Preface to the Lyrical Ballads Plot Summary

Introduction

The Preface to Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge originally appeared after the poems were first published, and it continued to be altered until Wordsworth's death. As it explains the intent for creating poetry, how to do it, and how closely it relates to prose, it continues to be the most concise exposition of Romantic ideals. Additionally, it describes the "poet's" line of work and the function of poetry in giving voice to modern, straightforward lifestyles that adhere to the fundamental laws of nature. For Wordsworth, as for many Romantic poets, these fundamental principles of nature were found via experiences in nature?experiences that, when coupled with passion, generated poetry.

The Significance of the Subject

Wordsworth makes a point of explaining why and how he selects the topics for his poems. He distinguishes his work from that of earlier times and other literary giants by highlighting formal or classical models of artificial norms, demonstrating that they have been too "literary." Wordsworth thinks that the keys to giving common readers insights into their circumstances of existence are emotional truths and integrity to nature, rather than the recounting of real facts or happenings. He prefers a "humble and rustic" country living over a metropolitan one since it looks more straightforward and organic (without telling anything ominous or violent). Wordsworth tried to amplify and prolong the sense of the remarkable in everyday occurrences. The new literature Wordsworth suggests would communicate the depth and simplicity of people's lives, just as nature shows permanence and unchangeable truths.

Poetry's Characteristics

Poetry, according to Wordsworth, must come from the "intense emotions that spontaneously erupt; they are the result of emotions that have been accumulated in peace." A poem's composition should seem spontaneous, yet this is not how poetry works. Poetry must express passion or feeling rather than just report facts. The poet must use real-world examples, speak about them in everyday terms, and "Give them a particular imaginative colouring so that the mind is exposed with everyday objects in novel ways."

Wordsworth breaks down the poet's creative process into what he perceives to be four phases. The poet starts by taking note of anything that arouses strong feelings. Then he calmly thinks about and considers the feeling. The poet may think of various things at this time that is somehow connected to the observation or the past. Such reflection is private and is just for the poet. After a while, the peace of meditation fades, and the poet distils all these ideas, preserving some and discarding others, to reproduce the initial experience in a more general form. The poet is finally prepared to write to convey the feeling to a reader.

Therefore, poetry doesn't develop from traditional models or sudden, supernatural inspiration. It emerges through everyday experience that is comprehended and thought about. In his analysis, Wordsworth dismisses literary strategies like elaboration as unnatural and makes extensive use of the work of older poets. To arrive at a more moral and accurate understanding of themselves and of life, he wants his readers to reflect on their feelings. Simple and direct poetry may reach the highest degree of artistic expression.

Prose and Poetry

Wordsworth spends a significant portion of the Preface discussing his opinions on poetry and prose. In the past, people have made differences between which was more heroic or which was a greater art. His aim is to demonstrate how both share the key elements of "the language of men." He effectively erases the boundaries dividing prose from poetry by reducing the craft of poetry to being "a man speaking to men." Because science, as he knows it, concentrates on the factual, he views the divide between the two as being in opposition to science. The core of poetry, according to Wordsworth, is the common state, and this is why he views the scientist as producing discoveries independently, without the help of others, and without affecting it. Wordsworth believes that using a strict meter in poetry often results in an artificial or forced style of writing. He prefers a simpler, freer form of poetry that is more like prose(ordinary writing) and that communicates truth directly. Instead of using standard, predictable rhymes and meter, he prefers straightforward and free rhyming lines.

He prefers to compose poetry?with an appropriate and natural "Poetic Diction" because it gives him more opportunities to employ his imagination to explore and give shape to the innate desires of humanity. He rejects any categorical distinction between poetry and prose, arguing that both must result from thinking and feeling. Wordsworth said, " They both communicate using the same organs, and their affections are comparable and almost identical, seldom differing even in degree." Regardless matter whether he writes in prose or poetry, he declares at the end of the Preface that the central concept of his work?made up of emotion and imagination?will utilise "one and the same language" of metre or prose.

Analysis

The Preface as Writing

Although the Preface is a prose piece, Wordsworth incorporates several poetry quotations into it and, like his poems, emphasises how the imagination may enlighten everyday reality. It is clearly a person's manifesto outlining a fundamentally novel solution to a problem that has existed for a very long time. He portrays himself in his article as both alone and surrounded by people who share his perspective, marking a new era in comprehending and expressing sentiments and emotions in a modernised society. Wordsworth often believed that he was setting out on fresh and unexplored pathways during the course of his long career. He was well-versed in the canon of Western literature and made innovative use of this knowledge.

Wordsworth was the first literary movement to base their work on the real lives of common people, whereas many other groups regarded themselves as either appropriating or creating their own literary traditions. When he starts with "Several of my friends are anxious for the success of these Poems," the Preface often switches between boldly staking out his own ideals and referencing the opinions of his contemporaries. He can clearly be heard and is not afraid to call out the good intentions of others. He constantly appears to be thinking of a performance piece in which he pits other people's quotations against one another, using his own opinions to determine the degrees of excellence. Wordsworth emphasises the common people's voices, whose apparent simplicity and homogeneity he appreciates, even if they may not have much experience with poetry, in contrast to Coleridge, who wrote with a more abstract emphasis on the uncommon and even the otherworldly.

Beginning with the time when Wordsworth spoke as a youthful radical voice to his reputation as a major literary voice, the Preface was altered and reissued several times. He accepted views that were radically different from those of other poets, both as a young man and as a mature man. His focus on emotion and individuality was widely accepted at the peak of the Romantic movement, which the manifesto appears to have ushered in.

The Preface on Verse and Prose

The topic of writing styles is brought up often throughout the lengthy essay in all of its forms. Wordsworth never had another job and never seemed to be looking for one. He dedicated his whole life to literature. His poetry is often influenced by the extensive journey he undertook when his official schooling came to an end. Lyrical Ballads attracted a lot of attention when it was first released. Its critics disagreed with Wordsworth's concentration on regular people, rural and even illiterate lives of poverty, true human sentiments and feelings combined with meditation, as well as his choice of subject matter. Although Wordsworth avoided using severe or crude instances of these things, his critics believed that such topics were unrelated to poetry. Wordsworth explores how the actual forms of writing might best fit such ideals in the Preface after pioneering this new ground for poetry. He compares and contrasts the variety of abilities available to the poet in both prose and poetry in great detail and frequently.

Depending on the output and reputations of the authors at the time, previous literary movements usually favoured one of these genres over the other. Wordsworth appears determined to combine the greatest elements of each, never favouring one genre over the other and constantly looking for the most fitting one. He wrote poetry for decades in a variety of styles and voices, but he avoided a lot of rules and formulas. Despite its concentration on poetry, The Preface is his best prose work and never ventures into that genre. Wordsworth emphasises that attempts to elevate poetry or prose are misguided since they both have the same need for human emotion in the feeling of community. On the other hand, science looks fresh and impersonal since it is founded on facts that poetry cannot influence or modify. His moral upbringing of his readers seems unaffected by scientific study or inquiry.

Making poems and prose kind of allies against societal shifts also limits the poet's own influence in the future. Wordsworth's focus on emotions will ultimately lose some of its power when fresh perspectives on the world and perceptions of the Romantic age change. These notions will eventually spread across society as an attempt is made to persuade people that poetry and prose are fundamentally identical in style and that content can be evaluated regardless of form. However, when poets and prose writers continued to pursue their own careers, these concepts were often disregarded by others.

Wordsworth as Judge

Several elements determine the Preface's effectiveness in determining a poem's value. Wordsworth doesn't come out as humble or arrogant when comparing his own poetry to other works, particularly those of well-known authors. Wordsworth strongly disparages the 18th-century poet Thomas Grey in the text's first few pages. Wordsworth believes the verse is far from basic facts that might be communicated in either prose or more natural-sounding poetry, using lines from one of Gray's few poems. The majority of Gray's sonnet is deemed worthless by Wordsworth. It may seem strange to find Grey so faulty considering that his other significant work, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," is still one of the most popular and often cited poems of all time. Similarly, it is noted that Samuel Johnson's work contains "contemptible matter."

However, there is no indication that Wordsworth is expressing these beliefs in order to elevate his works above those of other authors. He seems to have given his opinions careful consideration and adopted a far-reaching perspective on literature before his own time. The focus is still not on him personally, but rather on what any poet may do when he concentrates on the proper premises for an ordinary and modest source of truth. He is eager to see his own writing as a fresh experiment in poetic language, stripped of what he feels it was lacking previously. He acknowledges that he places value on the opinions of others and harbours concerns about his ability to meet the challenging objectives he has set. Wordsworth considers his Lyrical Ballads to be creative and related to a high degree of truth and relevance if not life and society.

It is unlikely that many modern readers would accept either Wordsworth's praise or his critiques as the foundation for their own responses to literature since they were written decades after the Preface made its judgements and Wordsworth's own fame has had its ups and downs. Modern readers may comprehend Wordsworth's perspective on people and society as well as his drive to communicate novel ideas in the hope that they would advance both art and life. He keeps referencing the necessity to remove barriers, such as the conventional division between prose and poetry, yet for some people, these divisions still hold true, even technically speaking. Wordsworth is motivated by his passion and dedication to change, and a democratic society that cherishes free speech may understand and appreciate his use of literature to bring about change. Readers might respect Wordsworth for his candour and willingness to take chances with his thoughts even if they do not actively assess the authors he references.

Conclusion

When writing poetry, Wordsworth himself used his own interpretation of poetic structure. Wordsworth never instantly composed a poem in response to a feeling or circumstance. He used to let his feelings consume him, but according to his belief, Wordsworth subsequently considers these feelings at peace and writes poetry. His famous poems "The Tintern Abbey," "The Solitary Reaper," and "The Daffodils" were produced in accordance with his idea of poetic construction.