THE BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH-PART2

HIS POETRY:

William Wordsworth records that his earliest verses were written at school and that they were ” a tame imitation of Pope’s Versification”. This is an interesting admission of the still surviving domination of the earlier poet. At the University, he composed some poetry, which appeared as An Evening Walk(1793) and Descriptive Sketches (1793). In style, these poems have little originality, but they already show the Wordsworthian eye for nature. The first fruits of his genius were seen in the Lyrical Ballads (1798), a joint production by Coleridge and himself, which was published at Bristol. Wordsworth had the larger share in the book. Some of his poems in it, such as The Thorn and The Idiot Boy, are condemned as being trivial and childish in style; a few, such as Simon Lee and Expostulation and Reply, are more adequate in their expression; and the concluding piece, Tintern Abbey, is one of the triumphs of his Genius.

The Prelude, which was completed in 1805 but not published until 1850, after Wordsworth’s death, is the record of his development as a poet. The Solitary Reaper, The Green Linnet, Ode on the Intimations of immortality, Resolution, and Independence, Ode to Duty; and the Sonnets dedicated to National independence and Liberty are of a quality that has led many critics to hail them as the finest sonnets in the language.

HIS THEORY OF POETRY:

In the preface to the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth set out his theory of poetry. It reveals a lofty conception of the dignity of that art which is ” the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge”, and which is the product of “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” taking its origin from ” emotion recollected in tranquility”. Wordsworthian dogma can be divided into two portions concerning ( a) subject and ( b) the style of poetry.

(a) Regarding subject, wordsworth declares his preference for ” incidents and situations from common life“: to obtain such situations, “humble and rustic life was generally chosen, because in that condition the essential passions of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity.

(b) Wordsworth’s views on poetical Style are the most revolutionary of all the ideas in this preface. He insists that his poems contain little poetic diction, and are written in ” a selection of the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation.

FEATURES OF HIS POETRY:

Some of the main features of Wordsworth’s poetry are a spiritual veneration for nature, a dislike for modernity, an interest in the individual and the imagination, a fascination with childhood, and the employment of common language. In his treatment of nature, however, he is not content merely to rejoice: he tries to see more deeply and to find the secret Springs of this joy and thanksgiving He strives to capture and embody in words such deep-seated emotions, but almost of necessity from the very nature of the case, with little success.His work exhibits many of the characteristics of Romantic poetry, including a disdain for the ugliness of modernity, a spiritual reverence for nature, an appreciation for childhood, a focus on the individual and the human mind.

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THE BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH-PART1

HIS LIFE:

Wordsworth was born at Cockermouth, a town that is actually outside the Lake District. His father, who was a lawyer, died when Wordsworth was thirteen years old. The elder Wordsworth left very little money, and that was mainly in the form of a claim on Lord Lonsdale, who refused outright to pay his debt, so that William had to depend on the generosity of two uncles, who paid for his schooling at Hawkshead, near lake Windermere. Subsequently, Wordsworth went to Cambridge, entering St John’s college in 1787. His work at the University was quite undistinguished and having graduated in 1791, he left with no fixed career in view. After spending a few months in London, he crossed over to France (1791) and stayed at Orleans and Blois for nearly a year. He returned to Paris in 1792, just, after the September massacres, and the sights and stories, that greeted, him there shook his faith in the dominant political doctrine. Even yet, however, he thought of becoming a Girondin, or moderate Republican, but his allowance from home was stopped, and he returned to England. with his sister Dorothy (henceforward his long-life companion), he settled in a little cottage in Dorset; then, having met Coleridge, they moved to Alfoxden, a house in Somersetshire, to live near him. It was there that the two poets took the Series of Walks the fruit of which was to be the Lyrical Ballads.

After a visit to Germany in 1789-99, the Wordsworths Settled in the Lake District, which was to be their home for the future. In turn, They occupied Dove Cottage, in TOWN END, GRASMERE (1799), ALLAN BANK (1808), GRASMERE PARSONAGE (1811), and lastly, the well-known residence of RYDAL MOUNT, which was Wordsworth’s home from 1813 till death. Shortly before he had moved to Rydal Mount, he received the sinecure of Distributor of stamps for Westmorland and was put out of reach of poverty. The remainder of his life was a model of domesticity. He was carefully tended by his Wife and Sister, who, with a zeal that was noteworthy, though it was injudicious, treasured every scrap of his poverty that they could lay their hands on. His great passion was for traveling. He explored most of the accessible parts of the continent and visited Scotland Several times. On the last occasion (1831) he and his daughter renewed their acquaintance with Scott at Abbotsford and saw the great novelist when he was fast crumbling into mental ruin.

Wordsworth’s poetry, which at first had been received with derision or indifference, was now winning its way, and recognition was general. In 1839, the Crown awarded him a pension of £300 a year; and on the death of Southey in 1843, he became Poet Laureate. Long before this time, he had discarded his early ideals and become the upholder of Conservatism. Throughout his life, however, he never wavered in his faith in himself and his immortality as a poet. He lived to see his own belief in his powers triumphantly justified. It is seldom indeed that such gigantic egoism is so amply and so justly repaid.

Will be continued…..

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FREDERICK T.WOOD’S ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE:

WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

According to F.T.Wood, “Language is a refined human cry” which was used by Ancient Man Before the existence of words. Ancient Man used to cry or shout to express their emotions and thoughts. A language is a tool for communication that is used as a medium for the expression of thoughts. It is an outlet for emotions. There are two forms of language. (1.) A system of vocal symbols (Spoken). (2.) A system of symbols(Written).

WHAT IS THE SOURCES OF LANGUAGE ?

1. DIVINE SOURCES: According to the Bible and the Christian belief, Adam was the first man in the world. Thus he might be a speaker of the language and taught his children and it followed generation after generation in different forms of language.

2. CAVE ARTS: There are enormous sources of cave art that were found all over the world. Most of them were written/ drawn even thousands of centuries. F.T wood proposes cave art Might be one of the sources in the origin of language.

3. UNREFINED CRIES: A trivial movement of the mouth and breathing can produce audible sounds. So, In Ancient times, even though Man doesn’t know how to speak properly. He must have cried or laughed to call someone or express that he feared for something.

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE:

The evolution of language is the study of the development of language. The primary need of language is only to communicate. When people need to record a particular thing, they used written form or printing form Language is an evolutionary process that is not stable all the time and constantly changes from one period to another. For example Chaucer’s Age vs Modern Age. Changes in pronunciation, Grammar, and meaning are one of the evolution in language.

FOUR BASIC THEORIES OF LANGUAGE:

1. BOW-WOW THEORY: Bow-wow theory is defined by sounds. This theory was coined by Max Muller. Bow Wow theory hypothesis is the most popular but perhaps the most far-fetched hypothesis of all. It is the idea that human language and vocabulary originated as a form of imitation. Words are coined by the imitations are called onomatopoeia. For example, the imitation of animal sounds, such as bow wow for a dog’s bark or a-choo for a sneeze.

2. DING DONG THEORY: The Dingdong theory was adopted by German scholar Max Muller. This theory holds that the beginning of language is to be found in the sense of Rhythm. For example: whenever we try to push our car or let’s take a group of workers pushing some big rock will make sound like Ho Ho or Yo Yo .

3. POOH POOH THEORY: Pooh pooh theory was first proposed by Jean Jacques Rousseau. This theory holds that speech began with the intersection: Spontaneous cries of pain (“ouch”), Surprise(“oh!”), and other such emotions. Rousseau says that language is a refinement of pain, pleasure, Surprise, Wonders etc.

4. GESTURE THEORY: This theory was first produced by Wilhelm Wundt, and later restarted by Sir Richard Paget. In his Book, Human Speech which we may call the gesture theory. This theory states that Man first started using gestures to communicate. These gestures began to Accompany by sounds that eventually developed into a language.

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