Professor Williamson writes:
"Wordsworth is the author of a new poetics, dealing with origin and diction of poetry, the problem of art and its final effect."
Regarding Wordsworth's contribution to English literary criticism, Rene Wellek commented:
"The literary criticism of William Wordsworth is usually considered the manifesto of the English romantic movement, the signal for the break with the age of neoclassicism."
In fact, William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) being a "poet of nature" was not qualified to be a critic either by training or by temperament and it is doubtful if he had written any other critical document at all. It was only after the severe blows of 'Edinburgh' and the Quarterly Review' that he had to write criticism in self-defence and justification of the type of poetry he was writing. In his 'Preface to the Lyrical Ballads' (published in 1801) Wordsworth was the first critic to advocate for the use of simple, common language of the rustic people in poetry.
The issue of poetic diction had been growing upon the English literary consciousness steadily since about the time of Chaucer, that is, since the beginning of Renaissance English literature and with special intensity since the time of Edmund Spenser. Spenser preferred the archaic language and Milton also begins the concept of lofty and "phraseological" language in poetry. The great Roman orator Cicero pronounced the diction of poetry in three categories - the low, the medium and the lofty. But during the 18th century, the low and the middle language were rejected and the neo classical poets considered the lofty language as the true poetic diction. But Wordsworth, a lover of nature and rustic surroundings was much dissatisfied with the present atmosphere of artificially and urbanity.
WORDSWORTH’S DEFINITION OF POETRY:
Dr. Samuel Johnson rightly said,
"Great popularity in one age is followed by neglect in the next."
Neo classical poetry of the 18th century gave much importance to the urban and artificial life. Wordsworth who was a lover of nature objected to this artificiality in poetry and laid more emphasis on the natural emotions. He defined poetry:
“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; recollected in tranquillity.”
WORDSWORTH’S VIEWS ON POETIC DICTION:
The artificial and lofty language which was much popular during the neo classical age (18th century) was now neglected by William Wordsworth in the beginning of the 19th century. Wordsworth declared in his 'Preface' that his main object in adopting a simple diction was merely:
"...to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of societies is adapted to the purpose of poetic pleasure."
Wordsworth's views on poetic diction marks a complete break from the poetic traditions of the neo classical school. The main doctrines behind the 'Preface' lie in two theses - true poetic diction is natural and false diction is artificial.
Wordsworth's aim was to deal with humble and rustic life and therefore he advocated for the use of simple language in poetry. To suit its simple theme, artificial or embellished kind of language is all together expelled by Wordsworth. He writes:
"They who have been accustomed to the gaudiness and insane phraseology of many modern writers ... frequently have to struggle with feelings of strangeness and awkwardness."
Poetry, according to Wordsworth, should be written in "a selection of language really used by men". For him the rustic speech becomes synonymous with the general human’s speech. The language of the rustics is to be purified of all that is painful, disgusting, vulgar and coarse in it before it becomes the suitable language of poetry. The purpose of the poet is to give pleasure and he can do so only when a judicious selection of the language of the rustics has been made.
The most powerful argument that Wordsworth puts forward is that the rustics live in natural surroundings and therefore their feelings and emotions are less complicated, less artificial. Wordsworth, in this regard, comments:
"Being less under the influence of social vanity, they convey their feelings and notions in simple, unelaborated expressions."
In his revolt against the artificial and stereotyped poetic diction of the 18th century, Wordsworth went so far as to state:
"There neither is, nor be, any essential difference between the language of prose and metrical composition."
Wordsworth examines Thomas Gray's sonnet 'On the Death of Richard West' to show that the language of poetry is hardly different from good prose.
But there is the problem of the use of meter in poetry which causes a distinction between the language of prose and poetry. The fact is that Wordsworth's views on poetic diction and on the use of meter in poetry are not in harmony with each other and they appear contradictory. He rejects poetic diction as artificial but at the same time, justifies the use of meter which is artificial. Meter, according to him, is an additional source of pleasure and adds to memory; it also serves the purpose of regulating and disciplining the passions.
Not only this, Wordsworth even admits the possibilities of "flowers of speech" in poetry because when a poet is truly inspired, his language must necessarily be elevated and dignified, full of metaphors and other figures of speech. If such is Wordsworth's concept of poetic diction, he seems to fall back on the neo classical view about poetic diction. It has been nicely put:
"Is not the prodigal son back home again after all his wanderings?"
Rene Wellek also says:
"Wordsworth actually ends in good neo classicism."
Moreover, Eliot and others criticized Wordsworth for not practicing his own theory in all his great poems like 'Tintern Abbey', 'The Immortality Ode', 'The Solitary Reaper' etc.
CONCLUSION:
To conclude, we may say that though Wordsworth's theory of poetic diction is not all devoid of weaknesses, it proves itself as the abiding monument of romantic criticism. By giving a heavy blow to the faulty poetic diction of the 18th century, Wordsworth's 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads' came as a fresh breeze in the hot house of literary conventions. Wordsworth revitalized poetry by pleading for the choice of common language of the rustics in poetry. His only aim was to save the language of poetry from becoming the language of a coterie, and to bring it in harmony with the universal language of common man. Wyatt quite rightly said:
"Wordsworth did poetry a valuable service, he took stock of the language of poetry, cleared out a lot of old rubbish which had long ceased to have any but a conventional poetic value and made available for poetic use many words that had long been falsely regarded as unpoetic."
No comments:
Post a Comment