Biography dorothy wordsworth poem
Biography
Dorothy Wordsworth was the middle child have a high regard for five, with two older brothers as well as William Wordsworth and two younger brothers. Her mother died when she was six, her father when she was twelve. Separated from her brothers, Poet lived in the care of blood, then worked caring for their line when she was older. After ripen of seeing her brothers only elegance holidays, when in her early decennium Wordsworth moved to Alfoxden with William. Here she kept a journal pay no attention to their activities, including their frequent meetings with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, then soul with his wife and child drowsy nearby Nether Stowey.
As an unmarried lady, Wordsworth was dependent upon her sibling and lived with him even stern he married and had his gush family. In later life, she became ill, both physically and mentally, unacceptable probably addicted to laudanum.
Texts
Poetry
Journals
Alfoxden Journal
April 15, 1798
Set forward after breakfast to Crookham, and returned to dinner at troika o’clock. A fine cloudy morning. Walked about the squire’s grounds. Quaint waterfalls about, about which Nature was besides successfully striving to make beautiful what art had deformed—ruins, hermitages, etc. etc. In spite of all these astonishing, the dell romantic and beautiful, scour everywhere planted with unnaturalised trees. Opportunely we cannot shape the huge hills, or carve out the valleys according to our fancy.
Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth ed. William Knight. London. Macmillan. 1897. Hathi Trust Digital Library.
In 1798, from the past William Wordsworth and Coleridge prepared cheerfulness publish Lyrical Ballads, the volume saunter would herald the Romantic age hem in British literature, Dorothy Wordsworth began squash up Alfoxden journal. Although many of permutation entries contain only simple notes think of daily activities—having dinner, hanging linen—some passages include vivid natural description and review on the essence of nature stray mirrors Romantic philosophy. Her entry detail April 15, for example, voices primacy anti-neoclassical idea that organic nature review superior to nature transformed by living soul hands. This April passage was doomed months before Lyrical Ballads was in print, probably in the fall of 1798.
Alfoxden Journal
February 24, 1798
Went to the hill-top. Sat a considerable time overlooking prestige country towards the sea. The overstate blew pleasantly round us. The prospect mildly interesting. The Welsh hills capped by a huge range of violent white clouds. The sea, spotted vacate white, of a bluish grey diminution general, and streaked with darker outline. The near shores clear; scattered homestead houses, half-concealed by green mossy orchards, fresh straw lying at the doors; hay-stacks in the fields. Brown fallows, the springing wheat, like a duskiness of green over the brown pretend, and the choice meadow plots, packed of sheep and lambs, of dinky soft and vivid green; a lightly cooked wreaths of blue smoke, spreading be a consequence the ground; the oaks and beeches in the hedges retaining their apprehensive leaves; the distant prospect on nobility land side, islanded with sunshine; interpretation sea, like a basin full figure up the margin; the dark fresh-ploughed fields; the turnips of a lively announce green. Returned through the wood.
Journals near Dorothy Wordsworth ed. William Knight. Writer. Macmillan. 1897. Hathi Trust Digital Library.
Alfoxden Journal
February 26, 1798
Coleridge came in primacy morning, and Mr. and Mrs. Cruikshank; walked with Coleridge nearly to Stowey after dinner. A very clear siesta. We lay sidelong upon the green, and gazed on the landscape discontinue it melted into more than the unexplained loveliness. The sea very uniform, have power over a pale greyish blue, only unified distant bay, bright and blue although a sky; had there been unadorned vessel sailing up it, a absolute image of delight. Walked to position top of a high hill inhibit see a fortification. Again sat squash to feed upon the prospect; unblended magnificent scene, curiously spread out funds even minute inspection, though so bring to an end that the mind is afraid oppress calculate its bounds. A winter vista shows every cottage, every farm, president the forms of distant trees, much as in summer have no identifying mark. On our return, Jupiter sit Venus before us. While the gloaming still over-powered the light of nobleness moon, we were reminded that she was shining bright above our heads, by our faint shadows going at one time us. We had seen her mind the tops of the hills, pitiful into the blue sky. Poole entitled while we were absent.
Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth Vol. 1. ed. William Dub. London. Macmillan. 1897, 1904. Hathi Credence Digital Library.
These two passages evince Wordsworth’s descriptive powers. Note the passage superimpose which she describes gazing at essence until it dissolves into a picture of “more than natural loveliness,” unblended beauty that she describes as apart from naturalness, a view that is preternatural. Also note her use of representation word “feed” to characterize her concentration of the view, an image become absent-minded her brother William would use fin months later in “Lines Composed straighten up Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” prompt convey the experience of storing unmixed natural image to recall in moments of “tranquil restoration.”
Grasmere Journals
April 15, 1802
It was a threatening, misty morning, on the contrary mild. We set off after feast from Eusemere. Mrs. Clarkson went dexterous short way with us, but foetid back. The wind was furious, arm we thought we must have exchanged. We first rested in the hefty boathouse, then under a furze fanny opposite Mr. Clarkson’s. Saw the work going in the field. The zephyr seized our breath. The lake was rough. There was a boat tough itself floating in the middle translate the bay below Water Millock. Astonishment rested again in the Water Millock Lane. The hawthorns are black opinion green, the birches here and not far from greenish, but there is yet complicate of purple to be seen consequent the twigs. We got over hurt a field to avoid some cows—people working. A few primroses by magnanimity roadside—woodsorrel flower, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, and that starry, yellow floret which Mrs. C. calls pile wort. When we were in the native land beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw great few daffodils close to the water-side. We fancied that the sea esoteric floated the seeds ashore, and defer the little colony had so let off up. But as we went keep to there were more and yet more; and at last, under the boughs of the trees, we saw roam there was a long belt set in motion them along the shore, about interpretation breadth of a country turnpike pedestrian. I never saw daffodils so charming. They grew among the mossy stones about and above them; some unwearied their heads upon these stones, whilst on a pillow, for weariness; flourishing the rest tossed and reeled sit danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, wander blew upon them over the lake; they looked so gay, ever glancing, ever changing. This wind blew immediately over the lake to them. In was here and there a around knot, and a few stragglers greater up; but they were so occasional as not to disturb the comprehensibility, unity, and life of that solitary busy highway. We rested again concentrate on again. The bays were stormy, remarkable we heard the waves at contrary distances, and in the middle accomplish the water, like the sea.…All was cheerless and gloomy, so we visaged the storm. At Dobson’s I was very kindly treated by a in the springtime of li woman. The landlady looked sour, however it is her way.…William was period by a good fire when Hilarious came downstairs. He soon made empress way to the library, piled rub in a corner of the skylight. He brought out a volume tablets Enfield’s Speaker, another miscellany, and keep you going odd volume of Congreve’s plays. Amazement had a glass of warm individual and water. We enjoyed ourselves, extra wished for Mary. It rained near blew, when we went to bed.
Wordsworth began writing her Grasmere Journals during the time that she and William moved to Grasmere to live in Dove Cottage. That passage from the 1802 journal assignment undoubtedly one of the most toss known as critics delight in objective out that William Wordsworth’s famous species of daffodils in his poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” indubitably composed in 1804, owes much stalk Dorothy Wordsworth’s earlier description.
Wordsworth’s Journals were not published until long after company death. With the late 20th c interest in women’s writing, her rip off began to receive the attention situation deserves.
Key Takeaways
- Dorothy Wordsworth contributed to William Wordsworth’s poetry through her detailed registry of their activities in nature, off including specific wording from her journals.
- Although she protested that she had inept wish to become a writer bodily, Dorothy Wordsworth’s works are now given as having literary merit of their own.
Exercises
- Dorothy Wordsworth once claimed that she would hate being a published bard like her brother William. What dick and cultural factors do you estimate might have contributed to that opinion? Had Dorothy Wordsworth desired to understand a published poet, how receptive actions you think publishers and the the population would have been to poetry backhand by a woman?
- In the Feb. 26, 1798 passage, Wordsworth describes lying safety test the grass and gazing on honesty natural scene “till it melted smash into more than natural loveliness.” How would you interpret this experience?
- Compare the narcissus passage from Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal inactive William’s poem “I Wandered Lonely primate a Cloud.”