Abeda Inamdar Senior College

:Title of the project

Wordsworths theory in poetic diction in his Preface to Lyrical
Ballads.

:A project in partial completion of the course

English paper 1.4 ( Literary Criticism and Theory)

:Submitted by
Ameer khudhur kassar
Roll no. 58
English Department
Pune

Certificate

This is to certify that MR. Ameer khudhur kassar Has worked on topic
''Wordsworths theory in poetic diction in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads.
in practical ''Literary Criticism and Theory'' fulfillment of his Master in
English in Abeda Inamdar Seniors College, Pune. The sources cited in this work are
.duly acknowledged in bibliography

The Dept of English

Abeda Inamdar Seniors College, Pune

-:Date
-:Place

:Introduction

William Wordsworth and S.T Coleridge wrote the collection of poems Lyrical
Ballads and published in 1798. This collection of poems were a great
contribution to English Literature. But despite the popularity, the great legacy
of Lyrical Ballads lies in the Preface. Wordsworth then wrote the Preface
and published his second edition of collection of poems in 1800.In his
Preface, Wordsworth makes it clear that his first volume of poetry that is
Lyrical Ballads was a new kind of poetry and he wrote as an experiment to
.see the taste of poetry of the common man
In his Preface , Wordsworth clarifies his views on the purpose of his poetry
which was different and new from the others. He then expounds his views on
the language of poetry that it should be the language of common man as the
common man or the rustics are intimate with the nature Wordsworth believes
that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, which is
wholly true, as a good poet does not react to an impression immediately but
.allows it to sink into his mind, along with the feelings which it had excited

About the author

William Wordsworth was born in 1970 in Cumberland ,the son of a law agent,
whose mother died when he was just eight and his father died five years after
his mothers death. He was sent to school at Hawkshead Grammar School
where he led a solitary life and where his love for poetry developed. He was
then sent to Cambridge for his degree courses during which he came in contact
with the French Revolution in 1790. This experience of living in France
brought about Wordsworths sympathy for the lives of the common man.His
earliest poetry were published in 1793in the collections An Evening
Walk.Equally important in the poetic life of Wordsworth was hid 1795
meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It was with him that Wordsworth
published the Lyrical Ballads in 1798. However the legacy of his collection
of poetry of Lyrical Ballads lies in his Preface which was published
in1800.Wordsworth famous work The Prelude (1850) is considered to be one
of the crowning achievement of English Romanticism. He worked on The
. Prelude throughout his life but it was published only after his death
Preface to Poetic Diction:Poetic diction had been felt as a problem in English literature at least since the
time of Chaucer and the late Middle Ages, when there was a wave of Latinisms in
an effort to enrich the English language. Spenser had proposed another solution,
the use of archaisms. During the Neoclassical era, the passion for decorum had
led to a progressive desiccation of poetic diction, which was believed to be apart
and above everyday (or "idiomatick") language. The typical eighteenth-century
poem is loaded with adjectives which are the heritage of poetic tradition rather
than of observation, often neatly coupled with a noun in a stock phrase (for

instance, "fresh pastures and singing brooks") which has been called by some the
"neoclassical kenning"; a product of imitation and tradition, the kind of
expression you would never find outside poetry. Its very immobility is a sign of
the world-view which supports this poetic tradition: a belief in order,
conservatism, dogmatic immobilism. This existence of a "poetic language"
characterized by special words and expressions was felt by many to be a mark of
distinction: thus, Gray and Johnson were proud of the English poetic idiom.
The neoclassical "kenning," however praised by Johnson, was a dead weight
placed on poetry. The real kenning (in old Germanic poetry) does not present us
the individual experience of the poet, but is instead the voice of the community, it
is alive in that sense. The neoclassical kenning is a formula inherited from a
poetic tradition which is no longer able to voice the experience of its culture; it is
a poor substitute for real perception and poetical intuition. Wordsworth writes
an "Essay on Epitaphs" in which he criticizes Pope's conventional epitaphs,
which made a lavish use of classical clichs. He also opposes the conception of
words as a "dress" for thought. In the preface to the 2nd edition of the Lyrical
Ballads (1800) he states his poetic manifesto, which is at the same time that
ofEnglish romanticism. Wordsworth will provide "the first thorough-going
Longinian criticism of poetic diction in English" (Edinger). He carries further
the demand for mimetic truth and the recapturing of experience that is found in
the aestheticians of the 18th century, and he separates the concept of
verisimilitude from the classical doctrine of the three styles, which is abandoned
.at last

Preface to Poetic Imagination:-

As we have seen, the Romantics stress the expressive and subjective aspects of
literary creation. Already in Wordsworth's 1800 preface, the emphasis had fallen on
the relationship between the poet and the poem, on the problem of composition,
creation, imagination. Emotion, imagination, expression, sincerity, and imagination
are among the chief concerns of all other English romantic poets and theorizers of
Romanticism (such as Coleridge, Shelley, Blake, Hazlitt, Keats, Mill, Carlyle,
Arnold). The German romantics had considered the poetic imagination as the human
faculty which is in immediate contact with truth: truth is now a question of feeling,
and no longer a question of logic. Already in Wordsworth we find a new valuation of
the imagination, and a care to distinguish it from lower faculties of the human spirit.
The best known is the antithesis between imagination and fancy. During the 17th and
18th centuries both terms had been rough synonyms, although in some psychological
theories (such as Hobbes' in Leviathan ) "imagination" was used for the soberly literal
and non-creative settlement of impressions in memory. In spite of this modest claim,
imagination held its ground of respectability during the reaction against rhetoric,
while fancy, associated with "wit," with fortuitous, non-essential and cold
establishment of (false) associations. Following this tradition, William Taylor
(British Synonyms Discriminated, 1813) defined fancy as a dynamic faculty, as the
power of combining and evoking sensations, while imagination is a lower, static
faculty. Wordsworth criticised these definitions in his 1815 preface. He oposes
Taylor's sensationalist definition of imagination, defining it

Wordsworths Purpose: Simplicity in Theme and Treatment:-

It has been generally supposed that Wordsworths theory of poetic language is merely
a reaction against, and a criticism of, the Pseudo Classical theory of poetic diction.
But such a view is true only partially. His first impulse was less a revolt against
Pseudo-classical diction, "than a desire to find a suitable language for the new
territory ofhuman life which he was conquering for poetic treatment"(O. Elton).
His aim was to deal in his poetry with rustic and humble life, and it is quite natural
that he should also advocate simplicity of language to suit the simplicity of
theme.Moreover, he believed that the poet is essentially a man speaking to men, and
so he must make use of such a language as is used by men. The pseudo-classics
advocated that the language of poetry is different from the language of prose, while
Wordsworth believes that there is no essential difference between the language of
prose and metrical composition. The poet has to communicate, and he can
communicate best in the language which is really used by men. He condemns
the artificial language, such as that of the school of Pope, as a "masquerade of tricks,
quaintnesses, heiroglyphics, and enigmas."
Real Language of Men: Selection :-

As he tells us in the Preface, his purpose was, "to choose incidents and situations
from common life," and, therefore, quite naturally, he also intended to use, "a
selection of language, really used by men". He was to deal with humble and rustic
life, and so it was in the fitness of things that he should also use the language of the
rustics, farmers, shepherds, who were to be the subjects of his poetry. The language of
these men was to be used but it was to be purified of all that is painful of disgusting in
that language. It was to be purified of all that is vulgar and coarse in such a language.

He was to use such a selection of the language of real men, because the aim of a poet
is to give pleasure and such language without selection will cause disgust. Only a
judicious selection of such a language can give pleasure.

Simple Diction: Its Advantages:-

The use of such a simple language has a number of advantages. The rustic language in
its simplicity is highly emotional and passionate. This is more so the case when these
humble people are in a state of emotional excitement. It is charged with the emotions
of the human heart which are expressed without any reservations and inhibitions
resulting from social vanity. Such a language is the natural language of the passions. It
comes from the heart, and thus goes direct to the heart. In other words, through the
use of such a language essential truths about human life and nature can be more easily
and clearly communicated. It is a more 'philosophical' language inasmuch as its use
can result in a better and clearer understanding of the basic truths. The rustics are in
communication every hour with the beauty and grandeur of nature, the best part of
their language is derived from such communication and so it is noble and poetic. It is
capable of giving the highest poetic pleasure.

Arguments Against Poetic Diction:-

In the opinion of Wordsworth, the language of poetry must not be separated from the
language of men in real life. Figures, metaphors and similes, and other such
decorations must not be used unnecessarily, as was the care with the artificial 18th

century poetic diction. In a state of emotional excitement, men naturally use

a metaphorical language to express themselves forcefully. The earliest poets used only
such metaphors and images as result naturally from powerful emotions. Later on,
poets used a figurative language which was not the result of genuine passion. They
merely imitated the manner of the earlier poets, and thus arose the artificial language
and diction of the Pseudo-classics. A stereotyped and mechanical phraseology thus
became current. The poet must avoid the use of such artificial diction both when he
speaks in his own person, and when he speaks through his characters. He must not
use it when he speaks in his own person, for it is not the real language of men, and he
is a man speaking to men. He must not use it when he speaks through his characters,
for in that case he must vary it according to the nature, rank and status, thought and
emotions, of the character who speaks it.

Contradictions in Wordsworths Theory : Coleridges Criticism of It :-

Wordsworths theory of poetic diction is of immense value when considered as a

corrective to the artificial, innane, and unnatural phraseology current at the time. But
considered in itself it is full of a number of contradictions and suffers from a number
of imitation's. For one thing, Wordsworth does not state what he means by language.
Language is a matter of words, as well as of arrangement of those words. It is a matter
of vocabulary as well as of syntax. It is also a matter of the use of imagery, frequency

of its use, and its nature. Wordsworth does not clarify what he exactly means by
language.

Coleridge was the first critic to pounce upon Wordsworths theory of language and to
expose its many weaknesses. He pointed out, first, that a language so selected and
purified, as Wordsworth recommends, would differ in no way from the language of
any other men of commonsense. After such a selection there would be no difference
between the rustic language and the language used by men in other walks of
life. Secondly, Wordsworth permits the use of metre, and this implies a particular
order and arrangement of words. If metre is to be used the order of words in poetry is
bound to differ from that of prose. It does so differ in the poetry of Wordsworth
himself. Metre medicates the whole atmosphere, and the language of poetry is bound
to differ from that of prose. So Coleridge concludes that there is, and there ought to
be, an essential difference between the language of prose and metrical
composition. Thirdly, the use of metre is as artificial as the use of poetic diction, and
if one is allowed, it is absurd to forbid the use of the other. Both are equally good
sources of poetic pleasure.

Fourthly, Coleridge objected to the use of the word real. He writes, "Every mans
language varies, according to the extent of his knowledge, the activity of his faculties,
and the depth or quickness of his feelings. Every mans language has, first, its
individualities; secondly, the common properties of the class to which he, belongs;
and thirdly, words and phrases of universal use. For, 'real', therefore, we must
substitute, 'ordinary' or lingua communis."

Fifthly, Coleridge pointed out that it is not correct that the best parts of bur language
are derived from Nature. Language is letter-molded. The best words are abstract
nouns and concepts. These are derived from the reflective acts of the mind; and
reflection grows as man advances from the so-called primitive state. As man has
advanced in thought, he has acquired new ideas and concepts which cannot be
expressed through the use of rustic language which is primitive and undeveloped. If
the poet wants to use the rustic language, he must also think like the rustics. The
language of rustics is curiously inexpressive. It would be putting the clock back.
Instead of progression it would be retrogression.

Eliots Criticism:-

In more recent times, T.S. Eliot has exposed the many contradictions inherent in
Wordsworths theory of language. In the Advertisement to the first edition of
the Lyrical Ballads, he said that he had used the, language of conversation in the
middle and lower classes of life. T S. Eliot asks, Did Wordsworth examine the
language of conversation in the higher classes? If a character belongs to the upper
class, the use of the language of that class is as proper as the use of rustic language
when the speaker is rustic. From 1800 onwards he speaks of a selection of the real
language of men in a state of vivid sensation; and he says, I propose to myself to
imitate, and, as far as possible, to adopt the very language of men. Selection has
come in, and yet it is to be the very language of men. In 1802 and 1805 he says that
he would, bring his language near to the language of men. Here he speaks of
approximation only and thus contradicts his earlier statement. Thus there are
contradictions, and inconsistencies in Wordsworths successive pronouncements on

the subject, and it often becomes difficult to mark out what he exactly means by
the real language of men, and who is to make the selectionwhich will fit the real
language of men for poetic purposes.

Such are the weaknesses of Wordsworths theory. It must also be admitted that the
poet did not adhere to his theory in his own practice. Inverted and poetic constructions
are frequent in his poetry, and often even his vocabulary is not drawn from rustic life.
He does not always use the language of real men i.e. of the rustics of Cumberland.

:Bibliography
^ "William Wordsworth, The Major Works", pg 600, Oxford World's Classics, 2000
Eliot, T. S. The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism. London, 1920.
Fussell, Paul. Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. New York: Random House, 1965.
Higginson, William J., The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World. Kodansha
International 1996.
Holman, C. Hugh, Harmon, William, eds. A Handbook to Literature. New York:
Macmillan Publishing, 1986.
Pound, Ezra, ABC of Reading. London: Faber, 1951 (first published 1934).
Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson; tales from Norse
mythology. Jean I. Young, trans. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1964.
Owen Barfield, Poetic Diction, 1928.

Conclusion:

Wordsworths theory of language has strong weaknesses, but its significance is also
far-reaching. O. Elton concludes his discussion of the subject with the following
admirable words : The conclusion then is that Wordsworth, led by his dislike of,
glossy and unfeeling diction, but still more by the wish to find a poetic medium for
the life and speech of the simple, was led to proclaim that speech as the medium
desired; that he guided this chosen medium not indeed from his own misapplication of
it, but against the charge that it need be vulgar or trifling, that he also proved its
nobility in practice ; that he did not clearly say what he meant by, language, or see
the full effect upon diction by the employment of metre ; that he did not rule out other
styles, either his own or those of other men, which are equally poetical, though he did
not touch on their theoretic basis ; and that in many of his actual triumphs, won within
that sphere of diction which he does vindicate, he employs a stratum of words which
in prose would not strike us as over-poetical.