the Miltonic depths of Pandæmonium for all time, never to come to fruition. The hope of potential readers was abandoned, and the paradisiacal pleasure of reading The Recluse was to be forever lost when Wordsworth died in 1850 without having written The Recluse. Truly, a writers block of hellish proportions.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Book First
William Wordsworth’s “Prelude” of 1805 was his second critique on trying to create the greatest English work ever written. He felt that to explain his philosophies in the greatest poem he had to show the reader how he got to this point in his life. This first book tells stories of his childhood and uses a lot of imagery of nature. Although not meant to be humorous, I find the fact that the “Prelude” is like an epic poem about the story of his like to entertaining.
The most intriguing lines to me are 206-228 in which he speaks of the highs and lows of man. “Of meditation on the inhuman deeds” (line 206) Wordsworth realizes the brutal past of such things as colonization and wars. He distinctly mentions the conquering of the Indian Isles that was done by the English. Oddly enough even though he is English his next few lines consist of brave men who helped fight for their respective countries and none of them were English. The most mentioned of these men is William Wallace who fought to free his countrymen from English rule.
“Wallace fought for Scotland, left the name / Of Wallace to be found like a wild flower” (lines 213-214). Wordsworth brings in the nature imagery at this point to emphasize how Wallace’s popularity spread even through death. He continues this imagery by comparing rocks and river-banks, or nature’s “sanctuaries,” to freedom and liberty. Through this Wordsworth is able to articulate how far they had come to that point, since a couple hundred years ago it was the English who tortured Wallace and tried denying his countrymen that same freedom and liberty.
Wordsworth uses this small section to show how he agrees with and supports those who fight for freedom and liberty. He ultimately wants to make a utopian society and believes that freedom and liberty would be best for a utopian society.
The most intriguing lines to me are 206-228 in which he speaks of the highs and lows of man. “Of meditation on the inhuman deeds” (line 206) Wordsworth realizes the brutal past of such things as colonization and wars. He distinctly mentions the conquering of the Indian Isles that was done by the English. Oddly enough even though he is English his next few lines consist of brave men who helped fight for their respective countries and none of them were English. The most mentioned of these men is William Wallace who fought to free his countrymen from English rule.
“Wallace fought for Scotland, left the name / Of Wallace to be found like a wild flower” (lines 213-214). Wordsworth brings in the nature imagery at this point to emphasize how Wallace’s popularity spread even through death. He continues this imagery by comparing rocks and river-banks, or nature’s “sanctuaries,” to freedom and liberty. Through this Wordsworth is able to articulate how far they had come to that point, since a couple hundred years ago it was the English who tortured Wallace and tried denying his countrymen that same freedom and liberty.
Wordsworth uses this small section to show how he agrees with and supports those who fight for freedom and liberty. He ultimately wants to make a utopian society and believes that freedom and liberty would be best for a utopian society.
The Prelude of 1805- Zoey Russell
In “The Prelude of 1805”, the first book from lines 1 to 25, William Wordsworth starts by stating “Oh there is blessing in this gentle breeze, That blows from the green fields and from the clouds, And from the sky; it beats against my check”. He then moves to welcoming a “messenger” and “friend” who is “coming from a house Of bondage, from yon city’s walls set free,”. Then he talks about the “prisoner” and how he was captive for a long time and is now free. He then goes on to talk about where the “prisoner” will live and he states “underneath what grove”? Wordsworth uses diction and theme to illustrate his message of how one can live as a prisoner and when released, find shelter within nature.
Wordsworth uses many words to depict a prisoner who was recently released from prison. He uses words such as “bondage”, “set free”, “prisoner”, “immured”, and “enfranchised” to show that the prisoner was just released. At the beginning of the book, Wordsworth introduces the prisoner as a messenger and friend and “greets thee, coming from a house”. At the beginning, a reader might seem a little confused because he is introduced as a friend and then turned into a prisoner. He also is coming from a house but a few lines down he is “from yon city’s walls set free”. After being released from “yon city’s walls” and held captive for a period of time one has to find shelter and he does within nature.
The first book then goes into the prisoner talking about his shelter. He states “Shall be my harbor, underneath what grove”? This indicates that the prisoner needs a place to stay and hints a group of trees. Trees are a part of nature and he clearly does not mind to live with the nature. He then goes on to say “Shall with its murmurs lull me to my rest?” This indicates that if he does decide to live within the group of trees, will they lead him to sleep. He then suggest, “The earth is all before me-with a heart” meaning whatever he decides to do, the earth will protect him. Even if he does decide to sleep with the trees, the earth will not only be his shelter but his protection.
From the time of the prisoner being released from “yon city’s walls”, he chose to live within a group of trees. He feels that nature and the earth can and will protect him. Wordsworth uses diction and theme to illustrate his message of how easily a prisoner can find shelter. Nobody ever said shelter had to be within a home, and here the prisoner chose shelter within a group of trees.
The Prelude Book 1 pg 107-131
In the 1805 version of the first book of The Prelude, Jonathan Wordsworth speaks a lot about God’s constant presence within nature, the order and harmony in nature, and he shares many of his rationalistic thoughts which he plans on writing down in The Recluse, his next book. One passage which I found interesting speaks of his new philosophical findings and how he intends to share them in his future book. This passage, lines 107-131, carries an emotional arc which starts with his excitement and happiness over discovering inspiration, moves to his indecisiveness in composing and presenting superlative philosophical beliefs, and ends with an his discouragement in writing The Recluse. Through diction, metaphors, and imagery, Wordsworth presents the emotional arc of his thoughts about writing The Recluse.
In the first part of the stanza, Wordsworth talks about his exciting discovery of philosophical inspirations all around him. He uses words such as “common” and describes “the endless store of things” as “rare, or at least so seeming…” The endless store is a metaphor Wordsworth uses for an atomistic view of ideas. The store places new products on its shelves as the mind places new impressed ideas in the brain from the outer world. In his description of them as common or as seeming rare, Wordsworth emphasizes that nature’s inspiration has always been around though he could not see it before his maturation. In writing the prelude, he is expressing his maturation as an artist and is showing his excitement and passion which springs from the inspirational world around him.
Though he is ecstatic and passionate about his ideas, he feels he needs an organized plan for sharing the best philosophical ideas ever presented. Wordsworth again uses the store metaphor to allude to his indecisiveness in approaching his writing of The Recluse. He notes he wants to “either lay up new stores, or rescue from decay the old by timely interference.” In other words, he is unsure whether he should present new philosophical ideas which have never been presented before or if he should base his book off older, yet still great, ideas which people have forgotten about. Though he is unsure of the approach, he hopes to present ideas better than other philosophers or poets of his time. Wordsworth alludes to his disapproval of current philosophical beliefs when he states, “I have hopes still higher, that with a frame of outward life I might endue, might fix in a visible home, some portion of those phantoms of conceit that had been floating loose about so long, and to such beings temperately deal forth the many feelings that oppressed my heart.” In this line, the “phantoms of conceit” which have “been floating about so long” refer to the current philosophical beliefs of others which have not been disproved or challenged. Wordsworth uses the imagery of phantoms to emphasize the negative connotations he has with the ideas “floating” around at the time. In going through with his plan to write The Recluse, he feels he can present better ideas.
Though he desires to write The Recluse, Wordsworth notes his recent discouragement; specifically, he uses imagery to present his frustration. He describes how he sees flashes of light as though the sun is rising, yet the sun never rises and merely “mock[s]” him. Wordsworth is being mocked by nature since he “remembers the sweet promise of the past…” In other words, based on the impressions in his mind, he has been taught or “promised” that the sun will rise when he sees “flashes” “from the east.” However, in recent cases, his memories and beliefs have failed him and nature seems to be messing with his head. This frustrating situation alludes to his frustration and uncertainty in writing The Recluse. Though nature is supposed to be his inspiration, nature now seems to be tricking him and confusing him. His ideas are being lost, and he faces obstacles or “impediments from day to day renewed” when trying to write the book.
In the first part of the stanza, Wordsworth talks about his exciting discovery of philosophical inspirations all around him. He uses words such as “common” and describes “the endless store of things” as “rare, or at least so seeming…” The endless store is a metaphor Wordsworth uses for an atomistic view of ideas. The store places new products on its shelves as the mind places new impressed ideas in the brain from the outer world. In his description of them as common or as seeming rare, Wordsworth emphasizes that nature’s inspiration has always been around though he could not see it before his maturation. In writing the prelude, he is expressing his maturation as an artist and is showing his excitement and passion which springs from the inspirational world around him.
Though he is ecstatic and passionate about his ideas, he feels he needs an organized plan for sharing the best philosophical ideas ever presented. Wordsworth again uses the store metaphor to allude to his indecisiveness in approaching his writing of The Recluse. He notes he wants to “either lay up new stores, or rescue from decay the old by timely interference.” In other words, he is unsure whether he should present new philosophical ideas which have never been presented before or if he should base his book off older, yet still great, ideas which people have forgotten about. Though he is unsure of the approach, he hopes to present ideas better than other philosophers or poets of his time. Wordsworth alludes to his disapproval of current philosophical beliefs when he states, “I have hopes still higher, that with a frame of outward life I might endue, might fix in a visible home, some portion of those phantoms of conceit that had been floating loose about so long, and to such beings temperately deal forth the many feelings that oppressed my heart.” In this line, the “phantoms of conceit” which have “been floating about so long” refer to the current philosophical beliefs of others which have not been disproved or challenged. Wordsworth uses the imagery of phantoms to emphasize the negative connotations he has with the ideas “floating” around at the time. In going through with his plan to write The Recluse, he feels he can present better ideas.
Though he desires to write The Recluse, Wordsworth notes his recent discouragement; specifically, he uses imagery to present his frustration. He describes how he sees flashes of light as though the sun is rising, yet the sun never rises and merely “mock[s]” him. Wordsworth is being mocked by nature since he “remembers the sweet promise of the past…” In other words, based on the impressions in his mind, he has been taught or “promised” that the sun will rise when he sees “flashes” “from the east.” However, in recent cases, his memories and beliefs have failed him and nature seems to be messing with his head. This frustrating situation alludes to his frustration and uncertainty in writing The Recluse. Though nature is supposed to be his inspiration, nature now seems to be tricking him and confusing him. His ideas are being lost, and he faces obstacles or “impediments from day to day renewed” when trying to write the book.
Book First..First Book
In the First Book in The Prelude, there was one particular section that really stood out to me, even though I do not fully understand it just yet. It was on page 34 and it consisted of lines 107 to 131. In short, this section’s main focus seems to be based off of William Wordsworth extreme passion for his dreams and nature. The first line says “I spare to speak, my friend, of what ensued –“, and this dash leads into an explanation from Wordsworth of something he does not want to talk about, which draws the reader in to find out what Wordsworth does not what to mention to his friend.
In lines 108 to 113, I felt a very positive vibe coming from Wordsworth. This was expressed through his use of positive language, such as ‘love’, ‘admiration’, ‘self-congratulation’, and ‘happiness’. With the use of these words at the beginning the reader can expect a complete turnaround according to the first line of this passage. This is apparent because in lines 114 until the end, the mood changes from this positive, loving attitude, to a saddened and discouraging attitude. From lines 114 to 124, Wordsworth leaves the reader under the impression that somebody or something has let him down. The use of negative toned words helps set the new mood for the rest of this passage, such as ‘longing’, ‘had hopes’, ‘oppressed’, ‘decay’, ‘rescue’, and ‘discouraged’. The rest of the passage has this same attitude and then it is revealed that the reader is upset with Mother Nature, who he calls ‘she’ and ‘her’.
“But I have been discouraged: gleams of lightFlash often from the east, then disappearAnd mock me with a sky that ripens notInto a steady morning.”
To me, Wordsworth is upset with Mother Nature because she did not bring him a sunny morning. After reading this passage, it is interesting of Wordsworth’s choice of words into the revealing of why he is upset and what he did not want to talk about. His choice of words came off as if he did not entirely want to blame Mother Nature or be upset with Mother Nature because she did not bring him a lovely sky in the morning. He is so upset that he has to go into his mind and remember what a ‘steady morning’ is supposed to be like. This is almost comical to me, because he did not want to tell the reader of his anger towards Mother Nature. Maybe he did not want to tell the reader because he thinks Mother Nature will hear him and she may do this again?
This brings me back to my point of Wordsworth being extremely passionate about his dreams and Mother Nature. In this section is extremely apparent how passionate he is about Mother Nature. Like I said before, he is so passionate that he does not even want to speak of the negative of Mother Nature, because it hurts him so much. Passion is one of the huge themes of The Prelude and this is only one portion that demonstrates his passion.
In lines 108 to 113, I felt a very positive vibe coming from Wordsworth. This was expressed through his use of positive language, such as ‘love’, ‘admiration’, ‘self-congratulation’, and ‘happiness’. With the use of these words at the beginning the reader can expect a complete turnaround according to the first line of this passage. This is apparent because in lines 114 until the end, the mood changes from this positive, loving attitude, to a saddened and discouraging attitude. From lines 114 to 124, Wordsworth leaves the reader under the impression that somebody or something has let him down. The use of negative toned words helps set the new mood for the rest of this passage, such as ‘longing’, ‘had hopes’, ‘oppressed’, ‘decay’, ‘rescue’, and ‘discouraged’. The rest of the passage has this same attitude and then it is revealed that the reader is upset with Mother Nature, who he calls ‘she’ and ‘her’.
“But I have been discouraged: gleams of lightFlash often from the east, then disappearAnd mock me with a sky that ripens notInto a steady morning.”
To me, Wordsworth is upset with Mother Nature because she did not bring him a sunny morning. After reading this passage, it is interesting of Wordsworth’s choice of words into the revealing of why he is upset and what he did not want to talk about. His choice of words came off as if he did not entirely want to blame Mother Nature or be upset with Mother Nature because she did not bring him a lovely sky in the morning. He is so upset that he has to go into his mind and remember what a ‘steady morning’ is supposed to be like. This is almost comical to me, because he did not want to tell the reader of his anger towards Mother Nature. Maybe he did not want to tell the reader because he thinks Mother Nature will hear him and she may do this again?
This brings me back to my point of Wordsworth being extremely passionate about his dreams and Mother Nature. In this section is extremely apparent how passionate he is about Mother Nature. Like I said before, he is so passionate that he does not even want to speak of the negative of Mother Nature, because it hurts him so much. Passion is one of the huge themes of The Prelude and this is only one portion that demonstrates his passion.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Prelude, part II
In The Prelude, many themes are introduced and expounded upon, all in an attempt to explain the development of Wordsworth’s poetic vocation over the course of his life. Yet even though many are introduced, the work is mostly concerned with themes of ever-present nature and its effect on fickle mankind. Whether it was the poet’s opinion that this subject was worthy of the remainder of his epic, we will never know, but the Prelude does a masterful job of exploring the subject. In the second part of the piece, Wordsworth focuses on his early adolescence, and the memories that he has of various outings into nature’s magnificent beauty, which serve as metaphorical vehicles for the spiritual journey that he experiences as a whole during the epic.
One such outing or memory that Wordsworth (as the narrator) has of nature is a scene in which he interacts with the sun and the moon, which are both personified in the passage. He speaks of loving the sun and watching it “lay [its] beauty on the morning hills… in many a thoughtless hour” and of how his “blood appeared to flow with its own pleasure”. He speaks of the moon in similar fashion, of dreaming away his purposes while looking upon it with a sense of belonging. The anthropomorphism associated with the celestial spheres is common in all poetry throughout, and especially works of the romantic era, but Wordsworth displays a rare mastery of the technique in this section of the Prelude.
Another interesting aspect of this particular segment is that it can almost stand alone as its own poem. If one only alters the beginning, it takes on its own independent emotional arc and thematic repetition. This only further argues Wordsworth’s mastery of the English language, and causes us to truly mourn the incompletion of the latter parts of his epic masterpiece.
One such outing or memory that Wordsworth (as the narrator) has of nature is a scene in which he interacts with the sun and the moon, which are both personified in the passage. He speaks of loving the sun and watching it “lay [its] beauty on the morning hills… in many a thoughtless hour” and of how his “blood appeared to flow with its own pleasure”. He speaks of the moon in similar fashion, of dreaming away his purposes while looking upon it with a sense of belonging. The anthropomorphism associated with the celestial spheres is common in all poetry throughout, and especially works of the romantic era, but Wordsworth displays a rare mastery of the technique in this section of the Prelude.
Another interesting aspect of this particular segment is that it can almost stand alone as its own poem. If one only alters the beginning, it takes on its own independent emotional arc and thematic repetition. This only further argues Wordsworth’s mastery of the English language, and causes us to truly mourn the incompletion of the latter parts of his epic masterpiece.
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