Jamie Hayes
100798404
ENGL 3502C
Alexandra Huber
January 31, 2012
Wordsworth’s Common Language Conveys Real Emotion
Romantic poetry stands in stark contrast to preceding literature. Instead of the elevated artistic language of neoclassicism, poets such as William Wordsworth wrote poems of simple words in order to convey the emotions that they felt. Even when comparing his poems to those of Alexander Pope, whose neoclassicist poetry dealt with similar emotions, the two different writing styles become distinct. Pope uses extremely elevated language, while Wordsworth uses a much more common tongue. These two approaches create very different effects on the reader, yet Pope’s language does not invoke emotion as Wordsworth’s does.
Pope’s poem “Eloisa to Abelard” attempts to convey love and the emotional trauma that a lost love can cause. The grief felt by Eloisa and Abelard is a very real emotion, but Pope’s classical language elevates them above the level of the reader. Abelard deeply loves Eloisa, and Pope explains this as “the torch of Venus,” (Pope, 258) decided by “the fates” (249) who “ordain/A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain.” (250) His love is the flame of a god, created by gods. Eloisa feels such pain at the end of the poem that she wishes to die, which Pope explains by having her cry to go “where sinners may have rest… Where flames refin’d in breasts seraphic glow.” (319-320) Pope makes the love lost between them is a thing of angels and gods, not the common person. Though the feelings are real, the classicist tradition puts them out of reach.
Wordsworth’s poem “Strange Fits of Passion I Have Known” deals with another love, between himself and one Lucy. Their relationship, while given next to no explanation or background, becomes much more real to the reader under Wordsworth’s pen than that of Eloisa and Abelard. His simple language conveys clearly the feelings he felt for Lucy. He explains how the path to her cottage was “so dear to [him]” (Wordsworth, 12) as her bed “came near, and nearer still.” (15) The scene set is a tranquil one, Wordsworth on his horse, riding to see Lucy “Beneath an evening moon.” (8) However, his thoughts of her bring to his mind an unsettling thought: “If Lucy should be dead!” (28) His feelings for her invoke this momentary terror, a relatable feeling to anyone who has loved anything. The diction of the poem is all simple and instantly understandable, and yet Wordsworth still effectively conveys his profound emotion. It comes through in his recollection of Lucy, “Fresh as a rose in June” (5), through his horse walking towards her, “hoof after hoof” (21) bringing him closer and closer with a sense of urgency, never stopping. This love is truly accessible, allowing the emotions Wordsworth was feeling to be felt by the reader.
Conveying emotion was an extremely important aspect of art to romanticists, and the reverence for antiquity felt by their neoclassicist predecessors strongly inhibited doing so. By employing much more common language, poets such as William Wordsworth managed to create poetry that was relatable to readers, invoking feelings that they themselves felt. Rather than creating gods and goddesses, they created mere people, with real emotions that anyone could understand.
Works Cited
Pope, Alexander. "Eloisa to Abelard." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. C, 8th Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: 2006. Print. 2533-2540
Wordsoworth, William. "Strange Fits of Passion I Have Known." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. C, 8th Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: 2006. Print. 274-275
Works Referenced
Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. 3rd Ed. Penguin Books. London: 1991. URL: http://www.uh.edu/engines/romanticism/introduction.html
100798404
ENGL 3502C
Alexandra Huber
January 31, 2012
Wordsworth’s Common Language Conveys Real Emotion
Romantic poetry stands in stark contrast to preceding literature. Instead of the elevated artistic language of neoclassicism, poets such as William Wordsworth wrote poems of simple words in order to convey the emotions that they felt. Even when comparing his poems to those of Alexander Pope, whose neoclassicist poetry dealt with similar emotions, the two different writing styles become distinct. Pope uses extremely elevated language, while Wordsworth uses a much more common tongue. These two approaches create very different effects on the reader, yet Pope’s language does not invoke emotion as Wordsworth’s does.
Pope’s poem “Eloisa to Abelard” attempts to convey love and the emotional trauma that a lost love can cause. The grief felt by Eloisa and Abelard is a very real emotion, but Pope’s classical language elevates them above the level of the reader. Abelard deeply loves Eloisa, and Pope explains this as “the torch of Venus,” (Pope, 258) decided by “the fates” (249) who “ordain/A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain.” (250) His love is the flame of a god, created by gods. Eloisa feels such pain at the end of the poem that she wishes to die, which Pope explains by having her cry to go “where sinners may have rest… Where flames refin’d in breasts seraphic glow.” (319-320) Pope makes the love lost between them is a thing of angels and gods, not the common person. Though the feelings are real, the classicist tradition puts them out of reach.
Wordsworth’s poem “Strange Fits of Passion I Have Known” deals with another love, between himself and one Lucy. Their relationship, while given next to no explanation or background, becomes much more real to the reader under Wordsworth’s pen than that of Eloisa and Abelard. His simple language conveys clearly the feelings he felt for Lucy. He explains how the path to her cottage was “so dear to [him]” (Wordsworth, 12) as her bed “came near, and nearer still.” (15) The scene set is a tranquil one, Wordsworth on his horse, riding to see Lucy “Beneath an evening moon.” (8) However, his thoughts of her bring to his mind an unsettling thought: “If Lucy should be dead!” (28) His feelings for her invoke this momentary terror, a relatable feeling to anyone who has loved anything. The diction of the poem is all simple and instantly understandable, and yet Wordsworth still effectively conveys his profound emotion. It comes through in his recollection of Lucy, “Fresh as a rose in June” (5), through his horse walking towards her, “hoof after hoof” (21) bringing him closer and closer with a sense of urgency, never stopping. This love is truly accessible, allowing the emotions Wordsworth was feeling to be felt by the reader.
Conveying emotion was an extremely important aspect of art to romanticists, and the reverence for antiquity felt by their neoclassicist predecessors strongly inhibited doing so. By employing much more common language, poets such as William Wordsworth managed to create poetry that was relatable to readers, invoking feelings that they themselves felt. Rather than creating gods and goddesses, they created mere people, with real emotions that anyone could understand.
Works Cited
Pope, Alexander. "Eloisa to Abelard." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. C, 8th Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: 2006. Print. 2533-2540
Wordsoworth, William. "Strange Fits of Passion I Have Known." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. C, 8th Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: 2006. Print. 274-275
Works Referenced
Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. 3rd Ed. Penguin Books. London: 1991. URL: http://www.uh.edu/engines/romanticism/introduction.html
