This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
- AQA A Level Music Written Paper: Appraising (7272/W) - Mon 12th June 2023 [Exam Chat]
- AQA A-level Music (7272/W) Appraising Music - 10th June 2024 [Exam Chat]
- IB English Lit Extended Essay- can I analyse song lyrics?
- Scare AngryJellyfish! Halloween 2024
- thoughts on the song burning down by alex warren?
- Could anyone please mark this English essay?
- Hunger Games discussion - Sunrise on the Reaping
- Best Christmas Song?
- How do I find music by Lyrics
- COMPETITION - Could you be crowned the Creator of TSR's Ultimate Study Playlist?
- Make it More Lighting-ey !!
- Hello - I'm new
- GCSE Music help pls
- Smells Like Teen Spirit...1 of the worst lyrics ever
- english language using lyrics in exam
- How to get my grades up fast?
- Grade 9 aqa eng lit acc marking
- why do people hate Taylor Swift
- What is the name of this song?
- what songs do you relate to?
Lyrical Ballad's Essays Thread
The purpose of this thread is to gather all the essays written on Lyrical Ballads, in order to aid revision.
Therefore, please do not post in this thread unless it is with an essay. All notes, comments or praise can be put in the other thread in order to avoid cluttering.
Therefore, please do not post in this thread unless it is with an essay. All notes, comments or praise can be put in the other thread in order to avoid cluttering.
Scroll to see replies
How do Wordsworth and Coleridge explore the theme of childhood and its importance in the Lyrical Ballads?
One of the major themes in the Lyrical Ballads is that of the development of the mind of the child. Wordsworth once wrote in a letter to a friend ‘if the child be not constrained too much…she will become modest and diffident.’ Wordsworth and Coleridge’s views on the childhood, its ability to influence adult thought and its innocence are ideas explored in the poems ‘We are Seven’ and ‘Anecdote for Fathers’.
The tight structures apparent in both of the poems are indicative of the firm hold parents at the time tried to maintain over their children. Both poems are typical of the constrained, ballad form and are written in quatrains consisting of two rhyming couplets, written mainly in iambic quatrameter with an alternate rhyme scheme. Interestingly, each poem has a variation on this structure. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’, the last line of each stanza has only three iambs rather than four and in ‘We Are Seven’, the first and third lines are written in iambic pentameter and the second and fourth in iambic tetrameter.
These deviations from the traditional structure allow Wordsworth to express the idea that children’s ideas are perhaps unconventional and do not always fit the pattern of adult thought and therefore adults often find it difficult to understand them.
Both poems are structured around conversations between adults and children. The use of conversational speech allows Wordsworth to impose a sense of realism and gives his exploration of childhood more credibility. It is quite easy to picture a simple conversation between a father and son in which the son says something that causes the father to remark ‘My little Edward tell me why/Why this is strange,’ said I’ and this simplicity, apparent in both poems, causes the reader to think more carefully about childhood and the notions children have which adults dismiss, more often than not, without a thought!
In ‘We are Seven’ the last line in the opening stanza ‘What should it know of death?’ is a clear indication of the adult persona’s reluctance to concede his point and allow the child to believe that despite two of her siblings being dead they still, in some way, with her. The adult persona in this poem is portrayed as having the dogmatic attitude reminiscent of the previous Classicist movement which Wordsworth and Coleridge were desperately trying to breakaway from. This idea is reinforced by the repeated use of the epithet ‘little’ which the adult persona uses to demean the young girl ‘the little Maid’. The same adjective has been used differently in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ as a means for the father to express the devotion the he holds for his son whom he also professes to be his ‘dearest, dearest boy.’
These opposing uses of the same adjective are an indication of the two different views that Wordsworth is trying to express; firstly that, if explored properly, a relationship between an adult and a child can be stimulating and rewarding for both parties but in contrast, if one constantly treats a child as nothing but an amusing plaything then they will be steeped in ignorance and deprived of the benefits of a child’s vivid imagination.
Perhaps the most important two lines in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ are the last two which sum up this idea very concisely, ‘Could I but teach the hundredth part/Of what from thee I learn’.
Whilst on the one hand, Wordsworth is exploring the effects children have and potentially could have on adult thinking, he is as well exploring the innocence and vitality of youth at a time where many infant mortality rates were depressingly high and many children would not reach adulthood.
This is mainly explored during the initial few stanzas of both poems when the adult personas describe their respective children. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ the presentation of childhood as a vulnerable and simple time is done through the soft alliteration of the consonant ‘f’ which creates a pleasant sound, almost like a small child’s lisp. This is emphasised by the metaphor ‘His limbs are cast in beauty’s mould.’ showing his idolisation for his son. Furthermore the use of the adjectives ‘slim’ and ‘graceful’ creates a sense of fragility and remind the reader all to clearly firstly that childhood does not last forever and once gone, cannot be regained, and secondly that these children are one bad winter away from death.
The latter statement is explored explicitly in ‘We are Seven’ as the ‘simple child’ describes the loss of two of her siblings whilst maintaining what one reader may interpret to be an endearing naivety but another, a wisdom and maturity beyond her years. The initial description of her as someone who ‘feels life in every limb’ creates a sense of energy and vigour which clearly sets her apart from her deceased brother and sister. However, this vigour is juxtaposed with the altogether lifeless subject of mortality and through this juxtaposition Wordsworth is able to warn the reader that we must be careful because the innocence of childhood can slip away in a moment.
To conclude, it is clear from these two poems that the theme of childhood features heavily in Wordsworth and Coleridge’s poems and that they believe wholeheartedly in the philosophical idea of the time that childhood imagination has the power to liberate constrained, adult thinking. Their careful structuring and use of language allows a simplicity which causes the reader to ponder further on the idea of childhood and its importance, as well as its fragility and, almost paradoxically, its vitality.
One of the major themes in the Lyrical Ballads is that of the development of the mind of the child. Wordsworth once wrote in a letter to a friend ‘if the child be not constrained too much…she will become modest and diffident.’ Wordsworth and Coleridge’s views on the childhood, its ability to influence adult thought and its innocence are ideas explored in the poems ‘We are Seven’ and ‘Anecdote for Fathers’.
The tight structures apparent in both of the poems are indicative of the firm hold parents at the time tried to maintain over their children. Both poems are typical of the constrained, ballad form and are written in quatrains consisting of two rhyming couplets, written mainly in iambic quatrameter with an alternate rhyme scheme. Interestingly, each poem has a variation on this structure. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’, the last line of each stanza has only three iambs rather than four and in ‘We Are Seven’, the first and third lines are written in iambic pentameter and the second and fourth in iambic tetrameter.
These deviations from the traditional structure allow Wordsworth to express the idea that children’s ideas are perhaps unconventional and do not always fit the pattern of adult thought and therefore adults often find it difficult to understand them.
Both poems are structured around conversations between adults and children. The use of conversational speech allows Wordsworth to impose a sense of realism and gives his exploration of childhood more credibility. It is quite easy to picture a simple conversation between a father and son in which the son says something that causes the father to remark ‘My little Edward tell me why/Why this is strange,’ said I’ and this simplicity, apparent in both poems, causes the reader to think more carefully about childhood and the notions children have which adults dismiss, more often than not, without a thought!
In ‘We are Seven’ the last line in the opening stanza ‘What should it know of death?’ is a clear indication of the adult persona’s reluctance to concede his point and allow the child to believe that despite two of her siblings being dead they still, in some way, with her. The adult persona in this poem is portrayed as having the dogmatic attitude reminiscent of the previous Classicist movement which Wordsworth and Coleridge were desperately trying to breakaway from. This idea is reinforced by the repeated use of the epithet ‘little’ which the adult persona uses to demean the young girl ‘the little Maid’. The same adjective has been used differently in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ as a means for the father to express the devotion the he holds for his son whom he also professes to be his ‘dearest, dearest boy.’
These opposing uses of the same adjective are an indication of the two different views that Wordsworth is trying to express; firstly that, if explored properly, a relationship between an adult and a child can be stimulating and rewarding for both parties but in contrast, if one constantly treats a child as nothing but an amusing plaything then they will be steeped in ignorance and deprived of the benefits of a child’s vivid imagination.
Perhaps the most important two lines in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ are the last two which sum up this idea very concisely, ‘Could I but teach the hundredth part/Of what from thee I learn’.
Whilst on the one hand, Wordsworth is exploring the effects children have and potentially could have on adult thinking, he is as well exploring the innocence and vitality of youth at a time where many infant mortality rates were depressingly high and many children would not reach adulthood.
This is mainly explored during the initial few stanzas of both poems when the adult personas describe their respective children. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ the presentation of childhood as a vulnerable and simple time is done through the soft alliteration of the consonant ‘f’ which creates a pleasant sound, almost like a small child’s lisp. This is emphasised by the metaphor ‘His limbs are cast in beauty’s mould.’ showing his idolisation for his son. Furthermore the use of the adjectives ‘slim’ and ‘graceful’ creates a sense of fragility and remind the reader all to clearly firstly that childhood does not last forever and once gone, cannot be regained, and secondly that these children are one bad winter away from death.
The latter statement is explored explicitly in ‘We are Seven’ as the ‘simple child’ describes the loss of two of her siblings whilst maintaining what one reader may interpret to be an endearing naivety but another, a wisdom and maturity beyond her years. The initial description of her as someone who ‘feels life in every limb’ creates a sense of energy and vigour which clearly sets her apart from her deceased brother and sister. However, this vigour is juxtaposed with the altogether lifeless subject of mortality and through this juxtaposition Wordsworth is able to warn the reader that we must be careful because the innocence of childhood can slip away in a moment.
To conclude, it is clear from these two poems that the theme of childhood features heavily in Wordsworth and Coleridge’s poems and that they believe wholeheartedly in the philosophical idea of the time that childhood imagination has the power to liberate constrained, adult thinking. Their careful structuring and use of language allows a simplicity which causes the reader to ponder further on the idea of childhood and its importance, as well as its fragility and, almost paradoxically, its vitality.
To What Extent do Wordsworth and Coleridge consider nature ‘sacred’?
In ‘Lyrical Ballads’, nature is one of the major, if not the main, theme explored by both authors. Wordsworth and Coleridge have slightly different views of nature but both seem to consider it a strong and sacred force.
In many of his poems, Wordsworth refers to nature in a way that equates it with a kind of god, and so could be viewed as ‘sacred’. In ‘Tables Turned’, Wordsworth claims that nature is ‘no mean preacher’ and advises his reader to ‘Come forth into the light of things’. The word ‘mean’ contrasts the holiness and goodness of nature to the restrictive, dominating force of organised religion, as Wordsworth sees it. ‘Light’ is a traditional symbol of God’s grace, and Wordsworth invites his reader to let nature be their ‘preacher’ rather than God. The words ‘preacher’ and ‘light’ with its connotations equate nature with God in Wordsworth’s eyes. In ‘Tintern Abbey’, Wordsworth also names himself a ‘worshipper of Nature’. The capitalisation in particular is effective in allowing a reader to realise his views of nature as his religion, because it is usual to see ‘God’ capitalised in this way. This shows that Wordsworth certainly considers nature to be very sacred, as sacred to him as God.
Wordsworth seems to challenge organised Christian religion by suggesting paradise can be found on earth. In ‘Tintern Abbey’ in particular, he implies that nature is like a divine place and instils in him a divine state. The description in the first stanza uses evocative imagery and enjambment to convey the beauty of his surroundings and in the second stanza claims that nature helps him to ‘see into the life of things’ and helps him enjoy ‘unremembered pleasure’ in his ‘purer mind’. The word ‘pure’ could be taken to link the sensations evoked by nature on Wordsworth with the religious idea of innocence. He is also able to see ‘into the life of things’, which suggests a deeper understanding of life. These feelings he has, coupled with the glorious description in the opening stanza, reveal nature as the epitome of morality, innocence and beauty. It can be argued that these qualities associate nature with paradise, a ‘Garden of Eden’ on earth. This idea challenges somewhat Christian traditions, because the overwhelming idea of Christianity, or indeed any religion, is that paradise can not be found on earth. Earth is traditionally pictured as flawed and sinful, and your life on earth is seen as simply a kind of test as to whether you deserve eternal ‘paradise’, but Wordsworth challenges this strongly by implying paradise can be found on earth, in nature.
Coleridge makes a slightly less direct case for the appreciation of nature in his poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. At a simple level, the moral Coleridge teaches is to love all living things, ‘He prayeth best who loveth best, / All things both great and small’. He uses his message and language to portray all creatures, which are all part of nature, as holy. The depiction of the water-snakes in the latter stages of the poem is an example of the glorifying language used. They are described as ‘Blue, glossy green, and velvet black’ and their tracks are a ‘flash of golden fire’. The colours and adjectives used add vividness to the water-snakes, and are an effective way to bring life to the creatures. They are made to seem extraordinarily exciting and alive, revealing Coleridge’s respect for nature. The language throughout the poem is in a similar vein when discussing natural phenomenon, showing Coleridge also views nature as ‘sacred’ and special.
However, the word ‘sacred’ can be interpreted in different ways. In one sense, it could be taken to mean extremely holy and something that should be left untouched. This is one meaning that Wordsworth could be viewed as disagreeing with. Although he does worship nature and respect it, he believes the best way to a perfect existence is for man and nature to combine and live in harmony with each other. This is most clearly expressed in ‘Tintern Abbey’. In the opening description of Wordsworth’s ideal scene, he paints pictures of cottages nestled among trees, ‘Green to the very door; and wreathes of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees’. This image displays the perfect mix of human activity with nature; the greenness extends ‘to the very door’ of the cottage and the smoke is sent up ‘in silence’, so as not to disturb nature. God has not altered the landscape, humans have, but he finds this acceptable, and even encourages it. Although Wordsworth seems to value nature wild and unspoilt in certain poems, he makes it clear here he does not believe nature to be so sacred it is untouchable; indeed, he finds that additions to nature by man that are unobtrusive extend nature’s beauty and holiness, rather than impeding it. ‘Tintern Abbey’ is the final poem of the collection, meaning its moral outlook will stay with the reader most. In this sense, it appears that the views exhibited in this poem are Wordsworth’s definitive portrayal of nature. While he certainly values nature in its pure form, he understands it is not so sacred that it must be isolated from human creation. This view is perhaps the most realistic and valuable given by Wordsworth; he holds strong respect for nature, but realises it cannot be isolated from the human world and creates an ideal balance between the two.
‘Sacred’ could also imply something consecrated and devoted only to a few. The view of nature as sacred in this sense can be both contradicted and justified in different Wordsworth poems. He clearly does not intend to make people feel segregated from nature; he actually stated his intent when writing the ballads was to create poetry that was accessible to the masses, in the language of everyday men. Since a main theme in all his poetry in this collection is nature, love and respect for nature is certainly something he wishes to instil in his readers. To this end, Wordsworth makes many clear statements to the reader in his poems including in ‘The Tables Turned’, the line ‘Let nature be your teacher’. He encourages everyone to live their lives by learning through nature, and so trying to make both art and nature accessible and available to everyone.
Conversely, Wordsworth can be criticised for being too idealistic when voicing this opinion. In ‘Expostulation and Reply’, he recounts being criticised for sitting idly on a stone to just ‘dream [his] time away’. While he makes a good case as to why he believes it is a good thing to sit and dream, for many at the time it would simply not have been a practical reality. If his book of poems was indeed aimed everyday men, they would surely not have time to sit and dream; they would have to work. So while his plan to spread poetry and its ideals to the masses was admirable, he is being either hypocritical or naïve to suggest to his reader that they should follow his example and sit all day to appreciate nature. Therefore, this interpretation depicts nature as something sacred, in that Wordsworth implies it can only be truly valued and appreciated by the few who have time to sit and ‘absorb’ it.
There are different interpretations of the word ‘sacred’, and Coleridge and Wordsworth’s ‘Lyrical Ballads’ seem to agree that nature is sacred in the basic sense of the word through religious symbolism and beautiful imagery in relation to nature. Wordsworth seems to argue that nature alone is not as sacred, but when it is combined with man’s careful influence, it becomes something of a paradise to him. But this does not actually contradict the fact that he finds nature sacred, just that refined nature is more sacred than wild nature. However, the very premise of the collection challenges the concept that nature is ‘sacred’ in the sense of being holy and inaccessible to many. The ‘common’ language makes the collection appeal to the masses, and it teaches the reader to respect and love nature. Nature is portrayed as special, powerful and sacred in the majority of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’, although discrepancies over the meaning of ‘sacred’ could allow room for argument that some poems contradict this view of nature.
In ‘Lyrical Ballads’, nature is one of the major, if not the main, theme explored by both authors. Wordsworth and Coleridge have slightly different views of nature but both seem to consider it a strong and sacred force.
In many of his poems, Wordsworth refers to nature in a way that equates it with a kind of god, and so could be viewed as ‘sacred’. In ‘Tables Turned’, Wordsworth claims that nature is ‘no mean preacher’ and advises his reader to ‘Come forth into the light of things’. The word ‘mean’ contrasts the holiness and goodness of nature to the restrictive, dominating force of organised religion, as Wordsworth sees it. ‘Light’ is a traditional symbol of God’s grace, and Wordsworth invites his reader to let nature be their ‘preacher’ rather than God. The words ‘preacher’ and ‘light’ with its connotations equate nature with God in Wordsworth’s eyes. In ‘Tintern Abbey’, Wordsworth also names himself a ‘worshipper of Nature’. The capitalisation in particular is effective in allowing a reader to realise his views of nature as his religion, because it is usual to see ‘God’ capitalised in this way. This shows that Wordsworth certainly considers nature to be very sacred, as sacred to him as God.
Wordsworth seems to challenge organised Christian religion by suggesting paradise can be found on earth. In ‘Tintern Abbey’ in particular, he implies that nature is like a divine place and instils in him a divine state. The description in the first stanza uses evocative imagery and enjambment to convey the beauty of his surroundings and in the second stanza claims that nature helps him to ‘see into the life of things’ and helps him enjoy ‘unremembered pleasure’ in his ‘purer mind’. The word ‘pure’ could be taken to link the sensations evoked by nature on Wordsworth with the religious idea of innocence. He is also able to see ‘into the life of things’, which suggests a deeper understanding of life. These feelings he has, coupled with the glorious description in the opening stanza, reveal nature as the epitome of morality, innocence and beauty. It can be argued that these qualities associate nature with paradise, a ‘Garden of Eden’ on earth. This idea challenges somewhat Christian traditions, because the overwhelming idea of Christianity, or indeed any religion, is that paradise can not be found on earth. Earth is traditionally pictured as flawed and sinful, and your life on earth is seen as simply a kind of test as to whether you deserve eternal ‘paradise’, but Wordsworth challenges this strongly by implying paradise can be found on earth, in nature.
Coleridge makes a slightly less direct case for the appreciation of nature in his poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. At a simple level, the moral Coleridge teaches is to love all living things, ‘He prayeth best who loveth best, / All things both great and small’. He uses his message and language to portray all creatures, which are all part of nature, as holy. The depiction of the water-snakes in the latter stages of the poem is an example of the glorifying language used. They are described as ‘Blue, glossy green, and velvet black’ and their tracks are a ‘flash of golden fire’. The colours and adjectives used add vividness to the water-snakes, and are an effective way to bring life to the creatures. They are made to seem extraordinarily exciting and alive, revealing Coleridge’s respect for nature. The language throughout the poem is in a similar vein when discussing natural phenomenon, showing Coleridge also views nature as ‘sacred’ and special.
However, the word ‘sacred’ can be interpreted in different ways. In one sense, it could be taken to mean extremely holy and something that should be left untouched. This is one meaning that Wordsworth could be viewed as disagreeing with. Although he does worship nature and respect it, he believes the best way to a perfect existence is for man and nature to combine and live in harmony with each other. This is most clearly expressed in ‘Tintern Abbey’. In the opening description of Wordsworth’s ideal scene, he paints pictures of cottages nestled among trees, ‘Green to the very door; and wreathes of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees’. This image displays the perfect mix of human activity with nature; the greenness extends ‘to the very door’ of the cottage and the smoke is sent up ‘in silence’, so as not to disturb nature. God has not altered the landscape, humans have, but he finds this acceptable, and even encourages it. Although Wordsworth seems to value nature wild and unspoilt in certain poems, he makes it clear here he does not believe nature to be so sacred it is untouchable; indeed, he finds that additions to nature by man that are unobtrusive extend nature’s beauty and holiness, rather than impeding it. ‘Tintern Abbey’ is the final poem of the collection, meaning its moral outlook will stay with the reader most. In this sense, it appears that the views exhibited in this poem are Wordsworth’s definitive portrayal of nature. While he certainly values nature in its pure form, he understands it is not so sacred that it must be isolated from human creation. This view is perhaps the most realistic and valuable given by Wordsworth; he holds strong respect for nature, but realises it cannot be isolated from the human world and creates an ideal balance between the two.
‘Sacred’ could also imply something consecrated and devoted only to a few. The view of nature as sacred in this sense can be both contradicted and justified in different Wordsworth poems. He clearly does not intend to make people feel segregated from nature; he actually stated his intent when writing the ballads was to create poetry that was accessible to the masses, in the language of everyday men. Since a main theme in all his poetry in this collection is nature, love and respect for nature is certainly something he wishes to instil in his readers. To this end, Wordsworth makes many clear statements to the reader in his poems including in ‘The Tables Turned’, the line ‘Let nature be your teacher’. He encourages everyone to live their lives by learning through nature, and so trying to make both art and nature accessible and available to everyone.
Conversely, Wordsworth can be criticised for being too idealistic when voicing this opinion. In ‘Expostulation and Reply’, he recounts being criticised for sitting idly on a stone to just ‘dream [his] time away’. While he makes a good case as to why he believes it is a good thing to sit and dream, for many at the time it would simply not have been a practical reality. If his book of poems was indeed aimed everyday men, they would surely not have time to sit and dream; they would have to work. So while his plan to spread poetry and its ideals to the masses was admirable, he is being either hypocritical or naïve to suggest to his reader that they should follow his example and sit all day to appreciate nature. Therefore, this interpretation depicts nature as something sacred, in that Wordsworth implies it can only be truly valued and appreciated by the few who have time to sit and ‘absorb’ it.
There are different interpretations of the word ‘sacred’, and Coleridge and Wordsworth’s ‘Lyrical Ballads’ seem to agree that nature is sacred in the basic sense of the word through religious symbolism and beautiful imagery in relation to nature. Wordsworth seems to argue that nature alone is not as sacred, but when it is combined with man’s careful influence, it becomes something of a paradise to him. But this does not actually contradict the fact that he finds nature sacred, just that refined nature is more sacred than wild nature. However, the very premise of the collection challenges the concept that nature is ‘sacred’ in the sense of being holy and inaccessible to many. The ‘common’ language makes the collection appeal to the masses, and it teaches the reader to respect and love nature. Nature is portrayed as special, powerful and sacred in the majority of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’, although discrepancies over the meaning of ‘sacred’ could allow room for argument that some poems contradict this view of nature.
The title 'Lyrical Ballads' is often said to be an oxymoron. To what extent can this be resolved in the anthology?
To some extent the title 'Lyrical Ballads' is an oxymoron, due to the vast differences between lyrical poems and ballads. Firstly ballads generally contain a simple narrative, oftentimes couples with a simple rhyme scheme. For instance; "And every week, and every day , my flock it seemed to melt away". One could argue that because of this Ballads are much more like nursery rhymes. There is a certainty in the ballads that comes with the moral lesson that ballads usually contain, "his teeth chatter, chatter still". The repetition of chatter further emphasizes this certainty. Lyrical poems are more complex, they contain paradoxes, at times where ballads do not. In 'Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey' There is a conflict between the Rousseau philosophy of children being pure and the "coarser pleasures" of his "boyish days". Wordsworth believed that humans should be left to their "essential passions" and live in what he called a " state of greater simplicity", "without the influence of social vanity". With this idealism comes the belief that children are pure and innocent until corrupted by society, However in this poem Wordsworth was coarse in his childhood and did not appreciate the "aching joys" and "excitation" that nature brings. Moreover in 'Lines written in early spring' we can see that associationism coupled with nature creates a paradox. Whilst in the city, "a mid the din" Wordsworth is able to find "tranquil restoration" by thinking of the "deep rivers and lonely streams" of Tintern Abbey. He is able to hope for "food and life for future years". However it is evident that "pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to mind". Thus associationism can work both ways, creating a paradox.
Lyrical poems often contain bombastic language that elevates nature, "O sylvan wye!". This creates imagery of Arcadia a mythical perfect place, here Wordsworth uses a classical antiquity to elevate nature. In addition in 'Lines written in early spring' Wordsworth waxes lyrical on his feelings about the "fair works of nature". Where as in the ballads nature is presented somewhat more realistically, where it made "her old bones...shake". On close examination of Wordsworth's letters to Coleridge it is evident that he understood that nature can be dangerous, he tells Coleridge of how the frozen ground caused "great annoyance" to him and how "snow" was "threatening". Showing that Wordsworth believed that nature could be elevated but also can be presented realistically.
Although there are many differences between the two forms of poetry, which might lead one to believe that the title of the anthology is an oxymoron, there is a unifying theme. The overall subject of the anthology is "what man has made of man", and the idea Wordsworth describes in his letters as "love of nature leading to a love of mankind". Both forms of poetry concern themselves with the pantheistic philosophy that Wordsworth believed in. Indeed, in a letter to Coleridge Wordsworth describes God as a "giant gardener". Nature is powerful and Wordsworth cannot even comprehend the "thoughts" of the "birds around" him. This is important because it shows the elevation of nature. The birds still have a natural and uncorrupted instinct which Wordsworth would have described as "beautiful and permanent". This idea is given further weight when we see that as a poet Wordsworth has a greater affinity with nature. Therefore, if he is unable to "measure" their thoughts then the ordinary person has certainly got no chance.
Both forms of poetry show a belief in a "fever of the word" caused by what Wordsworth himself described as the loss of "fundamental human feelings". He also stated in letters that those who live a rural and uncomplicated life are " held down in a state of abject peury". Wordsworth shows in 'Last of the flock' that he believes that the poor laws are immoral and evil. The speaker talks of a "time of need" however his "pride was tamed" and society turns the good Shepard evil.Indeed the idea of a sick society, where the only cure is nature is evident in Coleridge's lyrical poem 'The Dungeon' where the prison is condemned "by ignorance and parching poverty". The alliteration here creates a bitter tone as Coleridge emphasizes his disgust for society's "best cure". Coleridge indicates that nature is a "nurse" and could "healest" the prisoner. The sibilance in the second stanza creates a soothing tone which elevates nature. The poem shows that the way to heal his "angry spirit" is the "benignant touch of love and beauty".
As both forms of poetry have a common theme they are invariably linked and contain characteristics of the others. For example 'lines written in early spring' has a simple rhyme scheme which is more balladic than lyrical. Moreover in 'Last of the flock' there is evidence of some emotion on the speaker's part which is not common in balladic poems, "For me it was a woeful day", the repetition of this line emphasizes the sadness that the speaker feels. The use of a full stop also creates a sense of certainty and highlights his sadness at loosing his flock, "like blood drops from my heart they dropped". The assonance created by the heavy 'o' sound creates a heavy and mournful tone. The simile shows how deeply he feels for his flock and this idea is further emphasized by the imagery of his heart and blood.
In conclusion I believe that 'Lyrical Ballads' can be considered an oxymoron to some extent. However it is my feeling that it is not because the two forms of poetry share a common theme and philosophy and are therefore invariably linked.
To some extent the title 'Lyrical Ballads' is an oxymoron, due to the vast differences between lyrical poems and ballads. Firstly ballads generally contain a simple narrative, oftentimes couples with a simple rhyme scheme. For instance; "And every week, and every day , my flock it seemed to melt away". One could argue that because of this Ballads are much more like nursery rhymes. There is a certainty in the ballads that comes with the moral lesson that ballads usually contain, "his teeth chatter, chatter still". The repetition of chatter further emphasizes this certainty. Lyrical poems are more complex, they contain paradoxes, at times where ballads do not. In 'Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey' There is a conflict between the Rousseau philosophy of children being pure and the "coarser pleasures" of his "boyish days". Wordsworth believed that humans should be left to their "essential passions" and live in what he called a " state of greater simplicity", "without the influence of social vanity". With this idealism comes the belief that children are pure and innocent until corrupted by society, However in this poem Wordsworth was coarse in his childhood and did not appreciate the "aching joys" and "excitation" that nature brings. Moreover in 'Lines written in early spring' we can see that associationism coupled with nature creates a paradox. Whilst in the city, "a mid the din" Wordsworth is able to find "tranquil restoration" by thinking of the "deep rivers and lonely streams" of Tintern Abbey. He is able to hope for "food and life for future years". However it is evident that "pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to mind". Thus associationism can work both ways, creating a paradox.
Lyrical poems often contain bombastic language that elevates nature, "O sylvan wye!". This creates imagery of Arcadia a mythical perfect place, here Wordsworth uses a classical antiquity to elevate nature. In addition in 'Lines written in early spring' Wordsworth waxes lyrical on his feelings about the "fair works of nature". Where as in the ballads nature is presented somewhat more realistically, where it made "her old bones...shake". On close examination of Wordsworth's letters to Coleridge it is evident that he understood that nature can be dangerous, he tells Coleridge of how the frozen ground caused "great annoyance" to him and how "snow" was "threatening". Showing that Wordsworth believed that nature could be elevated but also can be presented realistically.
Although there are many differences between the two forms of poetry, which might lead one to believe that the title of the anthology is an oxymoron, there is a unifying theme. The overall subject of the anthology is "what man has made of man", and the idea Wordsworth describes in his letters as "love of nature leading to a love of mankind". Both forms of poetry concern themselves with the pantheistic philosophy that Wordsworth believed in. Indeed, in a letter to Coleridge Wordsworth describes God as a "giant gardener". Nature is powerful and Wordsworth cannot even comprehend the "thoughts" of the "birds around" him. This is important because it shows the elevation of nature. The birds still have a natural and uncorrupted instinct which Wordsworth would have described as "beautiful and permanent". This idea is given further weight when we see that as a poet Wordsworth has a greater affinity with nature. Therefore, if he is unable to "measure" their thoughts then the ordinary person has certainly got no chance.
Both forms of poetry show a belief in a "fever of the word" caused by what Wordsworth himself described as the loss of "fundamental human feelings". He also stated in letters that those who live a rural and uncomplicated life are " held down in a state of abject peury". Wordsworth shows in 'Last of the flock' that he believes that the poor laws are immoral and evil. The speaker talks of a "time of need" however his "pride was tamed" and society turns the good Shepard evil.Indeed the idea of a sick society, where the only cure is nature is evident in Coleridge's lyrical poem 'The Dungeon' where the prison is condemned "by ignorance and parching poverty". The alliteration here creates a bitter tone as Coleridge emphasizes his disgust for society's "best cure". Coleridge indicates that nature is a "nurse" and could "healest" the prisoner. The sibilance in the second stanza creates a soothing tone which elevates nature. The poem shows that the way to heal his "angry spirit" is the "benignant touch of love and beauty".
As both forms of poetry have a common theme they are invariably linked and contain characteristics of the others. For example 'lines written in early spring' has a simple rhyme scheme which is more balladic than lyrical. Moreover in 'Last of the flock' there is evidence of some emotion on the speaker's part which is not common in balladic poems, "For me it was a woeful day", the repetition of this line emphasizes the sadness that the speaker feels. The use of a full stop also creates a sense of certainty and highlights his sadness at loosing his flock, "like blood drops from my heart they dropped". The assonance created by the heavy 'o' sound creates a heavy and mournful tone. The simile shows how deeply he feels for his flock and this idea is further emphasized by the imagery of his heart and blood.
In conclusion I believe that 'Lyrical Ballads' can be considered an oxymoron to some extent. However it is my feeling that it is not because the two forms of poetry share a common theme and philosophy and are therefore invariably linked.
From Kristenellen:
Here is my Imagination Essay
Hope it helps If we all post different essays we can help each other out
How does Lyrical Ballads reveal beliefs about the power of the poetic imagination?
In your answer you should refer to at least three poems from the collection.
Both Coleridge and Wordsworth place a huge importance on the power of imagination in Lyrical Ballads as opposed to intelligence. This view explicitly rejects the prevailing theories of the time, for example that of philosopher John Locke who opposed wit and judgement, wit being the bringing together of ideas and judgement being the careful separation of ideas. Locke believed that judgement was the better option of the two which is clearly opposed by Wordsworth in Lyrical Ballads, most apparent in ‘The Tables Turned’ when Wordsworth argues that:
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things;
- We murder to dissect.
The view throughout Lyrical Ballads of the power of imagination is, therefore, a stark contrast to the ideals of the time as, ‘The Tables Turned’ concludes, “a heart/That watches and receives” is vastly superior to science.
Wordsworth portrays imagination as so powerful that it may appear supernatural. This is prominently seen in ‘The Idiot Boy’ where Susan Gale is ‘As if by magic cured.’ This portrayal of a possibly super natural imagination emphasises the belief that the imagination is perhaps the most powerful tool known to man. However, in order to propose this belief, Wordsworth adopts a different persona whilst writing ‘The Idiot Boy’, one who interjects the poem talking directly to the reader, for example:
‘Oh could I put it into rhyme/ A most delightful tale pursuing’
This adoption of a persona could well be so Wordsworth could propound views of nature that he himself found unable to propose as they proved difficult to defend.
Intellect in ‘The Idiot Boy’ is presented as limited as, throughout the poem, actions and decisions intended to be made by the characters do not result in success. Betty Foy ‘quite forgot to call the doctor’ but Susan Gale is still cured. This shows the belief that Imagination is far more powerful than intellect as, even though intellectual actions are not carried out, Susan Gale is still cured purely down to the power of the human Imagination.
The frequent interruptions by the narrator also serve to present the poetic imagination as more important than the events which are occurring within the poem. The complete unimportance of the events is made evident through Wordsworth repetition of ‘perhaps’ implying that he himself does not know what is happening in ‘The Idiot Boy’. The narrator is, in fact, much more preoccupied with telling us:
‘I to the muses have been bound.’
This deems the poem a poem about the poet’s imagination, much like ‘The Thorn’, and how nature feeds the poetic imagination which is a central theme throughout lyrical ballads.
Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Marinere’ draws our attention not only to the Marinere’s tale but to the art of storytelling in general. This categorises the imagination behind story telling as of the foremost importance.
Coleridge uses the word ‘teach’ to describe the Marinere’s story telling, and says he has a ‘strange power of speech.’ In this way, Coleridge is comparing himself to the protagonist as both are gifted storytellers, not only inspired but compelled to write. In this way, the acquisition of the gift of poetic imagination is, like the suffering of the Marinere, a curse, and, just as the Marinere is forced to balance in a limbo between life and death, the poet is compelled to balance in the liminal space of the imagination ‘untill [his] tale is told.’
Coleridge also paints an equally powerful yet pathetic vision of the Marinere, (who is a representation of a poet), by the ability to cause the Wedding guest to awake ‘a wiser man.’ This shows the power of the poetic imagination as the imagination behind writing the tale can cause a lasting effect on people.
Equally, poetic imagination is presented as not powerful, but a weakness. The curse of having poetic imagination ‘forc’d [him] to begin [his] tale/ And then it left [him] free.’ Coleridge here is saying, just how the Marinere is the constant victim of his adventure, a poet is the constant victim of his talent. A poets imagination is presented here as a powerful addiction, and storytelling, through creative imagination, is the drug.
‘Tintern Abbey’ is a presentation of Wordsworth teaching us the correct use of the imagination. This contrasts starkly with the presentation of the poet in ‘Lines left upon a seat by a Yew Tree’ which presents a perverse use of the imagination, with a distinction being made between the purity of compassionate imagination and how ‘on visionary views would fancy feed.’ Fancy was viewed as inferior to imagination by Romantic poets, viewed simply as a reassembling of current ideas whereas imagination was the creation of new ideas.
‘Tintern Abbey’ describes the process of becoming mature, which is the development of the imagination. The process occurs chronologically throughout the poem with the first stanza being limited to describing the poet’s view of the natural setting of Tintern Abbey, for example the ‘lofty cliffs’ and the wild green landscape.’ The second stanza then shows that the ‘dissecting gaze’ from the first stanza (Wordsworth’s view of intellect) is ‘made quiet by the power of harmony’ (the bringing together of two things, Wordsworth’s view of imagination. Here imagination is presented as more powerful than intellect.
The third stanza goes on to praise the role of poetic imagination further for both ‘what they half-create/ And what perceive.’ Wordsworth shows that he believes that the imagination and interpretation is more real than what is actually existent. Poetic imagination is so powerful here as it creates everything, and idea’s don’t just hit us, which was the view of the time, but we create our own idea’s through perception.
‘Tintern Abbey’ concludes by stating that ‘wild ecstasies shall be matured/into a sober pleasure.’ This sums up the poem, and the process of maturing from the rigid beliefs of intellect, and the contextual idea of judgement, to imagination, and the bringing together of ideas.
The most apparent presentation of the power of the poetic imagination is that it is powerful if used alongside compassion. This is argued in both ‘Tintern Abbey’ and ‘The Yew Tree’, and illustrated by ‘The Idiot Boy’ alongside ‘Goody Blake’, ‘The Thorn’ and ‘Simon Lee’ which presents the imagination as so powerful it may appear supernatural. The fact Wordsworth adopts a persona to present these ideas may suggest he might have realised the difficulty in defending such propositions.
Here is my Imagination Essay
Hope it helps If we all post different essays we can help each other out
How does Lyrical Ballads reveal beliefs about the power of the poetic imagination?
In your answer you should refer to at least three poems from the collection.
Both Coleridge and Wordsworth place a huge importance on the power of imagination in Lyrical Ballads as opposed to intelligence. This view explicitly rejects the prevailing theories of the time, for example that of philosopher John Locke who opposed wit and judgement, wit being the bringing together of ideas and judgement being the careful separation of ideas. Locke believed that judgement was the better option of the two which is clearly opposed by Wordsworth in Lyrical Ballads, most apparent in ‘The Tables Turned’ when Wordsworth argues that:
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things;
- We murder to dissect.
The view throughout Lyrical Ballads of the power of imagination is, therefore, a stark contrast to the ideals of the time as, ‘The Tables Turned’ concludes, “a heart/That watches and receives” is vastly superior to science.
Wordsworth portrays imagination as so powerful that it may appear supernatural. This is prominently seen in ‘The Idiot Boy’ where Susan Gale is ‘As if by magic cured.’ This portrayal of a possibly super natural imagination emphasises the belief that the imagination is perhaps the most powerful tool known to man. However, in order to propose this belief, Wordsworth adopts a different persona whilst writing ‘The Idiot Boy’, one who interjects the poem talking directly to the reader, for example:
‘Oh could I put it into rhyme/ A most delightful tale pursuing’
This adoption of a persona could well be so Wordsworth could propound views of nature that he himself found unable to propose as they proved difficult to defend.
Intellect in ‘The Idiot Boy’ is presented as limited as, throughout the poem, actions and decisions intended to be made by the characters do not result in success. Betty Foy ‘quite forgot to call the doctor’ but Susan Gale is still cured. This shows the belief that Imagination is far more powerful than intellect as, even though intellectual actions are not carried out, Susan Gale is still cured purely down to the power of the human Imagination.
The frequent interruptions by the narrator also serve to present the poetic imagination as more important than the events which are occurring within the poem. The complete unimportance of the events is made evident through Wordsworth repetition of ‘perhaps’ implying that he himself does not know what is happening in ‘The Idiot Boy’. The narrator is, in fact, much more preoccupied with telling us:
‘I to the muses have been bound.’
This deems the poem a poem about the poet’s imagination, much like ‘The Thorn’, and how nature feeds the poetic imagination which is a central theme throughout lyrical ballads.
Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Marinere’ draws our attention not only to the Marinere’s tale but to the art of storytelling in general. This categorises the imagination behind story telling as of the foremost importance.
Coleridge uses the word ‘teach’ to describe the Marinere’s story telling, and says he has a ‘strange power of speech.’ In this way, Coleridge is comparing himself to the protagonist as both are gifted storytellers, not only inspired but compelled to write. In this way, the acquisition of the gift of poetic imagination is, like the suffering of the Marinere, a curse, and, just as the Marinere is forced to balance in a limbo between life and death, the poet is compelled to balance in the liminal space of the imagination ‘untill [his] tale is told.’
Coleridge also paints an equally powerful yet pathetic vision of the Marinere, (who is a representation of a poet), by the ability to cause the Wedding guest to awake ‘a wiser man.’ This shows the power of the poetic imagination as the imagination behind writing the tale can cause a lasting effect on people.
Equally, poetic imagination is presented as not powerful, but a weakness. The curse of having poetic imagination ‘forc’d [him] to begin [his] tale/ And then it left [him] free.’ Coleridge here is saying, just how the Marinere is the constant victim of his adventure, a poet is the constant victim of his talent. A poets imagination is presented here as a powerful addiction, and storytelling, through creative imagination, is the drug.
‘Tintern Abbey’ is a presentation of Wordsworth teaching us the correct use of the imagination. This contrasts starkly with the presentation of the poet in ‘Lines left upon a seat by a Yew Tree’ which presents a perverse use of the imagination, with a distinction being made between the purity of compassionate imagination and how ‘on visionary views would fancy feed.’ Fancy was viewed as inferior to imagination by Romantic poets, viewed simply as a reassembling of current ideas whereas imagination was the creation of new ideas.
‘Tintern Abbey’ describes the process of becoming mature, which is the development of the imagination. The process occurs chronologically throughout the poem with the first stanza being limited to describing the poet’s view of the natural setting of Tintern Abbey, for example the ‘lofty cliffs’ and the wild green landscape.’ The second stanza then shows that the ‘dissecting gaze’ from the first stanza (Wordsworth’s view of intellect) is ‘made quiet by the power of harmony’ (the bringing together of two things, Wordsworth’s view of imagination. Here imagination is presented as more powerful than intellect.
The third stanza goes on to praise the role of poetic imagination further for both ‘what they half-create/ And what perceive.’ Wordsworth shows that he believes that the imagination and interpretation is more real than what is actually existent. Poetic imagination is so powerful here as it creates everything, and idea’s don’t just hit us, which was the view of the time, but we create our own idea’s through perception.
‘Tintern Abbey’ concludes by stating that ‘wild ecstasies shall be matured/into a sober pleasure.’ This sums up the poem, and the process of maturing from the rigid beliefs of intellect, and the contextual idea of judgement, to imagination, and the bringing together of ideas.
The most apparent presentation of the power of the poetic imagination is that it is powerful if used alongside compassion. This is argued in both ‘Tintern Abbey’ and ‘The Yew Tree’, and illustrated by ‘The Idiot Boy’ alongside ‘Goody Blake’, ‘The Thorn’ and ‘Simon Lee’ which presents the imagination as so powerful it may appear supernatural. The fact Wordsworth adopts a persona to present these ideas may suggest he might have realised the difficulty in defending such propositions.
I wrote a couple of essays a while back. One's on the power of nature, the other on human suffering. They weren't graded, so don't know how useful they'd be!
Edit: if it helps, I'm predicted a B overall.
‘How does Wordsworth and Coleridge express sympathy for human suffering’
• The Female Vagrant
• The Dungeon
• The Convict
A common theme throughout the Lyrical Ballads is the sympathy expressed for individuals that have been shunted out by society. Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote the Lyrical Ballads with the intention of it being able to be understood by the lower classes. By doing so, they could show a sense of empathy for individuals who have been unfortunate enough to be isolated from community, due to social and political reasons. ‘The Female Vagrant’ is a poem about a woman experiencing the industrial change that was happening, which affected the people living in rural areas, and how reliant women at the time were on men. ‘The Dungeon’ is written about the harsh penal system, how it does no justice to people that have committed offences; similarly, ‘The Convict’ focuses on a someone dying inside a cell, where the narrator believes he should be given a second chance in living.
‘The Female Vagrant’ is written in first person, allowing for extra sympathy from the reader for the vagrant who suffers a series of misfortunate events. It begins with setting the scene of her life, in the Lake District, living with her father. The father and daughter own ‘a flock’, which ‘to him were more than mines of gold’. She describes living a happy cottage life, up until a mansion appears neighbouring her house – the mansion being a typical image of the wealthy. The Enclosures Act of the 18th forced many rural dwellers to give up their conventional land to the wealthy who had bought it, and in the vagrant’s case, her father could not afford to pay the landlord. Subsequently:
‘though tears that fell in showers, Glimmer’d our dear-loved home, alas!
no longer ours!
Reluctantly, the family are forced out from their home. The metaphorical images of tears falling in showers shows the great emotional bond they had with their house, since without it, they would officially be living in poverty, and forced to find laboring work for someone else – like many other rural dwellers were forced to do at the time. The vagrant’s story continues, with her losing everyone she was close to – her husband, father and children. She becomes ‘dried up, despairing, desolate’: an alliteration creating a ‘thudding’ sound, demonstrating the impact that these unfortunate events have had upon her. At the very end of the poem, the narrative switches to third-person: ‘She wept; - because she had no more to say / Of that perpetual weight which on her spirit lay – the ‘perpetual weight’ is the imagery of the world in general. The vagrant has suffered a great deal, from one bad experience to another, which has not only become a burden to her physical self, but also to her spiritual self.
This sense of having one’s spirit crushed by society is also shown in ‘The Dungeon’. The man’s ‘soul / Unmoulds its essence, hopelessly deformed’, showing not only is his physical self deteriorating , but his deeper spiritual sense has been deformed by the punishment that has been given to him, and point Wordsworth consistently expresses is the fact that the soul of a human is important, and what is jeopardized most by the external influences society has on it. The poem makes a general mockery of the current penal system, with the dungeon being ‘the process of our love and wisdom’: an ironic statement, since the rest of the poem tries to express just how poor conditions are and how quick society would be to persecute someone based on little or any evidence of ever committing a crime: ‘each poor brother who offends against us – / Most innocent, perhaps’. The rage is furthered when the narrator declares ‘and what if guilty? Is this the only cure? Merciful God!’, the rhetorical questioning emphasises the narrator’s confusion, and when he comes to realise the situation, he expresses his shock. Wordsworth makes the point that it is not people subjected to this system of punishment that is to blame, but society itself. The poem ends with:
‘His angry spirit healed and harmonized / By the benignant touch of love and beauty’
Once again there is the idea that it is the loss of dignity in one’s soul which makes the difference. The narrator firmly believes that the soul of the person he is describing that is kept in captivity can be saved just by exposing him to ‘soft influences’ of nature. By doing so, the natural touch of ‘love and beauty’ will cleanse his soul. It is easy to see how Wordsworth’s motive can be criticized, since he perhaps shows too much sympathy for people that are kept in captivity for a purpose.
There seems to be a similar pattern after reading ‘The Convict’. The poem focuses on a prisoner, undergoing torture. It begins with a description of the landscape that the narrator is overlooking whilst standing on a mountain, using words such as ‘glory’ and joy’ to describe it. He then begins the portrayal of the convict’s cell, with: ‘And must we then part from a dwelling so fair?’ suggesting even to be parted from nature is taxing enough, with the cell being a ‘comfortless vault of disease’. The description of the convict suggests that he has been held there for quite some time, locked up by chains:
‘with stedfast dejection his eyes are intent / On the fetters that link him
to death’
This quotation is a double entendre, having physical sense by being held down by chains, and left there to die; and also, it can be interpreted as being metaphorical, with the ‘link’ being a close relationship to death, in which he is sure to be paying a visit to soon. The narrator then approaches the convict, and is questioned by him as to why he has visited him. ‘no idle intruder has stood […] But one, whose first wish is to be good’, the narrator emphasises that no one has been to visit the convict, because society has purposely dejected him into isolation, despite the convict now having good intentions. The final comment of the narrator is that the convict does not deserve to be kept there, but would ‘plant thee where yet thou might’st blossom again’, comparing him to a seed, where he can be planted back into society to grow once again.
Wordsworth and Coleridge repeat the message that ultimately, man has good intentions, but can be corrupted by society as a whole; a view reflected by the philosopher Rousseau. If man can turn to nature, then his bad intentions inflicted on his soul by external influences can be erased.
Edit: if it helps, I'm predicted a B overall.
‘How does Wordsworth and Coleridge express sympathy for human suffering’
• The Female Vagrant
• The Dungeon
• The Convict
A common theme throughout the Lyrical Ballads is the sympathy expressed for individuals that have been shunted out by society. Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote the Lyrical Ballads with the intention of it being able to be understood by the lower classes. By doing so, they could show a sense of empathy for individuals who have been unfortunate enough to be isolated from community, due to social and political reasons. ‘The Female Vagrant’ is a poem about a woman experiencing the industrial change that was happening, which affected the people living in rural areas, and how reliant women at the time were on men. ‘The Dungeon’ is written about the harsh penal system, how it does no justice to people that have committed offences; similarly, ‘The Convict’ focuses on a someone dying inside a cell, where the narrator believes he should be given a second chance in living.
‘The Female Vagrant’ is written in first person, allowing for extra sympathy from the reader for the vagrant who suffers a series of misfortunate events. It begins with setting the scene of her life, in the Lake District, living with her father. The father and daughter own ‘a flock’, which ‘to him were more than mines of gold’. She describes living a happy cottage life, up until a mansion appears neighbouring her house – the mansion being a typical image of the wealthy. The Enclosures Act of the 18th forced many rural dwellers to give up their conventional land to the wealthy who had bought it, and in the vagrant’s case, her father could not afford to pay the landlord. Subsequently:
‘though tears that fell in showers, Glimmer’d our dear-loved home, alas!
no longer ours!
Reluctantly, the family are forced out from their home. The metaphorical images of tears falling in showers shows the great emotional bond they had with their house, since without it, they would officially be living in poverty, and forced to find laboring work for someone else – like many other rural dwellers were forced to do at the time. The vagrant’s story continues, with her losing everyone she was close to – her husband, father and children. She becomes ‘dried up, despairing, desolate’: an alliteration creating a ‘thudding’ sound, demonstrating the impact that these unfortunate events have had upon her. At the very end of the poem, the narrative switches to third-person: ‘She wept; - because she had no more to say / Of that perpetual weight which on her spirit lay – the ‘perpetual weight’ is the imagery of the world in general. The vagrant has suffered a great deal, from one bad experience to another, which has not only become a burden to her physical self, but also to her spiritual self.
This sense of having one’s spirit crushed by society is also shown in ‘The Dungeon’. The man’s ‘soul / Unmoulds its essence, hopelessly deformed’, showing not only is his physical self deteriorating , but his deeper spiritual sense has been deformed by the punishment that has been given to him, and point Wordsworth consistently expresses is the fact that the soul of a human is important, and what is jeopardized most by the external influences society has on it. The poem makes a general mockery of the current penal system, with the dungeon being ‘the process of our love and wisdom’: an ironic statement, since the rest of the poem tries to express just how poor conditions are and how quick society would be to persecute someone based on little or any evidence of ever committing a crime: ‘each poor brother who offends against us – / Most innocent, perhaps’. The rage is furthered when the narrator declares ‘and what if guilty? Is this the only cure? Merciful God!’, the rhetorical questioning emphasises the narrator’s confusion, and when he comes to realise the situation, he expresses his shock. Wordsworth makes the point that it is not people subjected to this system of punishment that is to blame, but society itself. The poem ends with:
‘His angry spirit healed and harmonized / By the benignant touch of love and beauty’
Once again there is the idea that it is the loss of dignity in one’s soul which makes the difference. The narrator firmly believes that the soul of the person he is describing that is kept in captivity can be saved just by exposing him to ‘soft influences’ of nature. By doing so, the natural touch of ‘love and beauty’ will cleanse his soul. It is easy to see how Wordsworth’s motive can be criticized, since he perhaps shows too much sympathy for people that are kept in captivity for a purpose.
There seems to be a similar pattern after reading ‘The Convict’. The poem focuses on a prisoner, undergoing torture. It begins with a description of the landscape that the narrator is overlooking whilst standing on a mountain, using words such as ‘glory’ and joy’ to describe it. He then begins the portrayal of the convict’s cell, with: ‘And must we then part from a dwelling so fair?’ suggesting even to be parted from nature is taxing enough, with the cell being a ‘comfortless vault of disease’. The description of the convict suggests that he has been held there for quite some time, locked up by chains:
‘with stedfast dejection his eyes are intent / On the fetters that link him
to death’
This quotation is a double entendre, having physical sense by being held down by chains, and left there to die; and also, it can be interpreted as being metaphorical, with the ‘link’ being a close relationship to death, in which he is sure to be paying a visit to soon. The narrator then approaches the convict, and is questioned by him as to why he has visited him. ‘no idle intruder has stood […] But one, whose first wish is to be good’, the narrator emphasises that no one has been to visit the convict, because society has purposely dejected him into isolation, despite the convict now having good intentions. The final comment of the narrator is that the convict does not deserve to be kept there, but would ‘plant thee where yet thou might’st blossom again’, comparing him to a seed, where he can be planted back into society to grow once again.
Wordsworth and Coleridge repeat the message that ultimately, man has good intentions, but can be corrupted by society as a whole; a view reflected by the philosopher Rousseau. If man can turn to nature, then his bad intentions inflicted on his soul by external influences can be erased.
‘How does Wordsworth and Coleridge reveal beliefs about the power of nature?’
• The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere
• The Nightingale
• Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey
It is clear that when writing the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth and Coleridge believed that nature plays an important role in one’s life. Three poems, ‘Rime of the Ancyent Marinere’, ‘The Nightingale’, and ‘ Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey’ centralize around the power of nature, and the impact it has on the individual, and society in general. In ‘Ancyent Marinere’, nature itself, the supernatural, and religion can take revenge on people that do not hold much respect for the world they live in. ‘The Nightingale’ describes the commotion of nature – how it is commonly misunderstood and the way in which it can help people if they embrace it. ‘Tintern Abbey’ expresses the belief that nature can act as a guide, showing people how to lead moral lives, and to reach a higher state by simply recognizing that nature goes much deeper than simply serving an aesthetic purpose.
The Marinere’s story revolves around the regretful action of shooting down an albatross. The albatross is known as a religious icon, ‘a Christian soul’, wanting to help man should he be in trouble. The albatross appears out form a land ‘ne shapes of men ne beasts’, hailing it to be a blessing. It guides the stranded ship to safety, but man being man, the Marinere shoots down the bird. The Marinere and his crew must now suffer the consequences, and as the ship starts sailing back North unpleasant things begin to happen because of the ‘hellish thing’ the Marinere had done. For days the boat is held stationary, until it begins to sink, ‘water, water, every where ne any drop to drink’ – the ocean then seems to engulf the ship, with the chain of events that follow. It is not just nature that takes revenge, but also the supernatural, as ‘slimey things’ crawl upon the ship, and two spirits appear that play a game of dice to win the souls of the crew: ‘The Game is done! I’ve won, I’ve won!’, had the Marinere known that spirits protecting nature would take revenge by enslaving him and his crew by shooting down the harmless albatross, he probably would have reconsidered his brutish action. Although Coleridge was exaggerating when writing ‘the Ancyent Marinere’, he was trying to convey the message that nature and all sentient life should be cherished, and to be regarded with respect.
‘The Nightingale’ presents a similar message, showing a common misunderstanding mankind has for nature, and in particular, the character of nightingales. The poem describes man having ‘nam’d these notes a melancholy strain’, imprinting their melancholy moods onto the songs of nightingales. The message that Coleridge wishes to explore is that whilst man goes about his daily life full of commotion, ‘In ball-rooms and hot theatres’, nature is ignored, and regarded to be something dull, only wishing to look at nature as being aesthetically pleasing: ‘we shall find a pleasure in the dimness of the stars’. Yet whilst at night under the light of the moon (a commonplace for mystical occurrences to happen), the nightingales appear, ‘stirring the air with such an harmony’ with their sounds, and ‘answer and provoke each other’ songs’, showing them to have a communion side that humans cannot recognise. The ultimate message of the poem is that it is important for people to form a reciprocating loving relationship with nature: ‘I deem it wise to make him Nature’s playmate’ – the baby should be brought up to live side-by-side with nature so it can bring the child up how it wishes to. The capitalization of ‘Nature’ demonstrates that nature is more like a spirit, rather than something lifeless that serves no purpose.
‘The Nightingale’ also suggests that there is ‘something more than nature in the grove’. This is somewhat related ‘Tintern Abbey’ with the point that Wordsworth tried to make that there is something that goes far deeper than simply nature being present to look upon as a form of art, and nothing more. Wordsworth describes it as being ‘something far more deeply interfused’, showing his pantheist beliefs. With this belief, nature has a divine character, and if discovered, can help people to reach a higher mental state:
‘The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul of all my moral being’
Here, Wordsworth uses the metaphorical image that the mind is like a ship, taking an unpredictable course and only nature can ‘anchor purest thoughts’. It acts as a nurturer and a protector of his feelings and non-materialistic soul, whilst helping to be a ‘moral being’.
Similar to ‘The Nightingale’ it describes the daily commotion that people live, but unlike this poem, the narrator has found a resistance to it: ‘The dreary intercourse of daily life, shall e’er prevail against us’, simply because he has found comfort in nature. In ‘Tintern Abbey’, Wordsworth describes a setting that appears to be ‘wild’ – this word being repeatedly referred to when describing the setting of the poem. The effect this has, is showing how this ‘wild green landscape’ is unaffected by industrialization, and more specifically, the Enclosures Act that prevented some areas of landscape being accessed. This imagery reflects what Coleridge conveyed in ‘The Nightingale’, where the ‘grove is wild’, describing a setting that was perfect for the nightingales to express their song, without the damaging effect mankind had when destroying nature.
All three poems express the power of nature in a sense that it goes unheard of. There is a similar point to recognise when reading the poems, that most people are ignorant to the ways of nature – if people can embrace it, then they will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world; but should they continue to mindlessly destroy it (for example, the killing of the albatross in ‘The Rime of the Ancyent Mariner’), then they should expect to suffer the consequences.
• The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere
• The Nightingale
• Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey
It is clear that when writing the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth and Coleridge believed that nature plays an important role in one’s life. Three poems, ‘Rime of the Ancyent Marinere’, ‘The Nightingale’, and ‘ Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey’ centralize around the power of nature, and the impact it has on the individual, and society in general. In ‘Ancyent Marinere’, nature itself, the supernatural, and religion can take revenge on people that do not hold much respect for the world they live in. ‘The Nightingale’ describes the commotion of nature – how it is commonly misunderstood and the way in which it can help people if they embrace it. ‘Tintern Abbey’ expresses the belief that nature can act as a guide, showing people how to lead moral lives, and to reach a higher state by simply recognizing that nature goes much deeper than simply serving an aesthetic purpose.
The Marinere’s story revolves around the regretful action of shooting down an albatross. The albatross is known as a religious icon, ‘a Christian soul’, wanting to help man should he be in trouble. The albatross appears out form a land ‘ne shapes of men ne beasts’, hailing it to be a blessing. It guides the stranded ship to safety, but man being man, the Marinere shoots down the bird. The Marinere and his crew must now suffer the consequences, and as the ship starts sailing back North unpleasant things begin to happen because of the ‘hellish thing’ the Marinere had done. For days the boat is held stationary, until it begins to sink, ‘water, water, every where ne any drop to drink’ – the ocean then seems to engulf the ship, with the chain of events that follow. It is not just nature that takes revenge, but also the supernatural, as ‘slimey things’ crawl upon the ship, and two spirits appear that play a game of dice to win the souls of the crew: ‘The Game is done! I’ve won, I’ve won!’, had the Marinere known that spirits protecting nature would take revenge by enslaving him and his crew by shooting down the harmless albatross, he probably would have reconsidered his brutish action. Although Coleridge was exaggerating when writing ‘the Ancyent Marinere’, he was trying to convey the message that nature and all sentient life should be cherished, and to be regarded with respect.
‘The Nightingale’ presents a similar message, showing a common misunderstanding mankind has for nature, and in particular, the character of nightingales. The poem describes man having ‘nam’d these notes a melancholy strain’, imprinting their melancholy moods onto the songs of nightingales. The message that Coleridge wishes to explore is that whilst man goes about his daily life full of commotion, ‘In ball-rooms and hot theatres’, nature is ignored, and regarded to be something dull, only wishing to look at nature as being aesthetically pleasing: ‘we shall find a pleasure in the dimness of the stars’. Yet whilst at night under the light of the moon (a commonplace for mystical occurrences to happen), the nightingales appear, ‘stirring the air with such an harmony’ with their sounds, and ‘answer and provoke each other’ songs’, showing them to have a communion side that humans cannot recognise. The ultimate message of the poem is that it is important for people to form a reciprocating loving relationship with nature: ‘I deem it wise to make him Nature’s playmate’ – the baby should be brought up to live side-by-side with nature so it can bring the child up how it wishes to. The capitalization of ‘Nature’ demonstrates that nature is more like a spirit, rather than something lifeless that serves no purpose.
‘The Nightingale’ also suggests that there is ‘something more than nature in the grove’. This is somewhat related ‘Tintern Abbey’ with the point that Wordsworth tried to make that there is something that goes far deeper than simply nature being present to look upon as a form of art, and nothing more. Wordsworth describes it as being ‘something far more deeply interfused’, showing his pantheist beliefs. With this belief, nature has a divine character, and if discovered, can help people to reach a higher mental state:
‘The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul of all my moral being’
Here, Wordsworth uses the metaphorical image that the mind is like a ship, taking an unpredictable course and only nature can ‘anchor purest thoughts’. It acts as a nurturer and a protector of his feelings and non-materialistic soul, whilst helping to be a ‘moral being’.
Similar to ‘The Nightingale’ it describes the daily commotion that people live, but unlike this poem, the narrator has found a resistance to it: ‘The dreary intercourse of daily life, shall e’er prevail against us’, simply because he has found comfort in nature. In ‘Tintern Abbey’, Wordsworth describes a setting that appears to be ‘wild’ – this word being repeatedly referred to when describing the setting of the poem. The effect this has, is showing how this ‘wild green landscape’ is unaffected by industrialization, and more specifically, the Enclosures Act that prevented some areas of landscape being accessed. This imagery reflects what Coleridge conveyed in ‘The Nightingale’, where the ‘grove is wild’, describing a setting that was perfect for the nightingales to express their song, without the damaging effect mankind had when destroying nature.
All three poems express the power of nature in a sense that it goes unheard of. There is a similar point to recognise when reading the poems, that most people are ignorant to the ways of nature – if people can embrace it, then they will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world; but should they continue to mindlessly destroy it (for example, the killing of the albatross in ‘The Rime of the Ancyent Mariner’), then they should expect to suffer the consequences.
How do these poems reveal beliefs about the power of nature?
+ The Dungeon
+ Tintern Abbey
+ Tables Turned
"Lyrical Ballads" was written at a time of great Industrial change, when England was at war with France, and when consequent serious social repercussions were beginning to echo throughout England. It is unsurprising, therefore, that Coleridge and Wordsworth, men of great intellect and passionate minds, drew greatly uopn nature within their collection, as nature is so often seen as a "constant", something which will continue to grow and flourish irrelevant to the toils of mankind, and forever posess a brilliant beauty. "The Dungeon", "Tintern Abbey" and "Tables Turned" are but a few of the poems in "Lyrical Ballads" in which the poets directly refer to their beliefs about the power of nature.
There is much evidence in the poems to suggests Wordsworth and Coleridge saw nature as a healer. "The Dungeon" quite simply says "O nature! Healest ... thy child" and continues to explore how Coleridge seems to quite strongly believe that an "angry spirit" could be "healed and harmonised" by nature's "soft influences". The soft sounds of the words "healed", "harmonised" and "influences" emphasize the gentle healing power that Coleridge believed nature posessed. Wordsworth seems to share these views, as he states quite categorically, that nature brings "healing thoughts and tender joy", and that "in hours of weariness" nature's "forms of beauty" and "sensations sweet" bring him "tranquil restoration". The poem is undoutedly commenting upon the great Industrial Revolution at the time of composition (which Wordsworth refers to as "the din of towns and cities") which was destroying England's countrysides. In the same poem, Wordsworth calls nature his "nurse", and his gentle language that he uses to describe nature makes it clear to the reader that it is something that he truly loves and cherishes.
There is also evidence within the poems to suggest the poets believer nature has the sufficient power to be a teacher. Wordsworth says in "Tables Turned", quite simply, to "let nature be your teacher" and in "Tintern Abbey" he makes it clear nature has been his teacher. He declares nature has been "the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul" which suggests he attributes everything about his moral conscience, his personality, his very being, to the power of nature. Nature has cared for and raised his soul and heart, and as a man of no religious belief, this poem makes it easier to understand why Wordsworth turned to nature in such a way, why he believed it had such a power - he even goes as far as to capitalise the "N" on "Nature" - which gives it a power not unlike the one of God. Furthermore, in "Tables Turned", he states that "one impulse from a vernal wood" would "teach" more about "man", "moral evil and good" than "all the sages can" - which echoes a belief found in "Lines Written A Short Distance From My House" where he declares "one moment now may give us more than fifty years of reason". Wordsworth's strong belief about the teaching power of nature is apparent thoughout the collection.
To emphasize their beliefs about the power of nature, both poets chose to contrast it to power of man. The entirety of "The Dungeon" contrasts man's "cure" to nature's - and it is very similar to Wordsworth's "Lines Written in Early Spring" where he demands "Have I not reason to lament what man has made of man?". The graphic images created by Coleridge in "The Dungeon", of a "brother" "circled with evil" until his "soul unmoulds its essence" seem even more grotesque when paired with the "benignant touch of love and beauty". In "Tables Turned" Wordsworth uses words like "lament", "meddling", "murder" and "dissect" to describe man - in "Explotation and Reply" he is "forlorn and blind" - whereas nature is so powerful one only needs a "heart that watches and receives" to experience it and to benefit from it. In his poetry, Wordsworth ony needs to "breathe", "watch", "listen", and "receive" - all passive activities - in order to be healed, taught and nurtured by nature, such is her strength. In "Tintern Abbey" he needs only to "turn" "in spirit" to achieve "a sense sublime" and a "blessed mood" which is so powerful he can "see into the life of things". The poets make it very clear, that they see man's attempts to cure and heal people inadequate to that of nature's - where one only needs a "wise passiveness".
The fact that the poems in the collection that deal most specifically with the power of nature are written in blank verse makes it all the more probable that these were the poems the poets really felt strongly about and really wanted their readers to understand and take note of. They believed poetry about "real" people taught the most, and they hould use their "simpler" language, as it was more suitable and should appeal to more. The blank verse in "The Dungeon" and "Tintern Abbey" let Coleridge and Wordsworth truly communicate their feelings to the reader without being restricted to rhyme, wheras the simple rhyme scheme in "Tables Turned" echoes other poems like "Lines" which communicate important points simply, effectively and memorably.
In conclusion, "Lyrical Ballads" reveals much about Wordsworth and Coleridge's strong beliefs in the power of nature, as a healer, as a teacher, as a guardian of souls and as something much more purer than man - and consequently it is no surprise Wordsworth goes so far as to call himself a "worshipper of nature" in "Tintern Abbey".
As you may be able to tell by my seemingly never-ending sentences, this was written under timed conditions - so I apologise for the areas where things almost begin to lose sense.
Nevertheless, this achieved 18/20 (A). And was told I'd achieve higher with more AO5. So I'd go into more specific detail about W's atheism, and the "language of real men bit" i'd guess ... but then again I doubt I'd have the time to do so!
+ The Dungeon
+ Tintern Abbey
+ Tables Turned
"Lyrical Ballads" was written at a time of great Industrial change, when England was at war with France, and when consequent serious social repercussions were beginning to echo throughout England. It is unsurprising, therefore, that Coleridge and Wordsworth, men of great intellect and passionate minds, drew greatly uopn nature within their collection, as nature is so often seen as a "constant", something which will continue to grow and flourish irrelevant to the toils of mankind, and forever posess a brilliant beauty. "The Dungeon", "Tintern Abbey" and "Tables Turned" are but a few of the poems in "Lyrical Ballads" in which the poets directly refer to their beliefs about the power of nature.
There is much evidence in the poems to suggests Wordsworth and Coleridge saw nature as a healer. "The Dungeon" quite simply says "O nature! Healest ... thy child" and continues to explore how Coleridge seems to quite strongly believe that an "angry spirit" could be "healed and harmonised" by nature's "soft influences". The soft sounds of the words "healed", "harmonised" and "influences" emphasize the gentle healing power that Coleridge believed nature posessed. Wordsworth seems to share these views, as he states quite categorically, that nature brings "healing thoughts and tender joy", and that "in hours of weariness" nature's "forms of beauty" and "sensations sweet" bring him "tranquil restoration". The poem is undoutedly commenting upon the great Industrial Revolution at the time of composition (which Wordsworth refers to as "the din of towns and cities") which was destroying England's countrysides. In the same poem, Wordsworth calls nature his "nurse", and his gentle language that he uses to describe nature makes it clear to the reader that it is something that he truly loves and cherishes.
There is also evidence within the poems to suggest the poets believer nature has the sufficient power to be a teacher. Wordsworth says in "Tables Turned", quite simply, to "let nature be your teacher" and in "Tintern Abbey" he makes it clear nature has been his teacher. He declares nature has been "the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul" which suggests he attributes everything about his moral conscience, his personality, his very being, to the power of nature. Nature has cared for and raised his soul and heart, and as a man of no religious belief, this poem makes it easier to understand why Wordsworth turned to nature in such a way, why he believed it had such a power - he even goes as far as to capitalise the "N" on "Nature" - which gives it a power not unlike the one of God. Furthermore, in "Tables Turned", he states that "one impulse from a vernal wood" would "teach" more about "man", "moral evil and good" than "all the sages can" - which echoes a belief found in "Lines Written A Short Distance From My House" where he declares "one moment now may give us more than fifty years of reason". Wordsworth's strong belief about the teaching power of nature is apparent thoughout the collection.
To emphasize their beliefs about the power of nature, both poets chose to contrast it to power of man. The entirety of "The Dungeon" contrasts man's "cure" to nature's - and it is very similar to Wordsworth's "Lines Written in Early Spring" where he demands "Have I not reason to lament what man has made of man?". The graphic images created by Coleridge in "The Dungeon", of a "brother" "circled with evil" until his "soul unmoulds its essence" seem even more grotesque when paired with the "benignant touch of love and beauty". In "Tables Turned" Wordsworth uses words like "lament", "meddling", "murder" and "dissect" to describe man - in "Explotation and Reply" he is "forlorn and blind" - whereas nature is so powerful one only needs a "heart that watches and receives" to experience it and to benefit from it. In his poetry, Wordsworth ony needs to "breathe", "watch", "listen", and "receive" - all passive activities - in order to be healed, taught and nurtured by nature, such is her strength. In "Tintern Abbey" he needs only to "turn" "in spirit" to achieve "a sense sublime" and a "blessed mood" which is so powerful he can "see into the life of things". The poets make it very clear, that they see man's attempts to cure and heal people inadequate to that of nature's - where one only needs a "wise passiveness".
The fact that the poems in the collection that deal most specifically with the power of nature are written in blank verse makes it all the more probable that these were the poems the poets really felt strongly about and really wanted their readers to understand and take note of. They believed poetry about "real" people taught the most, and they hould use their "simpler" language, as it was more suitable and should appeal to more. The blank verse in "The Dungeon" and "Tintern Abbey" let Coleridge and Wordsworth truly communicate their feelings to the reader without being restricted to rhyme, wheras the simple rhyme scheme in "Tables Turned" echoes other poems like "Lines" which communicate important points simply, effectively and memorably.
In conclusion, "Lyrical Ballads" reveals much about Wordsworth and Coleridge's strong beliefs in the power of nature, as a healer, as a teacher, as a guardian of souls and as something much more purer than man - and consequently it is no surprise Wordsworth goes so far as to call himself a "worshipper of nature" in "Tintern Abbey".
As you may be able to tell by my seemingly never-ending sentences, this was written under timed conditions - so I apologise for the areas where things almost begin to lose sense.
Nevertheless, this achieved 18/20 (A). And was told I'd achieve higher with more AO5. So I'd go into more specific detail about W's atheism, and the "language of real men bit" i'd guess ... but then again I doubt I'd have the time to do so!
From the evidence you find in Lyrical Ballad'sm show how Wordsworth presents the figure of the child
The Romantic period presented the figure of the child in a notably different way to the Classical period that preceded it. The Classical period tended to focus on the rational, logical adult and didn’t really consider a child’s view, whereas the Romantic period saw this turned around completely. The Lyrical Ballads placed lots of emphasis on the child, and Wordsworth presents the child as important and almost divine, in most cases the child was seen to overarch the view of the adult, who was often the figure of the rational classicist. It is however important to realise that Wordsworth was not aware he was writing in a ‘Romantic’ style, similarly the classical poets such as Milton were equally not as aware they were writing in a ‘Classical’ style. Wordsworth simply wrote in a new, refreshed way and the periods of literature were later applied. It could be said that Wordsworth and Coleridge pioneered this new style of writing though their Lyrical Ballads, so understandably, as they wrote differently to the previous poets, it could be said that Wordsworth’s statement that “readers with superior judgement may disapprove” could be easily related to when reading the collection.
The first poem that is useful in exploring the presentation of the figure of the child could be “We are seven.” This poem demonstrates how Wordsworth refuted the classical philologist in favour of the romantic ideal child. Essentially the poem is a conversation between the rational adult and the child about their views of death. The adult is insistent that the “little maid” is only part of “five” siblings. “Then ye are only five.” However, the child is as equally insistent that they “are seven.” Although the adult view presented by Wordsworth is indignant in the fact that the othes children are dead, he still weakens the truth through euphemisms. “Church yard laid.” However, this is structurally important to the poem as it the child could be seen to be testing the adults’ patience. Indeed, the adult does weaken the truth at the start and even undermines the child by the word “little” but as the child’s insistence grows, the last stanza says “they’re dead” and the word “dead” is repeated to echo the adults perception that the other children are no longer living. Ultimately, the child’s view conquers because the poem ends with “Nay master, we are seven.” Whilst the adult ‘loses,’ it is Wordsworth’s romantic ideal view that wins. Thus, not only does Wordsworth present the dead child as a being with longevity even after the grave, he also presents the child’s view on mortality as overarching to the classical adults view on it. Therefore Wordsworth presents the child figure as extremely important in the sense that their view over powers the rational adult.
Another poem that reinforces this view is “Anecdote for Fathers.” Right from the start Wordsworth presents a typical romantic child figure. “His face is fair and fresh to see” and we are told that “his limbs are cast in beauties mould.” This image is almost divine in the sense that Wordsworth presents the child with an unmatched beauty; the word “mould” suggests that the child has been created in a specific way that epitomises beauty. As the poem goes on, it could be suggested that the child figure is presented as somewhat powerful. At the end of the poem the adult father figure is shown to have learnt a lesson from the child. “The heart would seldom learn from what I have learnt from ye.” As the child has taught the rational adult a moral lesson it could be said that the child is presented as a powerful figure indeed.
However, in the “Idiot Boy,” it may be suggested that the child figure is presented as somewhat different. As the title states, Wordsworth says the boy is an “idiot.” Although, small hints throughout the poem present the child figure as slightly intriguing. For example, even though “Johnny” is somewhat dense (“he burred” and shook his “bough” and had to be told “how to turn left and right”) “Betty” still “loves” him dearly. Even because of his limited intelligence the child figure is still portrayed as one whom is dearly loved which may not have strictly been the case in Classical times. However, even though the boy is an idiot he is still portrayed in a way which seems powerful. For example, we read about “Old Susan Gale” and the fact that “as her mind grew worse, he body grew better.” This refers to the fact that the more she fought about the fate of the idiot boy and his “strange adventures” her illness got better. This perhaps shows a restorative power in the child and any ill fate he might be in. Thus, the child is again seen as important as he appears to heal Susan Gale, “as if by magic.” Whilst this may be hyperbole by Wordsworth, the fact that he makes the point about the power of the child can’t be ignored.
In “The Mad Mother” I would argue that the child is very important. This is because the child is so important to the extent that Wordsworth presents his mothers life as so dependent on the child’s love. “Oh love me babe, love me.” This perhaps inverts the relationship of a mother and child. Classically, the child would have been dependent on the mother but in this new Romantic style, Wordsworth really presents the importance of the child as the babies love is keeping the mother alive.
Thus, only by looking at a small number of the Lyrical Ballads to which childhood and “growth of the mind” is a key ingredient, I would suggest that the figure of the child is presented of utmost importance by Wordsworth. He presents the child figures as having an overarching power almost above their adult counterparts which is rather a feat in comparison to the previous literary period.
The Romantic period presented the figure of the child in a notably different way to the Classical period that preceded it. The Classical period tended to focus on the rational, logical adult and didn’t really consider a child’s view, whereas the Romantic period saw this turned around completely. The Lyrical Ballads placed lots of emphasis on the child, and Wordsworth presents the child as important and almost divine, in most cases the child was seen to overarch the view of the adult, who was often the figure of the rational classicist. It is however important to realise that Wordsworth was not aware he was writing in a ‘Romantic’ style, similarly the classical poets such as Milton were equally not as aware they were writing in a ‘Classical’ style. Wordsworth simply wrote in a new, refreshed way and the periods of literature were later applied. It could be said that Wordsworth and Coleridge pioneered this new style of writing though their Lyrical Ballads, so understandably, as they wrote differently to the previous poets, it could be said that Wordsworth’s statement that “readers with superior judgement may disapprove” could be easily related to when reading the collection.
The first poem that is useful in exploring the presentation of the figure of the child could be “We are seven.” This poem demonstrates how Wordsworth refuted the classical philologist in favour of the romantic ideal child. Essentially the poem is a conversation between the rational adult and the child about their views of death. The adult is insistent that the “little maid” is only part of “five” siblings. “Then ye are only five.” However, the child is as equally insistent that they “are seven.” Although the adult view presented by Wordsworth is indignant in the fact that the othes children are dead, he still weakens the truth through euphemisms. “Church yard laid.” However, this is structurally important to the poem as it the child could be seen to be testing the adults’ patience. Indeed, the adult does weaken the truth at the start and even undermines the child by the word “little” but as the child’s insistence grows, the last stanza says “they’re dead” and the word “dead” is repeated to echo the adults perception that the other children are no longer living. Ultimately, the child’s view conquers because the poem ends with “Nay master, we are seven.” Whilst the adult ‘loses,’ it is Wordsworth’s romantic ideal view that wins. Thus, not only does Wordsworth present the dead child as a being with longevity even after the grave, he also presents the child’s view on mortality as overarching to the classical adults view on it. Therefore Wordsworth presents the child figure as extremely important in the sense that their view over powers the rational adult.
Another poem that reinforces this view is “Anecdote for Fathers.” Right from the start Wordsworth presents a typical romantic child figure. “His face is fair and fresh to see” and we are told that “his limbs are cast in beauties mould.” This image is almost divine in the sense that Wordsworth presents the child with an unmatched beauty; the word “mould” suggests that the child has been created in a specific way that epitomises beauty. As the poem goes on, it could be suggested that the child figure is presented as somewhat powerful. At the end of the poem the adult father figure is shown to have learnt a lesson from the child. “The heart would seldom learn from what I have learnt from ye.” As the child has taught the rational adult a moral lesson it could be said that the child is presented as a powerful figure indeed.
However, in the “Idiot Boy,” it may be suggested that the child figure is presented as somewhat different. As the title states, Wordsworth says the boy is an “idiot.” Although, small hints throughout the poem present the child figure as slightly intriguing. For example, even though “Johnny” is somewhat dense (“he burred” and shook his “bough” and had to be told “how to turn left and right”) “Betty” still “loves” him dearly. Even because of his limited intelligence the child figure is still portrayed as one whom is dearly loved which may not have strictly been the case in Classical times. However, even though the boy is an idiot he is still portrayed in a way which seems powerful. For example, we read about “Old Susan Gale” and the fact that “as her mind grew worse, he body grew better.” This refers to the fact that the more she fought about the fate of the idiot boy and his “strange adventures” her illness got better. This perhaps shows a restorative power in the child and any ill fate he might be in. Thus, the child is again seen as important as he appears to heal Susan Gale, “as if by magic.” Whilst this may be hyperbole by Wordsworth, the fact that he makes the point about the power of the child can’t be ignored.
In “The Mad Mother” I would argue that the child is very important. This is because the child is so important to the extent that Wordsworth presents his mothers life as so dependent on the child’s love. “Oh love me babe, love me.” This perhaps inverts the relationship of a mother and child. Classically, the child would have been dependent on the mother but in this new Romantic style, Wordsworth really presents the importance of the child as the babies love is keeping the mother alive.
Thus, only by looking at a small number of the Lyrical Ballads to which childhood and “growth of the mind” is a key ingredient, I would suggest that the figure of the child is presented of utmost importance by Wordsworth. He presents the child figures as having an overarching power almost above their adult counterparts which is rather a feat in comparison to the previous literary period.
this was a short essay I wrote simply on the 'Rime of the Ancyent Marinere' when first studying it. Sorry if there's any spelling mistakes.
How does Coleridge Make Use of Different Layers of Narrative in 'The Rime of The Ancyent Marinere'?
In order for Coleridge to convey his own emotions toward nature and the Romantic themes of that period, many techniques are used in 'the Rime of the Ancyent Marinere' through different layers of narrative and the way Coleridge includes different characters. In order for the reader to understand the reasoning behind the Marinere's tale and form a physical perception of him, a framing narrative must be included.
The setting is at a wedding where the Marinere is able to stop a guest to whom he can tell his tale; "he stoppeth one of three". It is important that within the poem the Marinere has an audience, as the wedding guest can convey both his and the Marinere's reactions thoughout; "God save thee, ancyent Marinere! From the fiends that plague thee thus- why look'st thou so?" and the Marinere is able to justify this in response through the use of the first person; "with my cross bow I shot the albatross". These are also important in order to depict the appearance of the Marinere- "he holds him with his skinny hand", "grey-beard loon", "glittering eye"; some of the features which entice the wedding guest to listen to his tale further, in order for Coleridge to further tell his own tale to the reader. These descriptions are important to the Marinere and what haunts him at different parts of the tale, as in the end of part one when it is discovered he shot the albatross.
The importance of the wedding guest is also justified at the very end of the poem, when Coleridge uses the wedding guest to exonerate the moral of his story by linking the last stanza to one written in part five. This is used to show the importance of time passing between when the Marinere tells his tale and the guest rising the next morning.
As the Marinere tells his tale in the first person, it also puts the reader in the position of being the audience- the wedding guest- as they "cannot chuse but hear", giving the impression that the Marinere has a source of power to be able to hypnotise the wedding guest, in a manner of speaking, as the wedding guest will not retire and the Marinere holds him with his "glittering eye".
Coleridge uses 'The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere' in order to convey his own love for nature and what was percieved to be most important during the Romantic period he and Wordsworth are considered to have catalysed with this collection. The purpose of the poem is to show how important nature is to those who have not experienced what the Marinere had, such as the wedding guest, and portray how nature serves its purpose in protecting humanity. Although the tale the Marinere tells is literal within the poem, it also conveys a hidden perspective that those who are not blessed with the love of nature are cursed, and there is a void in their lives; echoing with the emptiness and suffering of the Marinere when he is blown into 'the void' when on ship.
The purpose the tale serves to the Marinere is so he is able to release his pain and share the morality of the tale with others. The Marinere is evidently haunted by his experience and each time he tells the tale it gives him an oppertunity to release his emotions and realise how thankful he is for the gift of nature and access his love for it.
How does Coleridge Make Use of Different Layers of Narrative in 'The Rime of The Ancyent Marinere'?
In order for Coleridge to convey his own emotions toward nature and the Romantic themes of that period, many techniques are used in 'the Rime of the Ancyent Marinere' through different layers of narrative and the way Coleridge includes different characters. In order for the reader to understand the reasoning behind the Marinere's tale and form a physical perception of him, a framing narrative must be included.
The setting is at a wedding where the Marinere is able to stop a guest to whom he can tell his tale; "he stoppeth one of three". It is important that within the poem the Marinere has an audience, as the wedding guest can convey both his and the Marinere's reactions thoughout; "God save thee, ancyent Marinere! From the fiends that plague thee thus- why look'st thou so?" and the Marinere is able to justify this in response through the use of the first person; "with my cross bow I shot the albatross". These are also important in order to depict the appearance of the Marinere- "he holds him with his skinny hand", "grey-beard loon", "glittering eye"; some of the features which entice the wedding guest to listen to his tale further, in order for Coleridge to further tell his own tale to the reader. These descriptions are important to the Marinere and what haunts him at different parts of the tale, as in the end of part one when it is discovered he shot the albatross.
The importance of the wedding guest is also justified at the very end of the poem, when Coleridge uses the wedding guest to exonerate the moral of his story by linking the last stanza to one written in part five. This is used to show the importance of time passing between when the Marinere tells his tale and the guest rising the next morning.
As the Marinere tells his tale in the first person, it also puts the reader in the position of being the audience- the wedding guest- as they "cannot chuse but hear", giving the impression that the Marinere has a source of power to be able to hypnotise the wedding guest, in a manner of speaking, as the wedding guest will not retire and the Marinere holds him with his "glittering eye".
Coleridge uses 'The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere' in order to convey his own love for nature and what was percieved to be most important during the Romantic period he and Wordsworth are considered to have catalysed with this collection. The purpose of the poem is to show how important nature is to those who have not experienced what the Marinere had, such as the wedding guest, and portray how nature serves its purpose in protecting humanity. Although the tale the Marinere tells is literal within the poem, it also conveys a hidden perspective that those who are not blessed with the love of nature are cursed, and there is a void in their lives; echoing with the emptiness and suffering of the Marinere when he is blown into 'the void' when on ship.
The purpose the tale serves to the Marinere is so he is able to release his pain and share the morality of the tale with others. The Marinere is evidently haunted by his experience and each time he tells the tale it gives him an oppertunity to release his emotions and realise how thankful he is for the gift of nature and access his love for it.
a rather confused essay on nature that i got 20/20 for
Explore the importance of nature in the Lyrical Ballads.
Nature and the Romantics have a close, intertwining relationship. In the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth writes, “the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature”, that “the mind of man [acts as] the mirror of the fairest and most interesting qualities of nature” and this heavily reflects his feelings on the subject; nature and men are inextricably tied. Indeed, since Wordsworth argues, “Poetry is the image of man and nature”, this suggests that in his eyes a close relationship with nature is essential to writing poetry.
Throughout both Wordsworth’s and Coleridge’s poetry, then, we see this eternal idea of man’s closeness to nature repeat. Coleridge’s The Nightingale heavily features ideas encouraging a harmonious relationship with the natural world, and the conversational form that it takes lends itself entirely to these concepts. As the form begins with a description of the setting of the poem, it is inevitably filled with sketch-like phrases relating to nature: ‘this old mossy Bridge’, ‘the glimmer of the stream’ and ‘vernal showers that gladden the green earth’. The phrase, ‘this old mossy Bridge’ in particular is interesting, because in just four words it reflects an idealised relationship between man and nature: man has built a stone bridge, but nature has reclaimed it by covering it in moss. In his discussion of the nightingale’s song, Coleridge is critical of previous poets wanton habit to assign human attributes to nature, attacking the idea that a nightingale should be described as ‘melancholy’, calling it laziness, that a poet would be better to ‘have stretch’d his limbs / Beside a brook’ than ‘echo the conceit’. Here, Wordsworth’s ideas on the link between nature and poetry as outlined in the Preface resonate; with Coleridge expressing that poetry should serve to ‘make nature lovelier’.
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner too, Coleridge reemphasises the importance for respect of nature, but perhaps this time somewhat more aggressively. The albatross that the mariner comes across is described as ‘a Christian soul … hailed in God’s name’ and the bird is given mythical qualities, heralded as ‘the Bird / That made the Breeze to blow’ and ‘the Bird / That brought the Fog and Mist’. It’s death leads only to misery for the mariner; ‘no sweet Bird did follow’ afterwards. Coleridge’s use of capitals, heavily reflects his reverence for nature since almost all nouns associated with nature – for example ‘Bird’, ‘Sea’, ‘Sky’, ‘Star’ – are capitalised and turned into proper nouns, giving them a stronger emphasis and greater importance in the poem.
Almost all of Wordsworth’s contributions to Lyrical Ballads include reference to nature, some more heavily than others. Tintern Abbey is possibly the most nature-heavy of Wordsworth’s poems, though, following Coleridge’s verse form of a conversational poem. Again, we see a depiction of how man and nature can live harmoniously, the ‘plots of cottage ground … which among the woods and copses lose themselves’ almost reminiscent of Coleridge’s ‘old mossy Bridge’, repeating the idea of nature’s dominance over man. The picture presented by Wordsworth is one of nature’s raw powers, ‘steep and lofty cliffs’ framing a ‘wild and secluded landscape’ – wildness being a recurrent theme in the opening of Tintern Abbey – but also an idyllic one, and this comes from the serene relationship observed between man and nature, ‘vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods’.
Nature, Wordsworth claims in Tintern Abbey, affected him in many ways: physically – ‘sensations sweet, / Felt in the blood, felt in the heart’; spiritually – “passing even into my purer mind”; sensually – “feelings too of unremembered pleasure” and even morally – “no trivial influence / On that portion of a good man’s life … acts of kindness and of love”. Indeed, the influence of nature is so strong for Wordsworth that it encourages him to abandon the ideas of ‘the language of man’, leading to him exclaiming, “O sylvan Wye! Thou wanderer through the woods, / How often my spirit turns to thee!”
In Old Man Travelling, the subtitle is ‘Animal Tranquillity and Decay’, and clearly Wordsworth is comparing the calm of the old man to the innocence of wildlife and the innocence associated with nature is repeated in Tintern, with Wordsworth recalling how his “thoughtless youth”, his childhood was spent with “glad animal movements”, an instinctive link with nature present. As this innocence fades, he begins to hear “the still, sad music of humanity” reflected in nature, and to feel “A presence that disturbs [him]”, “a sense sublime” and this unfathomable power of nature, this ‘burthen of the mystery’, reflects Wordsworth’s ideas of pantheism, that God is present in all of Nature, even “in the mind of man”. While Wordsworth see that he himself has lost the childlike innocent link to nature, and seen his devotion to the natural world become something more sophisticated, he – almost patronisingly – sees and celebrates a sense of “the language of [his] former heart” in his sister. Clearly Wordsworth associates his sister with the natural world, describing her ‘wild eyes’, a phrase which reflects the ‘wild green landscape’ of the opening of the poem.
Recognising the importance of both nature itself and the idea of man’s closeness with nature are essential to understanding the intentions of the Romantics and the Lyrical Ballads. Romanticism and Nature are as inextricably linked, as the poets believe Man and Nature should be, and perhaps herein lays the real success of the poems. This obsession with nature stems from a number of places: pantheism, political idealism and a reaction to the ever-expansive Industrial Revolution, and both Wordsworth and Coleridge are certainly devout ‘worshippers of Nature’.
Explore the importance of nature in the Lyrical Ballads.
Nature and the Romantics have a close, intertwining relationship. In the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth writes, “the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature”, that “the mind of man [acts as] the mirror of the fairest and most interesting qualities of nature” and this heavily reflects his feelings on the subject; nature and men are inextricably tied. Indeed, since Wordsworth argues, “Poetry is the image of man and nature”, this suggests that in his eyes a close relationship with nature is essential to writing poetry.
Throughout both Wordsworth’s and Coleridge’s poetry, then, we see this eternal idea of man’s closeness to nature repeat. Coleridge’s The Nightingale heavily features ideas encouraging a harmonious relationship with the natural world, and the conversational form that it takes lends itself entirely to these concepts. As the form begins with a description of the setting of the poem, it is inevitably filled with sketch-like phrases relating to nature: ‘this old mossy Bridge’, ‘the glimmer of the stream’ and ‘vernal showers that gladden the green earth’. The phrase, ‘this old mossy Bridge’ in particular is interesting, because in just four words it reflects an idealised relationship between man and nature: man has built a stone bridge, but nature has reclaimed it by covering it in moss. In his discussion of the nightingale’s song, Coleridge is critical of previous poets wanton habit to assign human attributes to nature, attacking the idea that a nightingale should be described as ‘melancholy’, calling it laziness, that a poet would be better to ‘have stretch’d his limbs / Beside a brook’ than ‘echo the conceit’. Here, Wordsworth’s ideas on the link between nature and poetry as outlined in the Preface resonate; with Coleridge expressing that poetry should serve to ‘make nature lovelier’.
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner too, Coleridge reemphasises the importance for respect of nature, but perhaps this time somewhat more aggressively. The albatross that the mariner comes across is described as ‘a Christian soul … hailed in God’s name’ and the bird is given mythical qualities, heralded as ‘the Bird / That made the Breeze to blow’ and ‘the Bird / That brought the Fog and Mist’. It’s death leads only to misery for the mariner; ‘no sweet Bird did follow’ afterwards. Coleridge’s use of capitals, heavily reflects his reverence for nature since almost all nouns associated with nature – for example ‘Bird’, ‘Sea’, ‘Sky’, ‘Star’ – are capitalised and turned into proper nouns, giving them a stronger emphasis and greater importance in the poem.
Almost all of Wordsworth’s contributions to Lyrical Ballads include reference to nature, some more heavily than others. Tintern Abbey is possibly the most nature-heavy of Wordsworth’s poems, though, following Coleridge’s verse form of a conversational poem. Again, we see a depiction of how man and nature can live harmoniously, the ‘plots of cottage ground … which among the woods and copses lose themselves’ almost reminiscent of Coleridge’s ‘old mossy Bridge’, repeating the idea of nature’s dominance over man. The picture presented by Wordsworth is one of nature’s raw powers, ‘steep and lofty cliffs’ framing a ‘wild and secluded landscape’ – wildness being a recurrent theme in the opening of Tintern Abbey – but also an idyllic one, and this comes from the serene relationship observed between man and nature, ‘vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods’.
Nature, Wordsworth claims in Tintern Abbey, affected him in many ways: physically – ‘sensations sweet, / Felt in the blood, felt in the heart’; spiritually – “passing even into my purer mind”; sensually – “feelings too of unremembered pleasure” and even morally – “no trivial influence / On that portion of a good man’s life … acts of kindness and of love”. Indeed, the influence of nature is so strong for Wordsworth that it encourages him to abandon the ideas of ‘the language of man’, leading to him exclaiming, “O sylvan Wye! Thou wanderer through the woods, / How often my spirit turns to thee!”
In Old Man Travelling, the subtitle is ‘Animal Tranquillity and Decay’, and clearly Wordsworth is comparing the calm of the old man to the innocence of wildlife and the innocence associated with nature is repeated in Tintern, with Wordsworth recalling how his “thoughtless youth”, his childhood was spent with “glad animal movements”, an instinctive link with nature present. As this innocence fades, he begins to hear “the still, sad music of humanity” reflected in nature, and to feel “A presence that disturbs [him]”, “a sense sublime” and this unfathomable power of nature, this ‘burthen of the mystery’, reflects Wordsworth’s ideas of pantheism, that God is present in all of Nature, even “in the mind of man”. While Wordsworth see that he himself has lost the childlike innocent link to nature, and seen his devotion to the natural world become something more sophisticated, he – almost patronisingly – sees and celebrates a sense of “the language of [his] former heart” in his sister. Clearly Wordsworth associates his sister with the natural world, describing her ‘wild eyes’, a phrase which reflects the ‘wild green landscape’ of the opening of the poem.
Recognising the importance of both nature itself and the idea of man’s closeness with nature are essential to understanding the intentions of the Romantics and the Lyrical Ballads. Romanticism and Nature are as inextricably linked, as the poets believe Man and Nature should be, and perhaps herein lays the real success of the poems. This obsession with nature stems from a number of places: pantheism, political idealism and a reaction to the ever-expansive Industrial Revolution, and both Wordsworth and Coleridge are certainly devout ‘worshippers of Nature’.
and an even more confused one on supernatural/imagination
Both Wordsworth and Coleridge believed in the power of the imagination & both used the supernatural to express this. By close reference to at least three poems or by ranging over the collection as a whole, show how both writers expressed their ideas about imagination & supernatural events.
The Romantics elevated the imagination to the position of the supreme faculty of the mind, an idea that sharply contrasted with the traditional arguments for the supremacy of reason. They tended to define the imagination as the ultimate ‘shaping power’ or creative force present in the human mind, the equivalent human power to the creative powers of nature. On a broader scale, it is also the faculty that helps humans to constitute reality, for (as Wordsworth suggested), we not only perceive the world around us, but also in part create it. Uniting both reason and feeling (Coleridge described it with the paradoxical phrase, "intellectual intuition"), imagination is extolled as the ultimate synthesizing faculty, enabling humans to reconcile differences and opposites in the world of appearance. The reconciliation of opposites is a central ideal for the Romantics. In the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth and Coleridge agreed to divide their labours according to two subject areas, the natural and the supernatural: Wordsworth would try to exhibit the novelty in what was all too familiar, while Coleridge would try to show in the supernatural what was psychologically real, both aiming to dislodge vision from the "lethargy of custom."
The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere is perhaps the most notable example of Coleridge’s use of the supernatural. In the poem we encounter ghosts, the reanimated dead, angels as well as the embodiments of Death and of Life in Death. From the start of the poem we have an impression of supernaturalism with a hidden power present in the Marinere’s “glittering eye”, forcing the wedding guest to listen to him – “he cannot chuse but hear”. Coleridge mentions the Marinere’s eyes three times in the first six stanzas, and obviously the reader is supposed to pay attention to them and recognise that they hold some unnatural power, setting the tone for the rest of the poem. The setting of the poem is appropriate, since sailors are traditionally very superstitious and believe in a supernatural power of the sea, and this is reflected with the lines “the Spirit that plagued us so:/Nine fathom deep he had follow’d us”, suggesting something powerful and invisible, clearly the embodiment of Nature. The poem is filled with inexplicable things and this perhaps ties in with the argument that it is a Christian allegory, with Coleridge suggesting that the salvation of man is an awesome and terrible thing, and that the use of supernaturalism is the only way one can imagine it. On a number of occasions, Coleridge makes use of Militon-esque epic similes – notably lines 451-6 (“Like one that on a lonely road/Doth walk in fear and dread…Because he knows a frightful fiend/Doth close behind him tread”
and this technique evokes images of a fall from grace as seen in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Also, this use of simile allows the reader to imagine the situation firsthand, and this too is important as the supernaturalism inherent in the poem distances the reader from the action, so the similes serve to bring him or her back into it, which is essential if the Christian subtext is to be taken in.
In Coleridge’s The Nightingale we see further reference to Milton, specifically his poem Il Penseroso with the quoted line “most musical, most melancholy”. Coleridge tries to reject this claim that the nightingale is ‘melancholy’, claiming in fact that the bird’s song can make day night: “such a harmony,/That should you close your eyes, you might almost/Forget it was not day!” Here, Coleridge is trying to claim that the imagination is both subordinate and prior to nature. On the one hand, we are presented with a clamour of real nightingales, which almost induce reverie; on the other, the imagination, ‘closing ones eyes’, can (‘almost’ transform day into night. The poem appears to be saying that the nightingale is merry, and that humanity is simply governed by the pathetic fallacy. We see Coleridge discuss his own child’s love of nature, and his intention to “make him Nature’s playmate”. Coleridge’s reference to children ties into his feelings about the imagination, as childhood represents the most pure and unadulterated form of imaginative power.
As the Marinere is punished supernaturally for his crime against Nature, in Goody Blake and Harry Gill we see an individual punished for his cruelty towards another human being. The message of Goody Blake is clear: it is man’s responsibility to support his fellow man, and that the perceived ownership of nature is absurd. In the poem we see a poor elderly woman, Goody Blake, attacked for collecting sticks for her fire, and in turn cursing her attacker, Harry Gill – “O may he never more be warm”. Upon hearing these words, Harry Gill becomes, and stays for the rest of his days, cold. The reason for the effectiveness of the curse could be due to God answering Goody Blake’s call, but as Wordsworth was a pantheist and for God to act in such a way would suggest a malevolent God, this reasoning seems unsatisfactory. Another explanation would be the guilt felt by Harry Gill, combined with his own superstitions in regards to fear to punishment from God and the power of the human imagination manifests itself in physical symptoms, and that Harry Gill’s coldness is a psychosomatic reaction. In the Advertisement, Wordsworth makes a point of assuring the reader that Goody Blake is a true story – “founded on a well authenticated fact”, implying that we do not need to imagine this instance of the supernatural since we can take his word for it being true.
Overall, the imagination and the supernatural play important roles in the Lyrical Ballads as they often represent a possibility for religious or Natural punishment. The supernatural is a theme common to the ballad form, as it draws the reader in and creates an air of excitement and unknown, and Wordsworth and Coleridge have simply taken on this tradition and adapted it to provide a far more serious message. We see the supernatural as an embodiment of punishment, of natural justice and of God. The imagination too, allows us to fully understand and envisage the extent of the powers of nature.
Both Wordsworth and Coleridge believed in the power of the imagination & both used the supernatural to express this. By close reference to at least three poems or by ranging over the collection as a whole, show how both writers expressed their ideas about imagination & supernatural events.
The Romantics elevated the imagination to the position of the supreme faculty of the mind, an idea that sharply contrasted with the traditional arguments for the supremacy of reason. They tended to define the imagination as the ultimate ‘shaping power’ or creative force present in the human mind, the equivalent human power to the creative powers of nature. On a broader scale, it is also the faculty that helps humans to constitute reality, for (as Wordsworth suggested), we not only perceive the world around us, but also in part create it. Uniting both reason and feeling (Coleridge described it with the paradoxical phrase, "intellectual intuition"), imagination is extolled as the ultimate synthesizing faculty, enabling humans to reconcile differences and opposites in the world of appearance. The reconciliation of opposites is a central ideal for the Romantics. In the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth and Coleridge agreed to divide their labours according to two subject areas, the natural and the supernatural: Wordsworth would try to exhibit the novelty in what was all too familiar, while Coleridge would try to show in the supernatural what was psychologically real, both aiming to dislodge vision from the "lethargy of custom."
The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere is perhaps the most notable example of Coleridge’s use of the supernatural. In the poem we encounter ghosts, the reanimated dead, angels as well as the embodiments of Death and of Life in Death. From the start of the poem we have an impression of supernaturalism with a hidden power present in the Marinere’s “glittering eye”, forcing the wedding guest to listen to him – “he cannot chuse but hear”. Coleridge mentions the Marinere’s eyes three times in the first six stanzas, and obviously the reader is supposed to pay attention to them and recognise that they hold some unnatural power, setting the tone for the rest of the poem. The setting of the poem is appropriate, since sailors are traditionally very superstitious and believe in a supernatural power of the sea, and this is reflected with the lines “the Spirit that plagued us so:/Nine fathom deep he had follow’d us”, suggesting something powerful and invisible, clearly the embodiment of Nature. The poem is filled with inexplicable things and this perhaps ties in with the argument that it is a Christian allegory, with Coleridge suggesting that the salvation of man is an awesome and terrible thing, and that the use of supernaturalism is the only way one can imagine it. On a number of occasions, Coleridge makes use of Militon-esque epic similes – notably lines 451-6 (“Like one that on a lonely road/Doth walk in fear and dread…Because he knows a frightful fiend/Doth close behind him tread”
and this technique evokes images of a fall from grace as seen in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Also, this use of simile allows the reader to imagine the situation firsthand, and this too is important as the supernaturalism inherent in the poem distances the reader from the action, so the similes serve to bring him or her back into it, which is essential if the Christian subtext is to be taken in.In Coleridge’s The Nightingale we see further reference to Milton, specifically his poem Il Penseroso with the quoted line “most musical, most melancholy”. Coleridge tries to reject this claim that the nightingale is ‘melancholy’, claiming in fact that the bird’s song can make day night: “such a harmony,/That should you close your eyes, you might almost/Forget it was not day!” Here, Coleridge is trying to claim that the imagination is both subordinate and prior to nature. On the one hand, we are presented with a clamour of real nightingales, which almost induce reverie; on the other, the imagination, ‘closing ones eyes’, can (‘almost’
transform day into night. The poem appears to be saying that the nightingale is merry, and that humanity is simply governed by the pathetic fallacy. We see Coleridge discuss his own child’s love of nature, and his intention to “make him Nature’s playmate”. Coleridge’s reference to children ties into his feelings about the imagination, as childhood represents the most pure and unadulterated form of imaginative power. As the Marinere is punished supernaturally for his crime against Nature, in Goody Blake and Harry Gill we see an individual punished for his cruelty towards another human being. The message of Goody Blake is clear: it is man’s responsibility to support his fellow man, and that the perceived ownership of nature is absurd. In the poem we see a poor elderly woman, Goody Blake, attacked for collecting sticks for her fire, and in turn cursing her attacker, Harry Gill – “O may he never more be warm”. Upon hearing these words, Harry Gill becomes, and stays for the rest of his days, cold. The reason for the effectiveness of the curse could be due to God answering Goody Blake’s call, but as Wordsworth was a pantheist and for God to act in such a way would suggest a malevolent God, this reasoning seems unsatisfactory. Another explanation would be the guilt felt by Harry Gill, combined with his own superstitions in regards to fear to punishment from God and the power of the human imagination manifests itself in physical symptoms, and that Harry Gill’s coldness is a psychosomatic reaction. In the Advertisement, Wordsworth makes a point of assuring the reader that Goody Blake is a true story – “founded on a well authenticated fact”, implying that we do not need to imagine this instance of the supernatural since we can take his word for it being true.
Overall, the imagination and the supernatural play important roles in the Lyrical Ballads as they often represent a possibility for religious or Natural punishment. The supernatural is a theme common to the ballad form, as it draws the reader in and creates an air of excitement and unknown, and Wordsworth and Coleridge have simply taken on this tradition and adapted it to provide a far more serious message. We see the supernatural as an embodiment of punishment, of natural justice and of God. The imagination too, allows us to fully understand and envisage the extent of the powers of nature.
Childhood in Lyrical Ballads
I think I got 17/20 for this
In Wordsworth and Coleridge’s lyrical ballads, the idea of childhood is presented in many of the poems in the collection, often paralleled with the idea of motherhood, especially within poems such as ‘The Idiot Boy’ and ‘The Foster Mothers Tale, often even intertwined with the themes of madness; ‘The Mad Mother’ and vaguely in ‘The Foster Mothers Tale’. The latter is a poem which captures Coleridge’s view on childhood and is mostly derived from Coleridge’s firm views on the teaching of children and the romantic idea that children are born pure, and corrupted by what man has done to man. The idea of childhood is interwoven with the dominant theme of nature, shown in many of Wordsworth’s poems, more notably at the beginning of his poems, as most of his settings have a similar feel of tranquillity and serenity. The idea that children are taught by nature is a romantic idea as it shows children’s ability to pass on knowledge of nature to their parents. The predominant poem which features this motif is Coleridge’s ‘The Foster Mothers Tale’ in which the poet presents the boy only able to be taught by nature, and that the boy mimicked the notes of birds. When the boy is imprisoned, he is to be heard singing melancholy songs about ‘green fields’ and the desire to run free at liberty. Another romantic idea that Coleridge includes about childhood is the image he gives at the end, as he depicts the youth sailing out on a wide open sea under moonlight, this is a very romantic idea as the moon has symbols of femininity and motherhood, and so as the youth sails out, he is watched over. The moon is also a symbol of madness, so perhaps this denotes the youth’s own madness, and the final imagery in the fragment is the youth, one with nature on an open sea. This contrasts with the last line, which suggests he died among ‘savage men’ which is another theme of the romantics, the savagery of mankind, and somewhat distances youths from men to suggest that man’s evil opposes youths bond with nature.
Wordsworth’s ‘The last of the flock’ gives a different view of childhood, and the children in the poem could be said to be a burden to the man who has lost his flock, and how social situation has detracted from what is more important, e.g. nurturing children. It is, however a pretty ambiguous message because it could be read to suggest that in the man’s distress, he makes bold and shocking statements in his despair, as he utters that he feels cursed that he loves his children less as his flock ‘dwindles’. He does, however in the poem announce that he loves his children as much as his flock. It is, a very human poem, and deals with emotional characteristics of a full grown man, the idea of a man crying is reinforced, as it is mentioned in ‘The Foster Mothers Tale’, ‘he sobbed like a child’ and a fully grown man crying is quite a saddening sentiment, and relates to a child’s ability to cry, and to not feel undignified, perhaps to suggest that crying is a natural way of expressing emotion, which is another romantic idea linked to childhood. Two similar views of childhood are given in ‘We are seven’ and ‘anecdote for fathers’ as both children have similar characteristics in their childlike ‘wisdom’ and particularly in ‘we are seven’, we can see the child’s naivety and innocence, especially regarding the death of her siblings. We can also see the simple language being used to represent childlike language, especially in the conventional metre and simplistic lexis, we can find such deceivingly simple language in most of his poems, but usage helped to convey a much more profound or complex message. Wordsworth claimed to love asking children questions to hear their answers, and the message lying in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ was that an adult can learn more from a child, than vice versa. The adults view of death in ‘We are seven’ is quite logical and straightforward compared to the child’s view, which is far more imaginative, as she suggests the dead members of her family still occupy a presence, and her determination to prove this allows her to ‘have her will’. The morbid underlying message of death, I feel is paralleled with an existing message that children have a natural understanding of the dead and it allows them not to be as philosophical. Coleridge had opposing views on childhood to Wordsworth, even though Coleridge’s message in ‘The Foster Mother’s Tale’ seemed to depict that children should be ‘taught’ by nature, as it is a far more romantic ideology than a child taught by man. Wordsworth’s views in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ and ‘We are Seven’ seemed to suggest at a far more spiritual and naturalistic wisdom in children.
Children are praised in Lyrical Ballads and are one of the main symbols in romantic literature because their bond with nature and freedom to explore deeper emotional feelings and ideas allow poets to recreate this, perhaps to show how a child’s view drastically differs than an adult’s. Many of the poems touch on childhood, even if they are not a major theme, the final poem ‘Tintern Abbey’ draws upon Wordsworth’s past life as a youth and he reminisces how he frolicked like a ‘ewe’. Overall the idea of childhood is one explored deeply within lyrical ballads and a main theme, corresponding with nature and imagination.
I think I got 17/20 for this
In Wordsworth and Coleridge’s lyrical ballads, the idea of childhood is presented in many of the poems in the collection, often paralleled with the idea of motherhood, especially within poems such as ‘The Idiot Boy’ and ‘The Foster Mothers Tale, often even intertwined with the themes of madness; ‘The Mad Mother’ and vaguely in ‘The Foster Mothers Tale’. The latter is a poem which captures Coleridge’s view on childhood and is mostly derived from Coleridge’s firm views on the teaching of children and the romantic idea that children are born pure, and corrupted by what man has done to man. The idea of childhood is interwoven with the dominant theme of nature, shown in many of Wordsworth’s poems, more notably at the beginning of his poems, as most of his settings have a similar feel of tranquillity and serenity. The idea that children are taught by nature is a romantic idea as it shows children’s ability to pass on knowledge of nature to their parents. The predominant poem which features this motif is Coleridge’s ‘The Foster Mothers Tale’ in which the poet presents the boy only able to be taught by nature, and that the boy mimicked the notes of birds. When the boy is imprisoned, he is to be heard singing melancholy songs about ‘green fields’ and the desire to run free at liberty. Another romantic idea that Coleridge includes about childhood is the image he gives at the end, as he depicts the youth sailing out on a wide open sea under moonlight, this is a very romantic idea as the moon has symbols of femininity and motherhood, and so as the youth sails out, he is watched over. The moon is also a symbol of madness, so perhaps this denotes the youth’s own madness, and the final imagery in the fragment is the youth, one with nature on an open sea. This contrasts with the last line, which suggests he died among ‘savage men’ which is another theme of the romantics, the savagery of mankind, and somewhat distances youths from men to suggest that man’s evil opposes youths bond with nature.
Wordsworth’s ‘The last of the flock’ gives a different view of childhood, and the children in the poem could be said to be a burden to the man who has lost his flock, and how social situation has detracted from what is more important, e.g. nurturing children. It is, however a pretty ambiguous message because it could be read to suggest that in the man’s distress, he makes bold and shocking statements in his despair, as he utters that he feels cursed that he loves his children less as his flock ‘dwindles’. He does, however in the poem announce that he loves his children as much as his flock. It is, a very human poem, and deals with emotional characteristics of a full grown man, the idea of a man crying is reinforced, as it is mentioned in ‘The Foster Mothers Tale’, ‘he sobbed like a child’ and a fully grown man crying is quite a saddening sentiment, and relates to a child’s ability to cry, and to not feel undignified, perhaps to suggest that crying is a natural way of expressing emotion, which is another romantic idea linked to childhood. Two similar views of childhood are given in ‘We are seven’ and ‘anecdote for fathers’ as both children have similar characteristics in their childlike ‘wisdom’ and particularly in ‘we are seven’, we can see the child’s naivety and innocence, especially regarding the death of her siblings. We can also see the simple language being used to represent childlike language, especially in the conventional metre and simplistic lexis, we can find such deceivingly simple language in most of his poems, but usage helped to convey a much more profound or complex message. Wordsworth claimed to love asking children questions to hear their answers, and the message lying in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ was that an adult can learn more from a child, than vice versa. The adults view of death in ‘We are seven’ is quite logical and straightforward compared to the child’s view, which is far more imaginative, as she suggests the dead members of her family still occupy a presence, and her determination to prove this allows her to ‘have her will’. The morbid underlying message of death, I feel is paralleled with an existing message that children have a natural understanding of the dead and it allows them not to be as philosophical. Coleridge had opposing views on childhood to Wordsworth, even though Coleridge’s message in ‘The Foster Mother’s Tale’ seemed to depict that children should be ‘taught’ by nature, as it is a far more romantic ideology than a child taught by man. Wordsworth’s views in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ and ‘We are Seven’ seemed to suggest at a far more spiritual and naturalistic wisdom in children.
Children are praised in Lyrical Ballads and are one of the main symbols in romantic literature because their bond with nature and freedom to explore deeper emotional feelings and ideas allow poets to recreate this, perhaps to show how a child’s view drastically differs than an adult’s. Many of the poems touch on childhood, even if they are not a major theme, the final poem ‘Tintern Abbey’ draws upon Wordsworth’s past life as a youth and he reminisces how he frolicked like a ‘ewe’. Overall the idea of childhood is one explored deeply within lyrical ballads and a main theme, corresponding with nature and imagination.
x_LiNk_x
How do Wordsworth and Coleridge explore the theme of childhood and its importance in the Lyrical Ballads?
One of the major themes in the Lyrical Ballads is that of the development of the mind of the child. Wordsworth once wrote in a letter to a friend ‘if the child be not constrained too much…she will become modest and diffident.’ Wordsworth and Coleridge’s views on the childhood, its ability to influence adult thought and its innocence are ideas explored in the poems ‘We are Seven’ and ‘Anecdote for Fathers’.
The tight structures apparent in both of the poems are indicative of the firm hold parents at the time tried to maintain over their children. Both poems are typical of the constrained, ballad form and are written in quatrains consisting of two rhyming couplets, written mainly in iambic quatrameter with an alternate rhyme scheme. Interestingly, each poem has a variation on this structure. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’, the last line of each stanza has only three iambs rather than four and in ‘We Are Seven’, the first and third lines are written in iambic pentameter and the second and fourth in iambic tetrameter.
These deviations from the traditional structure allow Wordsworth to express the idea that children’s ideas are perhaps unconventional and do not always fit the pattern of adult thought and therefore adults often find it difficult to understand them.
Both poems are structured around conversations between adults and children. The use of conversational speech allows Wordsworth to impose a sense of realism and gives his exploration of childhood more credibility. It is quite easy to picture a simple conversation between a father and son in which the son says something that causes the father to remark ‘My little Edward tell me why/Why this is strange,’ said I’ and this simplicity, apparent in both poems, causes the reader to think more carefully about childhood and the notions children have which adults dismiss, more often than not, without a thought!
In ‘We are Seven’ the last line in the opening stanza ‘What should it know of death?’ is a clear indication of the adult persona’s reluctance to concede his point and allow the child to believe that despite two of her siblings being dead they still, in some way, with her. The adult persona in this poem is portrayed as having the dogmatic attitude reminiscent of the previous Classicist movement which Wordsworth and Coleridge were desperately trying to breakaway from. This idea is reinforced by the repeated use of the epithet ‘little’ which the adult persona uses to demean the young girl ‘the little Maid’. The same adjective has been used differently in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ as a means for the father to express the devotion the he holds for his son whom he also professes to be his ‘dearest, dearest boy.’
These opposing uses of the same adjective are an indication of the two different views that Wordsworth is trying to express; firstly that, if explored properly, a relationship between an adult and a child can be stimulating and rewarding for both parties but in contrast, if one constantly treats a child as nothing but an amusing plaything then they will be steeped in ignorance and deprived of the benefits of a child’s vivid imagination.
Perhaps the most important two lines in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ are the last two which sum up this idea very concisely, ‘Could I but teach the hundredth part/Of what from thee I learn’.
Whilst on the one hand, Wordsworth is exploring the effects children have and potentially could have on adult thinking, he is as well exploring the innocence and vitality of youth at a time where many infant mortality rates were depressingly high and many children would not reach adulthood.
This is mainly explored during the initial few stanzas of both poems when the adult personas describe their respective children. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ the presentation of childhood as a vulnerable and simple time is done through the soft alliteration of the consonant ‘f’ which creates a pleasant sound, almost like a small child’s lisp. This is emphasised by the metaphor ‘His limbs are cast in beauty’s mould.’ showing his idolisation for his son. Furthermore the use of the adjectives ‘slim’ and ‘graceful’ creates a sense of fragility and remind the reader all to clearly firstly that childhood does not last forever and once gone, cannot be regained, and secondly that these children are one bad winter away from death.
The latter statement is explored explicitly in ‘We are Seven’ as the ‘simple child’ describes the loss of two of her siblings whilst maintaining what one reader may interpret to be an endearing naivety but another, a wisdom and maturity beyond her years. The initial description of her as someone who ‘feels life in every limb’ creates a sense of energy and vigour which clearly sets her apart from her deceased brother and sister. However, this vigour is juxtaposed with the altogether lifeless subject of mortality and through this juxtaposition Wordsworth is able to warn the reader that we must be careful because the innocence of childhood can slip away in a moment.
To conclude, it is clear from these two poems that the theme of childhood features heavily in Wordsworth and Coleridge’s poems and that they believe wholeheartedly in the philosophical idea of the time that childhood imagination has the power to liberate constrained, adult thinking. Their careful structuring and use of language allows a simplicity which causes the reader to ponder further on the idea of childhood and its importance, as well as its fragility and, almost paradoxically, its vitality.
One of the major themes in the Lyrical Ballads is that of the development of the mind of the child. Wordsworth once wrote in a letter to a friend ‘if the child be not constrained too much…she will become modest and diffident.’ Wordsworth and Coleridge’s views on the childhood, its ability to influence adult thought and its innocence are ideas explored in the poems ‘We are Seven’ and ‘Anecdote for Fathers’.
The tight structures apparent in both of the poems are indicative of the firm hold parents at the time tried to maintain over their children. Both poems are typical of the constrained, ballad form and are written in quatrains consisting of two rhyming couplets, written mainly in iambic quatrameter with an alternate rhyme scheme. Interestingly, each poem has a variation on this structure. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’, the last line of each stanza has only three iambs rather than four and in ‘We Are Seven’, the first and third lines are written in iambic pentameter and the second and fourth in iambic tetrameter.
These deviations from the traditional structure allow Wordsworth to express the idea that children’s ideas are perhaps unconventional and do not always fit the pattern of adult thought and therefore adults often find it difficult to understand them.
Both poems are structured around conversations between adults and children. The use of conversational speech allows Wordsworth to impose a sense of realism and gives his exploration of childhood more credibility. It is quite easy to picture a simple conversation between a father and son in which the son says something that causes the father to remark ‘My little Edward tell me why/Why this is strange,’ said I’ and this simplicity, apparent in both poems, causes the reader to think more carefully about childhood and the notions children have which adults dismiss, more often than not, without a thought!
In ‘We are Seven’ the last line in the opening stanza ‘What should it know of death?’ is a clear indication of the adult persona’s reluctance to concede his point and allow the child to believe that despite two of her siblings being dead they still, in some way, with her. The adult persona in this poem is portrayed as having the dogmatic attitude reminiscent of the previous Classicist movement which Wordsworth and Coleridge were desperately trying to breakaway from. This idea is reinforced by the repeated use of the epithet ‘little’ which the adult persona uses to demean the young girl ‘the little Maid’. The same adjective has been used differently in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ as a means for the father to express the devotion the he holds for his son whom he also professes to be his ‘dearest, dearest boy.’
These opposing uses of the same adjective are an indication of the two different views that Wordsworth is trying to express; firstly that, if explored properly, a relationship between an adult and a child can be stimulating and rewarding for both parties but in contrast, if one constantly treats a child as nothing but an amusing plaything then they will be steeped in ignorance and deprived of the benefits of a child’s vivid imagination.
Perhaps the most important two lines in ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ are the last two which sum up this idea very concisely, ‘Could I but teach the hundredth part/Of what from thee I learn’.
Whilst on the one hand, Wordsworth is exploring the effects children have and potentially could have on adult thinking, he is as well exploring the innocence and vitality of youth at a time where many infant mortality rates were depressingly high and many children would not reach adulthood.
This is mainly explored during the initial few stanzas of both poems when the adult personas describe their respective children. In ‘Anecdote for Fathers’ the presentation of childhood as a vulnerable and simple time is done through the soft alliteration of the consonant ‘f’ which creates a pleasant sound, almost like a small child’s lisp. This is emphasised by the metaphor ‘His limbs are cast in beauty’s mould.’ showing his idolisation for his son. Furthermore the use of the adjectives ‘slim’ and ‘graceful’ creates a sense of fragility and remind the reader all to clearly firstly that childhood does not last forever and once gone, cannot be regained, and secondly that these children are one bad winter away from death.
The latter statement is explored explicitly in ‘We are Seven’ as the ‘simple child’ describes the loss of two of her siblings whilst maintaining what one reader may interpret to be an endearing naivety but another, a wisdom and maturity beyond her years. The initial description of her as someone who ‘feels life in every limb’ creates a sense of energy and vigour which clearly sets her apart from her deceased brother and sister. However, this vigour is juxtaposed with the altogether lifeless subject of mortality and through this juxtaposition Wordsworth is able to warn the reader that we must be careful because the innocence of childhood can slip away in a moment.
To conclude, it is clear from these two poems that the theme of childhood features heavily in Wordsworth and Coleridge’s poems and that they believe wholeheartedly in the philosophical idea of the time that childhood imagination has the power to liberate constrained, adult thinking. Their careful structuring and use of language allows a simplicity which causes the reader to ponder further on the idea of childhood and its importance, as well as its fragility and, almost paradoxically, its vitality.
this is a really good essay but i would just like to point out you need to remember that if the questions uses both poets in it then you need to refer to a poem written by both wordsworth and coleridge
I got a B... but I think it was Shakespeare that let me down as 80% of my total revision (for all 4 of my a-levels) was for this exam... want my paper back to find out how I did.
Ed. snap,3 people at my school also got full marks... n looking on here loads of people did... not complaining though, got me an A
Ed. snap,3 people at my school also got full marks... n looking on here loads of people did... not complaining though, got me an A
How do the Lyrical Ballads express the voice of the voiceless?
The Eighteenth Century was not a blissful period in terms of social conditions in most of the western world. With no free-speech or free democracy which we experience now, there were many people in Britain who could not have their say on issues they were involved in. Wordsworth and Coleridge, aware of this, particularly saw the need for the ‘voiceless’ to be heard. Both writers had suffered poverty - it’s ability to name a person’s status in society – so they both found easiness in communicating it to others through their poems.
Like many of the poems in Lyrical Ballads, ‘The Idiot Boy’ focuses on a boy who is not necessarily poor financially, this is not clear, but is ‘simple’. Being uneducated was thought to be a stigma by the higher societies, like being poor, and they took no particular notice of the people who fell under either of these categories.
Using the ballad form to tell a story, Wordsworth introduces the main character instantly with adjectives like ‘lonely’, which automatically connects the reader to the character. Wordsworth deliberately makes the reader feel sympathy for the character, I suspect, so the reader empathises and possibly comes to the same conclusion Wordsworth had: ‘poorer’ people were not secondary, and had a voice. Before Wordsworth, the reader would have been less emotionally invested because the language in poetry had not put the emphasis on character – reader connection, ‘Him whom you love, Betty Foy’.
Wordsworth’s first person narrative, recalling the story, permits the reader to believe what he has to say. The writer interferes and interjects his own opinion: his sympathy for the situation, causing the reader to empathise. Punctuation is an indication of apprehension in the poet, ‘Oh! Then for that poor idiot boy!’ and the audience becomes aware of the building of tension. Also, the poet includes an extensive amount of speech said by his imagined character, ‘ Cries Betty, “He’ll be back again!” ’ This speech, reported by the narrator, literally gives the character a voice, again giving more dimension to a person that would not be normally recognised. Wordsworth also attempts to explain through his narrator the sound the ‘idiot boy’ makes, ‘now Johnny’s lips they burr,’ again allowing Wordsworth opinion that the freedom of expression to come through and reach the reader.
Another poem, ‘The Mad Mother’, demonstrates the collection’s ability to give people a voice. Concentrating on some similar themes as ‘The Idiot Boy’ – how strong a mother’s love is whatever her circumstances, it concentrates more on the psyche of a social outcast – a subject that again, would not have been popular before ‘Lyrical Ballads’.
The introductory stanza written in third person, again gives the impression that Wordsworth is storytelling but unlike The Idiot Boy, it does not include a narrator character allowing him to make personal interjections when he likes.
Wordsworth was creative in his shift from third person to first person speech for the second stanza; the rest of the poem gives the character an outlet for all her thoughts, therefore a personal connection to reader from character would be achieved successfully, ‘ But nay, my heart is too glad.’ Wordsworth also gave the character the power to voice her emotions; they are emphasized in large amount in the poem. Not only would society find it hard to ignore the poorer classes anymore but also they would be shocked by this confessional speech in Wordsworth’s time. ‘ And I am happy when I sing/ Full many a sad and doleful thing.’
The reader would discover the ‘Mad Mother’s’ ability to use imagery throughout the poem; ‘ A fire was once within my brain’. Wordsworth, I suspect, was expressing his opinion that eloquent speech within the lower classes was not impossible; that the poor sometimes had the ability to speak in an educated fashion and that they should be heard by others.
The poet-narrator appears again in ‘We Are Seven’, a long poem reporting on an encounter with a child. In this poem, the poet-narrator emerges a symbol of the upper class. Through the poem, the reader finds that the wisdom of an adult does not necessarily defeat the viewpoint of a child. Coleridge intentionally shows that the child does not always have to be secondary to the adult and happens to be equal. The stubbornness of the child would delight and shock the reader, ‘Nay, we are seven!’ This was because the reader would have dismissed the child from introduction as inferior and, against all expectations, the child is challenging the adult. The adult character is as equally belligerent: ‘But they are dead. Those two are dead!’ Coleridge automatically finding the voice for this child against the logical adult, conveys the strength of a person not recognised in society and how difficult it is for the upper classes to understand others.
It is in these ways that Wordsworth and Coleridge, men that emerged from poverty, tried to overcome the deafness of the upper classes to the less fortunate. His poems expressed a way of life that the lower classes could not do for themselves and also the fact that among the poor and simple, there was some people who were voiceless not because they had none but because the upper classes were ignorant.
The Eighteenth Century was not a blissful period in terms of social conditions in most of the western world. With no free-speech or free democracy which we experience now, there were many people in Britain who could not have their say on issues they were involved in. Wordsworth and Coleridge, aware of this, particularly saw the need for the ‘voiceless’ to be heard. Both writers had suffered poverty - it’s ability to name a person’s status in society – so they both found easiness in communicating it to others through their poems.
Like many of the poems in Lyrical Ballads, ‘The Idiot Boy’ focuses on a boy who is not necessarily poor financially, this is not clear, but is ‘simple’. Being uneducated was thought to be a stigma by the higher societies, like being poor, and they took no particular notice of the people who fell under either of these categories.
Using the ballad form to tell a story, Wordsworth introduces the main character instantly with adjectives like ‘lonely’, which automatically connects the reader to the character. Wordsworth deliberately makes the reader feel sympathy for the character, I suspect, so the reader empathises and possibly comes to the same conclusion Wordsworth had: ‘poorer’ people were not secondary, and had a voice. Before Wordsworth, the reader would have been less emotionally invested because the language in poetry had not put the emphasis on character – reader connection, ‘Him whom you love, Betty Foy’.
Wordsworth’s first person narrative, recalling the story, permits the reader to believe what he has to say. The writer interferes and interjects his own opinion: his sympathy for the situation, causing the reader to empathise. Punctuation is an indication of apprehension in the poet, ‘Oh! Then for that poor idiot boy!’ and the audience becomes aware of the building of tension. Also, the poet includes an extensive amount of speech said by his imagined character, ‘ Cries Betty, “He’ll be back again!” ’ This speech, reported by the narrator, literally gives the character a voice, again giving more dimension to a person that would not be normally recognised. Wordsworth also attempts to explain through his narrator the sound the ‘idiot boy’ makes, ‘now Johnny’s lips they burr,’ again allowing Wordsworth opinion that the freedom of expression to come through and reach the reader.
Another poem, ‘The Mad Mother’, demonstrates the collection’s ability to give people a voice. Concentrating on some similar themes as ‘The Idiot Boy’ – how strong a mother’s love is whatever her circumstances, it concentrates more on the psyche of a social outcast – a subject that again, would not have been popular before ‘Lyrical Ballads’.
The introductory stanza written in third person, again gives the impression that Wordsworth is storytelling but unlike The Idiot Boy, it does not include a narrator character allowing him to make personal interjections when he likes.
Wordsworth was creative in his shift from third person to first person speech for the second stanza; the rest of the poem gives the character an outlet for all her thoughts, therefore a personal connection to reader from character would be achieved successfully, ‘ But nay, my heart is too glad.’ Wordsworth also gave the character the power to voice her emotions; they are emphasized in large amount in the poem. Not only would society find it hard to ignore the poorer classes anymore but also they would be shocked by this confessional speech in Wordsworth’s time. ‘ And I am happy when I sing/ Full many a sad and doleful thing.’
The reader would discover the ‘Mad Mother’s’ ability to use imagery throughout the poem; ‘ A fire was once within my brain’. Wordsworth, I suspect, was expressing his opinion that eloquent speech within the lower classes was not impossible; that the poor sometimes had the ability to speak in an educated fashion and that they should be heard by others.
The poet-narrator appears again in ‘We Are Seven’, a long poem reporting on an encounter with a child. In this poem, the poet-narrator emerges a symbol of the upper class. Through the poem, the reader finds that the wisdom of an adult does not necessarily defeat the viewpoint of a child. Coleridge intentionally shows that the child does not always have to be secondary to the adult and happens to be equal. The stubbornness of the child would delight and shock the reader, ‘Nay, we are seven!’ This was because the reader would have dismissed the child from introduction as inferior and, against all expectations, the child is challenging the adult. The adult character is as equally belligerent: ‘But they are dead. Those two are dead!’ Coleridge automatically finding the voice for this child against the logical adult, conveys the strength of a person not recognised in society and how difficult it is for the upper classes to understand others.
It is in these ways that Wordsworth and Coleridge, men that emerged from poverty, tried to overcome the deafness of the upper classes to the less fortunate. His poems expressed a way of life that the lower classes could not do for themselves and also the fact that among the poor and simple, there was some people who were voiceless not because they had none but because the upper classes were ignorant.
This one got an A from my english teacher but she's also an examiner so it should count for something (:
How does Coleridge explore nature and the supernatural in The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere?
Coleridge uses both nature and the supernatural extensively in The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere (hereafter abbreviated as The Ancyent Marinere), and in his exploration of them reflects some of the common ideals of romanticism. One such reflection is found in the very use of the supernatural itself, and in particular the use of the gothic. The imagery in the middle of the poem is typical of this, with lines such as “her skin is white as leprosy, and she is far liker death than he” evoking themes of life and death and the questioning of the boundary that exists between. Indeed, The Ancyent Marinere can be seen as a prime example of the gothic literature endemic to the mid-18th and 19th century, and its reactionary attitude to the age of enlightenment.
Conversely though, the theme of nature in the poem also reflects some of the ideals of romanticism. The hermit for example represents the romantic ideal of a unity and harmony with nature, as expressed through lines such as “he hath a cushion plump: it is the moss, that wholly hides the rotted old Oak-stump” and “he prayeth best who loveth best all things both great and small”.
While the two themes of nature and the supernatural may seem like polar opposites, Coleridge demonstrates that the two are mutually non-exclusive. Indeed they are often used in tandem; Coleridge uses the supernatural to explore nature and vice versa. This itself is achieved in a number of ways and is used to achieve a number of possible ends.
One of the ways in which this joint or complimentary exploration is achieved is through the juxtaposition or superimposition of the supernatural on nature; nature or reality is used as a backdrop to the surreal events recounted in the Mariner’s “rime”. Indeed, the first and last few stanzas can be seen as ‘framing’ the main content of the poem, the mariner’s story; the events of these first and last stanzas take place in reality, setting the scene: “It is an Ancyent Marinere, and he stoppeth one of three”.
It seems then that the reader receives the story at a remove from the Mariner himself- we are merely observing him recounting a tale to another. Despite this however, there is no evident transition or punctuation to denote the Mariner’s speech; stanza 12 simply launches into “listen, Stranger! Storm and Wind”, and the only distinction made from the rest of the text is the speech of others such as the Wedding Guest: “‘God save thee, ancyent Marinere!’” Furthermore, as the poem progresses through the surreal content the interjections from the wedding guest cease, and this separation is no longer present; it is almost as if we had become the wedding guest. This seeming removal (and eventual restoration) of the backdrop of reality, combined with the progressively supernatural nature of the poem, serves to make reading the poem almost a journey in itself- the reader becomes steadily more emotionally and mentally involved in the mariner’s story, as all semblance of reason and reality seemingly disappears. This then would seem to reflect the emphasis placed by the romantics on emotion over reason; Coleridge explores the supernatural by taking the reader with him and removing the frame of reference so that this exploration is not hampered by reason.
This ‘backdrop’ of reality is created not just through content, but also through language. Even in some of the poem’s more surreal stages, Coleridge explains the supernatural in terms of nature, for example when the hermit observes the bared ribs of the ship in stanzas 131-2:
‘I never saw aught like to them
Unless perchance it were
The skeletons of leaves that lag
My forest brook along’
Another example of this is the ‘wind’ that the Mariner experiences at stanza 107- “Its path was not upon the sea, in ripple nor in shade”- an alien experience described in terms which ordinary people might understand. This device also relates to the use of colloquialisms in the Mariner’s speech, evident in lines such as “ne shapes of men nor beasts we ken”. This denotation of an accent seems to evoke the Common Man, a theme prevalent in romanticism, and means that the supernatural is explored in the poem through a medium that readers can relate to, thus rendering the text more accessible.
Just as the use of nature themes in The Ancyent Marinere allows an exploration of the supernatural, the use of supernatural imagery serves to create a perspective on nature. The fearful imagery of the skeletal ship in part III is accompanied by language such as “heaven’s mother send us grace” and “as if through a dungeon grate he peered”, language that evokes a sense of awe and what might be described as fearful admiration. However this sense of awe and wonder is also present when the Mariner describes the icebergs, a perfectly natural phenomenon: “Ice mast-high came floating by as green as Emerauld”. It would seem then that the supernatural is used to highlight the sometimes startling strangeness of nature itself. This device of describing the natural using supernatural is also evident elsewhere; Stanza 26 (“The breeze dropt down” refers to the doldrums, the area of high air pressure that occurs near the equator, and the “death fires” in part II are a possible reference to St Elmo’s fire, a marine weather phenomenon similar to lightning. Here then emerges one of the key ideas in the poem, indeed, ‘truth is stranger than fiction’. Such language and content also serves to highlight some of Man’s preconceptions and superstitions surrounding nature- St Elmo’s fire was believed by sailors to be the souls of the drowned.
Another important message of the poem is that nature is beyond Man’s control. This is partly conveyed through the device of describing nature using supernatural imagery to make it appear strange and unfamiliar, but also through one important aspect of the content of the poem itself: the Mariner is a passive character. Even when he shoots the Albatross it seems a very impulse decision- Coleridge gives no explanation. Furthermore, towards the end of the poem the mariner describes how he feels compelled to tell his story: “that anguish comes and makes me tell my ghastly aventure”. This concept of not being in control, even of your own mind, was something explored extensively in gothic literature, and seems to convey a sense of nature overwhelming.
The main theme of The Ancyent Marinere however may be considered as that of redemption, or catharsis. The poem seems to convey the message that redemption is a process, not a sudden event- this is evident in the mariner’s undying need to retell his story as a form of repentance, but is also summarised best perhaps by the line “the man hath penance done, and penance more will do”. Furthermore Coleridge seems to be saying that catharsis cannot take place in everyday surroundings, but that Man requires an extreme situation to bring about the process- this finds echoes in Christian resurrection myth. By removing the metaphorical barrier of the wedding guest during the darkest moments of the Mariner’s story, we as the reader are made party to this catharsis.
Nature and the supernatural then are used by Coleridge to explore each other; exploring some of the more fantastical themes of the poem through nature imagery renders the ideas they represent more accessible and allows a gradual transition of thought from the real to the surreal. Describing nature using imagery that makes it appear strange and supernatural highlights some of Man’s preconceptions about the world and helps to emphasise the fact that quite often Nature is strange and overwhelming, but that to disrespect it brings about disastrous consequences.
How does Coleridge explore nature and the supernatural in The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere?
Coleridge uses both nature and the supernatural extensively in The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere (hereafter abbreviated as The Ancyent Marinere), and in his exploration of them reflects some of the common ideals of romanticism. One such reflection is found in the very use of the supernatural itself, and in particular the use of the gothic. The imagery in the middle of the poem is typical of this, with lines such as “her skin is white as leprosy, and she is far liker death than he” evoking themes of life and death and the questioning of the boundary that exists between. Indeed, The Ancyent Marinere can be seen as a prime example of the gothic literature endemic to the mid-18th and 19th century, and its reactionary attitude to the age of enlightenment.
Conversely though, the theme of nature in the poem also reflects some of the ideals of romanticism. The hermit for example represents the romantic ideal of a unity and harmony with nature, as expressed through lines such as “he hath a cushion plump: it is the moss, that wholly hides the rotted old Oak-stump” and “he prayeth best who loveth best all things both great and small”.
While the two themes of nature and the supernatural may seem like polar opposites, Coleridge demonstrates that the two are mutually non-exclusive. Indeed they are often used in tandem; Coleridge uses the supernatural to explore nature and vice versa. This itself is achieved in a number of ways and is used to achieve a number of possible ends.
One of the ways in which this joint or complimentary exploration is achieved is through the juxtaposition or superimposition of the supernatural on nature; nature or reality is used as a backdrop to the surreal events recounted in the Mariner’s “rime”. Indeed, the first and last few stanzas can be seen as ‘framing’ the main content of the poem, the mariner’s story; the events of these first and last stanzas take place in reality, setting the scene: “It is an Ancyent Marinere, and he stoppeth one of three”.
It seems then that the reader receives the story at a remove from the Mariner himself- we are merely observing him recounting a tale to another. Despite this however, there is no evident transition or punctuation to denote the Mariner’s speech; stanza 12 simply launches into “listen, Stranger! Storm and Wind”, and the only distinction made from the rest of the text is the speech of others such as the Wedding Guest: “‘God save thee, ancyent Marinere!’” Furthermore, as the poem progresses through the surreal content the interjections from the wedding guest cease, and this separation is no longer present; it is almost as if we had become the wedding guest. This seeming removal (and eventual restoration) of the backdrop of reality, combined with the progressively supernatural nature of the poem, serves to make reading the poem almost a journey in itself- the reader becomes steadily more emotionally and mentally involved in the mariner’s story, as all semblance of reason and reality seemingly disappears. This then would seem to reflect the emphasis placed by the romantics on emotion over reason; Coleridge explores the supernatural by taking the reader with him and removing the frame of reference so that this exploration is not hampered by reason.
This ‘backdrop’ of reality is created not just through content, but also through language. Even in some of the poem’s more surreal stages, Coleridge explains the supernatural in terms of nature, for example when the hermit observes the bared ribs of the ship in stanzas 131-2:
‘I never saw aught like to them
Unless perchance it were
The skeletons of leaves that lag
My forest brook along’
Another example of this is the ‘wind’ that the Mariner experiences at stanza 107- “Its path was not upon the sea, in ripple nor in shade”- an alien experience described in terms which ordinary people might understand. This device also relates to the use of colloquialisms in the Mariner’s speech, evident in lines such as “ne shapes of men nor beasts we ken”. This denotation of an accent seems to evoke the Common Man, a theme prevalent in romanticism, and means that the supernatural is explored in the poem through a medium that readers can relate to, thus rendering the text more accessible.
Just as the use of nature themes in The Ancyent Marinere allows an exploration of the supernatural, the use of supernatural imagery serves to create a perspective on nature. The fearful imagery of the skeletal ship in part III is accompanied by language such as “heaven’s mother send us grace” and “as if through a dungeon grate he peered”, language that evokes a sense of awe and what might be described as fearful admiration. However this sense of awe and wonder is also present when the Mariner describes the icebergs, a perfectly natural phenomenon: “Ice mast-high came floating by as green as Emerauld”. It would seem then that the supernatural is used to highlight the sometimes startling strangeness of nature itself. This device of describing the natural using supernatural is also evident elsewhere; Stanza 26 (“The breeze dropt down”
refers to the doldrums, the area of high air pressure that occurs near the equator, and the “death fires” in part II are a possible reference to St Elmo’s fire, a marine weather phenomenon similar to lightning. Here then emerges one of the key ideas in the poem, indeed, ‘truth is stranger than fiction’. Such language and content also serves to highlight some of Man’s preconceptions and superstitions surrounding nature- St Elmo’s fire was believed by sailors to be the souls of the drowned.Another important message of the poem is that nature is beyond Man’s control. This is partly conveyed through the device of describing nature using supernatural imagery to make it appear strange and unfamiliar, but also through one important aspect of the content of the poem itself: the Mariner is a passive character. Even when he shoots the Albatross it seems a very impulse decision- Coleridge gives no explanation. Furthermore, towards the end of the poem the mariner describes how he feels compelled to tell his story: “that anguish comes and makes me tell my ghastly aventure”. This concept of not being in control, even of your own mind, was something explored extensively in gothic literature, and seems to convey a sense of nature overwhelming.
The main theme of The Ancyent Marinere however may be considered as that of redemption, or catharsis. The poem seems to convey the message that redemption is a process, not a sudden event- this is evident in the mariner’s undying need to retell his story as a form of repentance, but is also summarised best perhaps by the line “the man hath penance done, and penance more will do”. Furthermore Coleridge seems to be saying that catharsis cannot take place in everyday surroundings, but that Man requires an extreme situation to bring about the process- this finds echoes in Christian resurrection myth. By removing the metaphorical barrier of the wedding guest during the darkest moments of the Mariner’s story, we as the reader are made party to this catharsis.
Nature and the supernatural then are used by Coleridge to explore each other; exploring some of the more fantastical themes of the poem through nature imagery renders the ideas they represent more accessible and allows a gradual transition of thought from the real to the surreal. Describing nature using imagery that makes it appear strange and supernatural highlights some of Man’s preconceptions about the world and helps to emphasise the fact that quite often Nature is strange and overwhelming, but that to disrespect it brings about disastrous consequences.
Related discussions
- AQA A Level Music Written Paper: Appraising (7272/W) - Mon 12th June 2023 [Exam Chat]
- AQA A-level Music (7272/W) Appraising Music - 10th June 2024 [Exam Chat]
- IB English Lit Extended Essay- can I analyse song lyrics?
- Scare AngryJellyfish! Halloween 2024
- thoughts on the song burning down by alex warren?
- Could anyone please mark this English essay?
- Hunger Games discussion - Sunrise on the Reaping
- Best Christmas Song?
- How do I find music by Lyrics
- COMPETITION - Could you be crowned the Creator of TSR's Ultimate Study Playlist?
- Make it More Lighting-ey !!
- Hello - I'm new
- GCSE Music help pls
- Smells Like Teen Spirit...1 of the worst lyrics ever
- english language using lyrics in exam
- How to get my grades up fast?
- Grade 9 aqa eng lit acc marking
- why do people hate Taylor Swift
- What is the name of this song?
- what songs do you relate to?
Latest
Trending
Last reply 13 hours ago
OCR A-level English Literature Paper 2 (H472/02) - 5th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 2 days ago
Does anyone know what war poem appeared on the 2024 GCSE paper?Last reply 4 days ago
AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 (8700/1) - 23rd May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 week ago
AQA A-level English Literature A Paper 2 (7712/2A-2B) - 5th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 week ago
AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 (8700/2) - 6th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 week ago
Edexcel GCSE English Literature Paper 2 (1ET0 02) - 20th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 2 weeks ago
Edexcel A-level English Literature Paper 3 (9ET0 3) - 14th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 2 weeks ago
English Paper 2025 Predictions - GCSE Pearson EdexcelLast reply 2 weeks ago
Edexcel A-level English Literature Paper 2 (9ET0 2) - 5th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 2 weeks ago
AQA A-level English Literature A Paper 1 (7712/1) - 24th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 3 weeks ago
AQA A Level English Literature and Language Paper 2 (7707/2) - 5th June 2024 ChatLast reply 3 weeks ago
OCR A-level English Literature Paper 1 (H472/01) - 24th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 3 weeks ago
AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2 (8702/2) - 20th May 2024 [Exam Chat]English exams and study help
331
1265
Last reply 3 weeks ago
Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 2 (1EN0 02) - 6th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 month ago
Edexcel A-level English Literature Paper 1 (9ET0 1) - 24th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 month ago
AQA A-level English Literature B Paper 2 (7717/2A-2B) - 5th June 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 month ago
AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1 (8702/1) - 13th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 2 months ago
OCR GCSE English Literature Paper 1 (J352/01) - 13th May 2024 [Exam Chat]
