But it is also clear that being away reinforced his love of the Lakes. Well-documented in The Prelude, his experiences at Cambridge, London and France were especially important, for it is clear that his time spent in those places played an essential part in developing the poet's intellect and political beliefs. Later excursions would take him not only to London, but abroad to France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. His first extended period away came at the age of 17, when he went to study at Cambridge. The Lakes were not Wordsworth's only home, however. Harmonious as your own, that I might tell The blessing of my life, the gift is yours, That fails not, in all sorrow my support, Orphaned at the age of thirteen, and spending much of his time outdoors, it is unsurprising that Wordsworth later writes of Nature as a guardian, a comfort, and something which offered him company in his solitude: Yet Wordsworth also had a more domestic, emotional connection with Nature. It was in this way that his most famous poem, 'The Daffodils', was conceived. Sometimes his sister, Dorothy, would accompany him and write her own observations down in her journal, which Wordsworth might use later to inspire his poetry. In his everyday life, his time amongst the vales and mountains gave him time to observe, consider and commit his reflections to verse - which he would often do aloud as he walked. Wordsworth was certainly intellectually inspired by his surroundings - 'O Nature! Thou hast fed / My lofty speculations!' (lines 462-3) - and he devotes a whole book of The Prelude to the influence Nature had on helping him develop his philosophies towards mankind (VIII, 'Retrospect - Love of Nature Leading to Love of Mankind'). He rowed away 'With trembling hands', and was haunted afterwards both day and night by such forms moving slowly through his mind. That Cliff, he writes, seemed to follow him 'like a living thing'. When from behind the craggy Steep, till then Went heaving through the water, like a Swan In Book I he tells of a night-time boat trip he once took which left him shaken, thinking 'grave and serious thoughts. Some of the most striking memories he would describe in The Prelude are of experiences he had as a child, when his impressionable mind was awe-struck, and sometimes even afraid of his surroundings. Nature was important to Wordsworth from his earliest years, as it fuelled his vivid imagination. His great autobiographical poem, The Prelude, traces the 'Growth' of the author from his early years until the time it was written, and from this it is clear that Wordsworth's intellectual development, his ideas and philosophies, owe a great deal to the region in which he was born and raised, lived and died. Wordsworth's relationship with his 'native land' was not one deriving from it merely as a location, but, since he refers to himself in his poetry as, , and, it seems that the Lake District formed part of his very identity. Though Wordsworth would spend time away from the area at various points throughout his life, he would never be away from the Lakes for long, and, in the light of the thousands of lines of poetry he devotes to his and others' experiences there, we may rightfully doubt whether the place ever left him in mind even when the author was parted from it in body. Cumbria was where he spent most of his life, where he was schooled, raised his own family, wrote much of his poetry, and where he died in 1850, at his last home, Rydal Mount. Wordsworth's Native Land - 'Born among the hills / Bred also there' ('Home at Grasmere', lines 348-49)īorn in the town of Cockermouth in 1770, William Wordsworth's first home was in the Lake District, and it was one of many he would have there. In this essay undergraduate Catherine Watts looks at how Wordsworth depicts his home territory, the Lake District, how it inspires his poetry, and how it enriches his thoughts about mankind.ġ.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |