The Romanticism of I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth - Assignment Example

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth Introduction Romanticism was a literary culture in the 18th century that favored natural, personal and emotional themes in poetry among other forms of literature. The type of poetry favored intuition at the expense of reason. Proponents of the culture vouched for the avid description of feelings often adopting personal relations with the plots. This way, the poets construct the themes systematically by striving to develop emotional appeal. Through the vivid descriptions, the poets enhanced the consumption of the literary works by developing avid mental pictures vital in the consumption of the literary works. The poets present their thoughts through personal, natural and emotional themes (Tutschka, 2009). Discussion Question 1 William Wordsworth is one of the iconic poets who fostered the growth of romanticism. His work, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is an artistic masterpiece in which the poet observes the dictates of romanticism in poetry. The poet observes the literary and poetic techniques and strategic devices to enhance his personal, natural and emotional presentation of themes. The culture of romanticism defined poetry as “emotion recollected in tranquility.” William Wordsworth portrays this in his poetry as he strives to describe the natural scenery in an emotional and personal manner thus portraying his feelings and thoughts. The vivid description enhances the consumption of the work since it does not only help in the conceptualization of the mental imagery but also portrays the poet’s emotional connection with the themes. This way, the poem has a unique emotional appeal, a prerequisite in romanticism (Wordsworth & Suomalainen, 2005). Romanticism requires a personal touch with the lyrics in a poem. William Wordsworth upholds this in the poem as he uses such pronouns as “me”, “I”, “my” and “mine”. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1) and “When all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3) are some of the basic examples drawn from the poem. The use of such personal pronouns enables the author to describe his feelings and experiences. This gives authority to the voice in the poem thus enhancing the emotional description of the thematic issues in the poem. Additionally, romanticism vouches for the expression of a poet’s inner feelings and emotions. Poets must use appropriate words in order to comply with the dictates of poetry while enhancing the communication of their feelings and emotions. William Wordsworth perfects this in the poem as he describes his happiness and joy. The two are both feelings and emotions that influence the composition of the poem. The poem oozes such emotions naturally owing to Wordsworth’s selection of appropriate words and terminologies that depict the feelings. “A poet could not but be gay” (line 15) and “In such a jocund company” (line 16) both portray the poets joy as he observed the natural scenery. Additionally, the poet enhances the description of his feelings by describing his moods in the poem “In vacant or in pensive mood” (line 20). In doing this, the poet enhances the conceptualization of the ideas he strives to build. Poetic composition as proposed by the era of romanticism requires the physical description of the poet’s experiences. In I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, Wordsworth strives to employ his physical senses in describing his experiences while on the walk. He for example employs the sense of sight as he describes all the features of the natural scenery he experienced while on the walk. “When all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3), from this line, Wordsworth begins to describe the physical attributes of the scenery. This does not only validate the claims he makes in the poem but also enhances the conceptualization of the ideas and themes in the poem. Wordsworth was a significant contributor to the development of the literary culture. His idea of romanticism in poem was the portrayal of natural scenery. The beauty of nature is a significant feature of the society, incorporating this in poems enhances the expression of feelings and emotions. Wordsworth portrays this in the poem as he describes his experiences while out on a walk. He provides vivid description of his experiences often describing the hills among other features of the natural scenery (Labbe, 2003). Another equally feature of romanticism in poetry is the systematic and effective use of metaphors and similes. The two poetic devices enhance the development of the mental images besides enhancing the vivid description required in poetry. Wordsworth uses numerous metaphors and similes in his poem as he describes his experiences. Continuous as the stars that shine line 7) is one of the numerous instances in the poem where Wordsworth describes his experiences and uses similes and metaphors to enhance the description of the same. Such poetic devices are systematic in enhancing the success of the poem. Question 2 The poem’s analysts explain that Wordsworth wrote the poem after taking a walk Lake Ullswater in April 1802 with his sister named Dorothy. In The Gasmere Journal, Dorothy also wrote about the walk a feature that validates such claims. The difference between the two accounts of the same walk portrays the inherent ideological differences among the two. Just as discussed earlier, Wordsworth adopts the romanticism structure of poetry as he describes his personal experiences in the walk. The vivid description of the natural scenery epitomizes romanticism in modern poetry as the poet develops a straightforward poem. In doing this, the poet employs vivid description characterized with the use of similes and metaphors among many other devices (Woof, 1991). Additionally, the poet adopts the personal connection with the plot of the poem by using personal pronouns. Such techniques enhance the recreation and representation of the walk. Despite the difference in the structure of the literatures written by the two siblings, the literary devices and the writing styles have some similarities thereby portraying a degree of collaboration between the siblings. In fact, analysts of Wordsworth’s poem explain that he wrote the poem after his sister encouraged him to (Ferber, 2012). Additionally, both siblings used such word as “tossing”, “dancing” and “gay” in their respective literatures. This portrays the collaborative nature of the writings as they strive to capture their experiences. They both adopted a personalized description of the walk thereby proving that both writers adopted the romanticism structure of composition. Additionally, both writer develop an emotional attachment with the natural scenery as they describe the beauty of their experiences and their emotional connection with the scenery. Both writers adopt a straightforward approach in writing their respective articles. They use simple sentence strictures and extensive description of both the setting and plot among other features of poem. Through their vivid description of the scenery and actions in the plot, both writers enhance the structure of their respective literatures. They infuse an emotional appeal in the article using the personal pronouns and vivid description of their feelings and physical senses such as the sense of sight (Fink, 1958). Vivid description enhanced with the systematic use of similes and metaphors enhances the structure of the literatures besides enhancing their authority in both. The two authors use such literary devices alternately thereby portraying a cohesion in their recreation of the experiences and their literary and poetic prowess. Question 3 The poem was a literary masterpiece and a perfect portrayal of the romanticism culture of poetry. Wordsworth collects his experiences and presents them in a systematic manner to develop an ideal poem in which he expresses his personal experiences. The experienced poet uses personal pronouns in the poem systematically and strategically to enhance his fortification of the romanticism ideologies in poetry (Wordsworth & Wordsworth, 2005). Using such personal pronouns, the author expresses his feelings and experiences in the poem thereby earning an emotional appeal a significant feature that enhances the consumption of the poem. He observes all the structural requirements of a poem. The poem has definite structure consisting of four stanzas with six lines each. The poem has a definite rhyme pattern that enhances the development of a definite rhythm thus enhancing the recital and lyrical composition of the poem. Despite abiding by such basic poetic requirements, the poet manages to infuse other literary devises such as similes and metaphors among many others a feature that portrays his poetic genius. While reading the poem, I development a natural bond with the poem owing to the poets ability to earn emotional appeal. Wordsworth’s ability to express his feelings and emotions in the poem is a major attraction in the poem, one that enhances the emotional attachment I developed with the poem. Additionally, the poem is straightforward since the poet uses simple sentences coupled with vivid description. The description of the natural scenery in the poem enhanced the conceptualization of ideas as I read the poem. As such, I could build mental images as I read along. This enhanced the consumption of the poem since I placed myself in the plot of the poem. The poet strived to exhibit every feature of romanticism in the poem as he describes the natural scenery in a personal manner thereby presenting his feelings and emotions about the walk he had with his sister. Bibliography Ferber, M. (2012). The Cambridge introduction to British romantic poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fink, Z. S. (1958). The early Wordsworthian Milieu. Oxford: Clerendon Press. Gill, S. (ed). (1990) William Wordsworth. New York: OUP. Labbe, J. M. (2003). Charlotte Smith: Romanticism, poetry, and the culture of gender. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Levin, S. M., & Levin, S. M. (2009). Dorothy Wordsworth and romanticism. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co. Tutschka, V. (2009). Romantic Thoughts in Wordsworths "I wandered lonely as a cloud". München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Wolfson, S. (1997). Formal charges: The shaping of poetry in British Romanticism. Stanford: Stanford University press. Woof, P. (1991). Dorothy Wordsworth: The Grasmere Journals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wordsworth, J., & Wordsworth, J. (2005). The Penguin book of Romantic poetry. London: Penguin. Wordsworth, W., & Suomalainen, S. (2005). I wandered lonely as a cloud. Montral: Lobster Press. Read More