William Wordsworth

Who i am? I am.....

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

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1. Life and Works

index

2. The Manifesto

3. The relationship between man and nature

4. The importance of the senses and memory

5. The poet's task and style

6. Daffodils

I am one of the most important English poets and one of the founders of the Romantic Movement of English Literature. They started calling me "Lakeland Poet" because of the area I lived in. I was also called the "Poet of Nature" due to my emphasis on the connection between humans and the natural world (more on that later) ...

MY LIFE

I was born in Cumberland on April 7, 1770, to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson. I graduated in 1790 from St. John's college in Cambridge, a year later I returned to France and I fell in love with Annette Vallon, who gave me a beautiful daughter, Caroline. a few years later, however, I had to move in with my sister Dorothy due to my nervous breakdown. I met Samuel Taylor Coleridge with whom I produced a collection of poems called Lyrical ballads. in 1805 I finished my greatest masterpiece "The Prelude" To which we have been flying for a very long time, he is a long autobiographical poem in 14 books which unfortunately was published after my death in 1850.

I belonged to the first generation of romantic poets, for me poetry is a solitary act, my strongest objection to 18th century poetry was its artificial and elevated language which they called poetic diction. In my preface I explained that the topic had to deal with everyday situations or incidents and with ordinary people. The language had to be simple and the objects called by their names.

Man and Nature

As already said before I am defined as a "poet of English nature", but I am not interested in the natural world and the observation of its phenomena but rather the relationship between the natural world and human consciousness, with the influences, sensations and emotions that derive from this interaction. One of the most important concepts for me is the idea that man and nature are inseparable, that man does not exist outside the natural world but is part of it. Men learn love, happiness and beauty when they look at the natural elements.

The importance of the senses

I was greatly influenced by Hartley, a philosopher. He thought that the sensation led to simple thoughts and then to complex and organized ideas. These 3 stages of the development of the mind correspond to the 3 ages of a man: childhood, youth and adulthood. In fact, I was interested in the changes in the relationship with nature at different moments in life. The most important age for me is childhood in fact in a poem I write "the child is the father of man".

THE POET'S TASK

The Poet is a teacher who shows other men how to explain their feelings and improve their moral being. It describes ordinary things and real emotions. He does not want to speak only to a small elite of people, but to a much larger audience, using normal language that all people can speak and understand, he has almost always used empty lines and also many different types of poetry, such as sonnets, odes , ballads and simple lyrics.

DAFFODILS

I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils; beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Vagavo solitario come una nuvola che fluttua in alto sopra valli e colline, quando all'improvviso vidi una folla, un mare, di giunchiglie dorate; vicino al lago, sotto gli alberi, tremolanti e danzanti nella brezza.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Intermittenti come stelle che brillano e luccicano nella Via Lattea, si estendevano in una linea infinita lungo il margine della baia: con uno sguardo ne vidi diecimila, che scuotevano il capo danzando briose.

The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company. I gazed - and gazed - but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:

Le onde accanto a loro danzavano; ma essesuperavano in gioia le luccicanti onde:un poeta non poteva che esser felice,in una tale compagnia gioiosa.Osservavo - e osservavo - ma non pensavoa quanto benessere un tale spettacolo mi avesse donato:

poiché spesso, quando mi sdraio sul mio divano in uno stato d'animo ozioso o pensieroso, esse appaiono davanti a quell'occhio interiore che è la beatitudine della solitudine; e allora il mio cuore si riempie di piacere, e danza con le giunchiglie.

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

DAFFODILS

I wrote this poem in 1804 and published it in 1807, it recounts the experience of a walk I went to take with my sister, near our home in the Lake District. This poem was inspired by the sight of a field full of golden daffodils that benefit the wind.The key to the poem is joy, as we can see from the many words that express pleasure and joy: in fact the daffodils are golden, they greet in a lively dance and go over the waves in glee: they provide a cheerful society and the sight of them fill my heart with pleasure.

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Florio Fatima