William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge' s View on Poem

● William Wordsworth's View on Poetry :-       

                            

               William Wordsworth was the great English Poet of Romantic age. He was critic also. He wrote the famous book, " Lyrical Ballads " (1798) with Coleridge, Who helped him to launch the Romantic age in English literature. The both critics Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth gave their views on Poem and poetry. So, now let us discuss their views on poem. 

 " Lyrical Ballads "  is the great book of the Romantic age. In the Preface of this book William Wordsworth describes his view on Poem and poetry, that later on Criticised by Samuel Coleridge.

According to William Wordsworth poetry is,

                   Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, more than organic sensibility, had also thought long and deeply. 

                         Wordsworth gives the Charm of novelty by colouring it with the power of Imagination. As a teacher and moralist, he was a high priest of nature. In his poem he put the simple life of Peasent and Shepherds and their realistic description of their experiences.  In the second edition of Lyrical Ballads Wordsworth argued that poetry should be written in the real language of common man rather than in the lofty and elaborate diction that were then considered, " Poetic. " He believed that the first principle of Poetry should be pleasure and so the chief duty of poetry is to provide pleasure through a rhythmic and beautiful expression. He asserted is based on a subtle pleasure principle that is, " The naked and native dignity of man. " Wordsworth always choose the language of his poem is a more permanant and far more philosophical. His characters always speak a plainer and more emphatic language. He always keep the primary laws of our nation.

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Views on Poem :-

      

" Biographia Literaria " is also the great autobiographical work written by Samuel Coleridge in 1817. It is divided into two Volumes in twenty three chapters. It is about extended Criticism on William Wordsworth's theory on poetry in that is given in Lyrical Ballads.

In Biographia literaria Samuel Coleridge put his view on difference between Poem and poetry and also he criticised the view of William Wordsworth about poetry. According to him poem is,

                             That spacies of composition, which opposed to work of Science by proposing for its immediate object pleasure, not truth; and from all other species, it is discriminated by proposing to itself such delight from the whole as is compatible with a distinct ratification from each component part.

                                  He gives the charm of novelty to things of everyday objects by making Supernatural natural. He introduced dream like quality, elements of mystery, wonder and supernatural. He went to middle ages and created the atmosphere of magic and mystery in his poem. He always used certain artificial arrangement of words with the help of metre. As a result composition will be a poem, merely because it is distinguished from composition in prose by metre or by rhyme. 

                                    Now let us discuss the poem of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge and try to aply his poetic views on their poem.

• The poem of William Wordsworth and his poem :-

    
                             " To a Butterfly " is a beautiful natural and romantic poem of William Wordsworth. As we know that William Wordsworth was a high priest of the nature that we can see clearly in this poem. The poem is short but the two stanzas of the poem shows love and attachment of Wordsworth toward nature. As we know that he used natural elements in his all poem, little Butterfly is a element of this poem. Also he used metaphors in this poem like beautiful Yellow flower. In the early discussion we studied that the characters of Wordsworth's poem are the rural characters and he put their own real life experiences. So, in this poem he put his own experience with his sister. The Golden time of his childhood that he spent with his sister. He entered in the garden where he remembers his old memories. He speaks with Butterfly and share his memories with it. As we know that Wordsworth was a great teacher and moralist and also he used the philosophical idea in his poem that clearly we can find out in this poem. He wants to give the message that nature can provide level of meaning to us, as humans. The whole discussion of the poem indicates Wordsworth's love and respect for nature. The subject of the poem is very clear and also he used the simple language that we can understand easily. Through this poem we can see the the feeling of nostalgia of Wordsworth. 

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