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In Partial Ful-Filment June L97L

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In Partial Ful-Filment June L97L SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AIFO>OEN EXPERIENCE IN THE POETIC DEVELOPMENT OF I¡iILLIAM I^IORDSWORTH A Thesis Presented to Faculty of the DeparËment of Englísh UniversiËy of Manit,oba In Partial Ful-filment of the Requirements for Ëhe Degree Master of ArËs by PatricÍa Rose Egan June L97L ACKNOI^TLEDGI'{E}[I I wish to express my sincere appreciaËion for the encouragemenË and the many helpful suggestions gíven by ny advísor, Dr. I,rlalter E" Swayze, Head of the English DeparËmenË, The University of Winnipeg, during the writing of thís thesis. ABSTRACT This study explores the effects and the influences of the Alfoxden experience on the poetic developmenË of !tri11iam ftIordsworth. Accompanied by his sisËer Dorothy, trrlordsworËh Ëook up residence aË Alfoxden in July, L797, and sËayed for cLose Ëo a year. By giving unselfishly of her atËenËion, admiration, love and encouragemenË, and by sharing with william her fully developed sensitivity, Dorothy was abLe to offer her broËher peace, hope, and indeed, insights into Nature and natural- processes which he rnight have missed had she noË been Ëhere. Along with Dorothy, trrli11iam also shared his beautiful country estate with a charming little boy, Basil Montagu, the son of a friend. Basil helped to advance the poeË's educaËion by Ëakíng him back once more to the realm of childhood--showing him once again its innocent wisdom, and Ëhe joy and pure appreciation of the child for Nature. Three miles from Alfoxden House \¡7as Nether Stowey, Ëhe home of SamueL Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge offered I^Iordsworth admíratíon, chalLenge, criticism, and Ëhe chance Ëo see beyond Ëhe day-to-day beauties of NaËure to the forces which were behind and acËive in them. Co1-erídgers rationalizíng Por¡/ers changed many of trrlordsworth's intuitive thoughts into their phil-osophical and metaphysical counterparts. Thi; ínfluence had its major effect when hlordsworËh began his most philos- ophical poem The Prelude. Col-eridge inËroduced ÏlordsrvorËh to the povrers of the supernatural cn the imaginaËion and thus opened the door for the use of these as poetic subjects. He also discussed with Wordsworth Ëhe phil-osophies of HarËley and Berkeley and helped him Ëo gain deeper insighËs into their ideas thus giving him a more profound understanding of Ëhe phílosophy of ChrisËianity. Slowly through CoLe- ridgets ínfluence, I,Iordsworth came more fuIly to Itsee into Ëhe i-ife of things.I' Many events took place during the monËhs at Alfoxden. Words- worth took many Ërips himself and was in turn visited by varíous people who played no small part in heLping him to develop his poetic potenËia1-. Some of these visítors shov¡ed tr^Iordsworth what he had been before Alfoxden, some what he then was, and, most importanË of all, some shorùed him Ëhe path he would have to travel after Alfoxden in order to fulfill his destiny. The Alfoxden experience vras a composite of many facËors--the influence of DoroËhy, of Coleridge, of Basil, and of many oËhers boËh from Ëhe surrounding neíghbourhood and beyond. But not the LeasË of these factors was Ëhe influence of Alfoxden iËself. Here, in a virtual- paradise, rra 1-iving prospect,'r accompanied by those whom he loved best, I,Iordsworth regaíned his faith ín humaníËy and in NaËurers ability to teach ttlan the mosË importanË lessons and to effect on him Ëhe greatesË cures. Evidence for Ëhis can be found ever¡ruhere in Lyrical Ballads, but mainly in the deeply moving lines of trTintern Abbey." This poem, more than any oËher, is a sunrning up of Ëhe effects and infl-uences of Ëhe ALfoxden experience on William l^IordsworËh--an experience which influenced not only Ï{ordsworth hímsel-f , but indeed, the entire course of English literature from thaË time to the presenË. 1V TABLE OF CONTENTS CIIAPTER PAGE LIST OF ABBREVTATIONS USED IN FOOTNOTES v INTRODUCTTON 1r T" WHAT IIU}IA NITY AIT,IAYS NEEDS IS A CHILD L1 II. VTSITS AND VÏSITORS 26 ITI. DOROTHY: SOURCE OF LOVE, AND THOUGHT, AND JOY 49 TV. COLERÏDGE : AND T BLESSED THEM UNAITARE 69 V" ITSELF: A RETURN TO THE GARDEN 9L ,ALFOXDEN VT" A SI]MMTNG UP 103 BIBLTOGRAPHY ooao 119 LIST OF ABBREVIATTONS USED IN FOOTNOTES I^III,L ÏAM T,TORDSI^IORTH Harper, I or II" Ilarper, George Mclean. hlilliaut IfordsworËh, His Life, I^I"rEg r"q Influence,. 2 vols. London: John Murray LËd., L929. IReprínted] New York: Russell & Russell, L960. Legouis. Legouis, Emile. The Early Life of Wil-l-iam trrlordswor th L7 7 0- L7 98. T n.pri"t.¿ fr"", s.cãîã' neni"e¿ EdiËion of. L92I and Reissuedl New York: Russell- & Russell Inc., L965. Moorman, T or ïf. Moorman, Mary. lrli11iam trrlordsr.¡orth: A Bíography. 2 vols. fR.prf"t.d from corrected sheets of the first editionl Oxford: Clarendon press, L967 . RannÍe. Rannie, David Watson. tr{ordsworËh and His Circle. Londo.tl-ElEîãi & Co., L9O7. Reed" Reed, Mark. WordsworËh: The Chron- oLogv of Ëhe Earlv Years L77O-L799. Cambrídge, Mass.: Ilarvard Univer- sity Press, 1967. Memoirs, ï or ïI. I'Iordsworth, Chris topher. Memoirs of I{il1iam hlordsworth. 2 vols. London: Edward Moxon, Dover St., 1851. PoeÈical- Inlorks. I,Iordsworth, I^Iílliam. I^Iordsworth: Poetical trIorks. ed. fñã*ãT,ttcftin- son, Revised by Ernest De SelincourË. London: Oxford University Press, L969. Srose Ilorks , I, II, or III. I,Iordsworth, ltrilliam. The Prosg trrlorks of I.IiLLiam tr{ordsworth. 3 vols. eaitea ly A" S. Cro".rt. London: Edward Moxon, Son, and Co., L876. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CONTINUED SAI.,IUEL TAYLOR COLERTDGE Biographia, I or TI" Coleridge, Samuel Taylor" Biographia LiËeraria. 2 vols. edited v¡ith his ItAesthetical Essaystt by J. Shawcross. Oxford: Clarendon Press , L907. LeËËers " Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Co llected Letters of Samuel Taylor Colerídge. Vol. I. ed. Earl Leslie Griggs. Oxford: Clarendon Press, L956. Hanson, I or II" Hanson, Lawrence. The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Z tn"pri"tu¡l New York: Russell & "of".Russell, L962. Poetical hTorks of Coleridge. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. The Poeti- ca1 l¡lorks of Ê. T. Coleridgã. ñrdon: Frederick I^Iarne and Co. , In. d. ] DOROTTIY I^IORDSI^IORTIT Journa ls . I,iordsvrorth, Dorothy. Journals of Dorothy Inlordsworth. Vo1. I. ed. E. De Selincourt. London: Macmillan & Company, L94L. Dorothy l,Iordsworth. De SelincourË, Ernest. Dorothv I'Iordsworth. Oxf ord: Clarendon Press, 1933. I^IILLIA}Í AND DOROTHY I{ORDSWORTII Early Letters. I.Iordsworth, Dorothy and I¡Iilliam. The Letters of hrill_iam and. DoroËhlz Errdq- worth: The Earlv Iears 1787-1805. Second Edition. Revised by Chester Shaver" Oxford: Clarendon Press, L967. v1 I seemed about this time to gain clear sight Of a new worLd--a vrorld, too, Ëhat was fit To be Ëransmitted, and Ëo other eyes Made vísíble; as ruled by Ëhose fixed l-aws Whence spirítual dignity originaËes, hlhich do both give iË being and mainËain A balance, an ennobling interchange Of action from wiËhouË and from within; The excel-lentr, pure function, and best POV/er Both of the objecË seen, and eye that sees. (I,iordsworth, Thê Prelude) , IMRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is twofold: (1) to explore the influ- ences and Ëhe effects of the time spent at ALfoxden between mid-July, L797 anð. June, 1798" on the poetic developmenË of trrlilliam WordsworËh, and (2) to relate these partícular influences and effecËs to his aciual poetry--T¡Iith special reference to LyricaL Ball-ads of L798. I have chosen Ëo deal wiËh the Alfoxden períod because ï feel that it is of specíal significance mainl-y ín Ëhat it was during this Ëime that Wordsworth fírst came under Ëhe extended infLuence of another poeË, Samuel Taylor Colerídge, and because Ëhe period itself culminated in the very imporËant joint producËion of these two poeËs, Lyrical Ballads, / which Emile Legouis describes as tran epoch-making book . " generalLy considered as the iníËiaL daËe of Englísh romantic 1iterature."l Al-though Col-eridge was surel-y an important influence on Wordsworth during the latterts sËay at Alfoxden, he was by no means the onl-y one to offer the poeË intelligent, admíring and sensiËively encour- aging company. Dorothy Ï¡IordsworËh, lfilLiamf s sisËer, provided him with a friendship and an artistic reLationship whích generalLy influenced his poeËic growth. In his biography of DoroËhy, Ernest De Sel-incourt pays her a great tribute by saying: "No one, not even her brother, has cap- tured with a more deLicate percepËion the disÈincËive beauËies of the countryside in which her days T¡rere passed, nor revealed v¡ith a more 1t -Emile Legouis, rrsome Remarks on Ëhe ComposiËion of the LyricaL Ballads ot L798,tr tr{ordsworth and Colerj-dge, ed. Earl l,esLie Griggs (New York: RussèLl & RusselL Inc. , !962), p. 3. 2 penetrating sympathy Ëhe daily goings-on of iËs lowly inhabitanËs.,,2 In this thesis, I would like to explore Ëhe effects of this I'delicaÈe PercePtÍon'r and ftpenetrating sympaËhy't on trrlordsvrorthts poeLic develop- ment and Ëo demonsËraËe how, in the actual poetry, they helped him to give a subtlety of expression to his work which he rnight oËherwise have been unable to capture" I,Ihile he was ín resídence aË Alfoxden, hlordsworth received many vísítors, both welcome and unwelcome, but mosË conËríbuËed in some,hray to his growËh as an artist" Thomas Poole, a neighbourhood squire, first secured for l.{ordsworth Ëhe lovely mansíon knor¿n as Alfoxden House, and later provided the poet with much informaÈion about Ëhe disËricË and its lowly inhabitants--informaËion r¿hich l¡lordsworËhts creative imaginaËion later transformed and immortalízed ín poetry. Poole hiurself vras iurnor- tal-ized in one of these poems, Êhe beautiful and moving "Michael." Michael, Ëhe shepherd of Lrlestmoreland, r¡ras poor in maËeriaL possessions, but like Poole, he was rich in virËues of integrity and honesËy and shared r47ith hÍm what LegouÍs call-s an trinËense, though restrained, 3 sensíbi1ity.
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