Name : Nidhi P. Jethava
Paper : Literature of Romantics
Roll No – 14
Enrollment no. -306920200009
Email id – jethavanidhi8@gmail.com
Batch – 2020-22 ( MA SEM-1)
Submitted to – S.B. Gardi Department
of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Q. Compare and contrast William Wordsworth and S.T. Coleridge.
Ans.
William
Wordsworth :-
Brief life
history :-
Wordsworth
was born at Cockermouth, a town which is actually outside the lack District,
but well within hail of it. His father, who paid for a claim on Lord Lonsdale,
who refused outright to pay his debt, so that William had to depend on the
generosity of two uncles, who paid for his schooling at Hawkshead, near Lake
Windermere. Subsequently Wordsworth went to Cambridge, entering St John’s
college in 1787. His work at the university was quite undistinguished, and
having graduated in 1791 he left with no fixed career with no fixed career in
view. After spending a few months London he crossed over to France(1791), and
stayed at Orleans and Blois for nearly a year. An Enthusiasm for the Revolution
was aroused in him; he himself has chronicled the mood in one of his happiest
passages :
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven !
He Returned
to Paris in 1792, just after the September massacres, and the sights and
stories that greeted him there shook his faith in becoming a Girondin, or
moderate Republican, but his allowance sister Dorothy (henceforward his
lifelong companion) he settled in a little cottage in Dorset; then, having met
Coleridge, they moved to Alfoxden, a house in Somersetshire, in order to live
near him. It was there that the two poets took the series of walks the fruit of
which was to be the Lyrical Ballads.
After a
visiting to Germany in 1798-99 the Wordsworth settled in the Lack District,
Which was to be their home for the future. In turn they occupied Dove cottage,
at Town end, Gramere (1799), Allan Bank (1808), Grasmere parsonage(1811), and
lastly the well-known residence of Rydal Mount, which was Wordsworth’s home
from 1813 till his death. Shortly before he had moved to Rydal Mount he
received the sinecure of Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland, and was put out
of reach of poverty.
The remainder
of his life was a model of domesticity: He was noteworthy, though it was
injudicious, treasured every scrap of his poetry that they could lay their
hands on. His great passion was for travelling.
He explored most of the accessible parts of the Continent, and visited
Scotland several times. On the last occasion (1813) he and his daughter renewed
their acquaintance with Scott at Abbotsford, and saw the great novelist when he
was fast crumbing into mental ruin. Wordsworth’s poetry, which at first had been received with
derision or indifference, was now winning it’s way, and recognition was general.
In 1839 Oxford conferred upon him the degree of D.C.L.; in 1842 the Crown
awarded him a pension of £300 a year ; and on the death of Southey in 1843 he
became poet Laureate.
BRIEF LIFE
HISTORY OF S. T COLRIDGE :
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Devonshire and was the youngest of the thirteen children of the vicar of Ottery Saint Mary. As a child He was usually precocious :” never thought as a child” he says “ I never had the language of a child” when was a nine-year-old his father died; he then obtained a place in Christ’s hospital where he astonished his schoolmates, one of whom was Charles lamb, with his queer tastes in reading and speculation. he went to Cambridge (1791) where he was fired with the Revolutionary doctrines. He abandoned the university and enlisted in the light Dragoons,but a few month as a soldier handed his military career. in 1794 he returned to Cambridge, and later in the year become acquainted at Oxford with Southey, with whom he planned the founding of an idea Republic in America. with Southey he lived for a space at a Bristol, and there he met Southey's wife’s sister, whom he eventually married. At Bristol Coleridge lectured, wrote poetry, and issue a newspaper called The Watchmen (1796), all with idea of a converting humanity; yet in spite of all humanity remained unperturbed in its original sin. At this time (1797) He met Wordsworth, and as has already been noticed, planned their joint product the lyrical ballads, which was published at Bristol.
Both poet as
a critic.
Wordsworth’s Theory of poetry:
“ Though
Wordsworth left only a small body of Criticism,
it is rich in suggestions ,anticipations and personal insights.”
Wordsworth’s ‘ Preface to Lyrical Ballads’ opens with a
declaration that this volume was published as an experiment. His
aim in writing it is to demonstrate the
need of writing a new kind of poems and to revaluate the poetry of the bygone
period.
First
of all Wordsworth define who is a poet ? The poet is essentially a man talking
to man. Differs from other man not in a nature, but merely in the degree of his
gifts. He is a man of great imagination and greater power of communication. He
can, therefore, comprehend truths to
which other remains blind. The poet is a more comprehensive soul who can
transport his failing to others.
Then Wordsworth prefers incidence and
situation of a humble life on the themes of his poetry. Because in a rustic and
humble life, one can easily study the fundamental passions of human heart. More so the language should be
the language used by simple rustic people so that one can express emotions lively.
He does not consider metre essential to poetry. He regards it as merely pleasure separated, but at the same time He
allowed its used while he checked the
use of poetic diction, because it is artificial, capricious and lawless.
According to Wordsworth,
the use of metre adds to the charm and appeal to the to a poem. It controls the
over excitement. The use of metre gives the Reader a sense of the skill of the
poet in overcoming artistic difficulties. Wordsworth says :
“ The metrical arrangement continues
to give us continual all and regular impulses of pleasure surprise.”
Thereafter Wordsworth discuss what is poetry ?
and he defines.
“ poetry is
the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings it takes its origin from
emotion recollected in tranquility.”
There are
four stages through which an experience passes and a successful composition
takes place . First of all, there is the observation of some object, character or
incidents with set up a powerful emotions in the mind of the poet. Secondly
there is the recollection of that emotions in a tranquility. Thirdly the
imagination of a memory by the poet set up emotion in the mind of itself. The Fourth is that of composition.
It should be noted here though
“ spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” and “emotional recollected
in tranquility “are the very opposite to each other yet Wordsworth reconciles these
two opposites.
Wordsworth
tells about the function of poetry I.e. “ to produce
excitement in coexistence with an over balance of pleasure.”
Here he puts accent on pleasure but ‘
pleasure’ does not mean purely aesthetic
one, but model too, Which is much higher
result from the realisation of truth. He calls poetry;
“ The most philosophical
of all writings “
“ The beneath
and finer spirit of all Knowledge. “
Wordsworth considers
poetry superior to science. Science studies only through the intellect,
the truth of science are discovered by intellect by the truth of poetry are discovered
by imagination and intuition. So the
truth of science are merely personal and they can be enjoyed only by the scientist.
While the truths of poetry are common heritage of all and they can be source of
pleasure to all its readers.
Of course, there
are certain pitfalls in Wordsworth's theory. As Scott- James points out the flesh and blood of a rustic is
not mere human then the flesh and blood of townsmen. Beside by confining
himself to the rustic life, he excludes
many essential element in human experience.
The Theory of
S.T. Coleridge :
S. T. Coleridge has been considered the leading literary critic of the romantic age. He is the first critic whose critical aspects are based on philosophy. His important critical observations are found in his work like ‘Biographia Literaria’, ‘Lectures on Shakespeare’ the ‘Talle Talk' etc. He was the first critic who resolved the age or problem of form and content of poetry. His most original contribution in criticism is his theory of imagination. As Cazmion observes;
“ No one before him in England had process
from mental breadth
to description of aesthetic values.”
Coleridge’ theory of imagination is best on concept of
organic Unity that he got from German philosophers. As Coleridge belonged to the romantic ag, he was not satisfied with the practice of
classical like Pope and the school of French poetry who appreciated ‘Reason’ and
rejected ‘imagination’ and ‘fancy’. Coleridge firmly believe that poetry is an act of
imagination it must have the unity of deep feeling and profound thoughts. Thus,
he reacted against classist and gave the concept of artistic imagination that is
based on imagination and fancy.
It was Wordsworth discussed about the imagination and
fancy in Lyrical Ballads. He said that both imagination and fancy art creative
and productive faculty. Thereafter Coleridge
differentiated imagination as a superior to fancy . Before Coleridge it was Dryden who very first time told about imagination and fency saying that
both are creative but image nation fused all things into one while fancy joined them. The creation of a first is sublime
and other’s is beautiful.
Coleridge
has dealt with the problem of imagination and fancy seriously because he
was highly under the spell of
Wordsworthian poetry. He says :
“ Milton had
highly imaginative, Cowley a very fanciful mind.”
According to Coleridge
imagination is a more creative mental power than fancy. He categorises
imagination into two; Primary
imagination and Secondary imagination.
(I) Primary imagination:
Primary
imagination is the power of receiving impressions from the external world
through the senses. It is the power of perceiving the object of sense both in their parts and is
a whole. It is universal possessed by all. It enable the mind to from a clear a
picture of the object perceived by the sense. It is an act of Mind when the
mind is confused with irregular method, and the primary imagination in enable
the mind to perceive unity of system
(I)
Secondary Imagination:
Secondary
imagination may be possessed by others. It
is the peculiar and distinctive Faculty
of the artist that makes the artistic creation possible. The secondary imagination is a more active and
conscious in its working. It works upon what is perceived by the primary
imagination. The raw-material of the
secondary imagination is the sensation and the impression supplied by the
primary imagination.
By
an effort of the will and intellect, the secondary imagination selects and
orders the raw material and then into object of beauty. That is called Essemplastic
imagination
which means a shaping and modifying
power. It is an active agent which dissolves, diffuses and dissipates in order
to recreate.
As
for as the creation of poetry is concerned the function of secondary
imagination is very important because it is the power that harmonious and reconciles
opposites. Coleridge calls it magical synthetic
power.
The essential difference between the primary
and secondary imagination is that the first is the universal faculty found in all
human beings and it is a conscious act of a mind
while the second is completely depend on the human will. Intellects etc. it is
conscious use of primary imagination.
Thus, it is a creative faculty and that help the poet to create an excellent
piece of art. It is a shaping spirit
unifying and creative faculty, the
beautiful and beautiful making power.
The
function of secondary imagination is make an external into internal and
internal into external it is essemplastic
imagination that makes a creation supreme.
Coleridge
defines Fancy as “ purely a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time
and shape. It only combines things.”
Theory
of Fancy :
Fancy puts dissimilar things together but does not link them. Fancy
deal with the concept of association and imagination with assimilation. The difference between fancy and imagination
is that one is the combinatory while the other is a unifying power. That
is like the difference between delirium and mania. Fancy is related with talent
in imagination with genius. The another difference between them is like mixture
and compound. Imagination is the distinguished quality of
the poetry of Shakespeare and Milton while Fancy is that of metaphysical poets.
CONCLUSION :
Looking at it
as a whole it can be said that Wordsworth’s contribution to English literary criticism
is manifold. He pioneered Romanticism. He gave a new theory of poetic diction.
While considering Coleridge it can be said that he is
the greatest contributor of that time. His theory modifies traditional view of
arts as a mere imitation. It Carries
philosophical foundation. It opens new vista in the field of literary
criticism also.
Citation :-
1.Albert, Edward. History of English Literatutre. Ed.
J.A. Stone. New Delhi, 1997.
2.Coleridge, Samuel T, James Engel, and Walter J.
Bate. Biographia Literaria. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
Print.
3.Long, William J. English Literature. Delhi: AITBS
PUBLISHERS,INDIA, 2019.
4.Wordsworth,
William, and W J. B. Owen. Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads. Westport,
Conn: Greenwood Press, 1979. Print.
5. Parrish, Stephen Maxfield. "William Wordswoths." Britannica
(2020).
6. Parab, Dr. Vitthal V. "The Romantic Philosophy In The
Poetry Of William Wordworth And Samual Taylor Coleridge." The
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Invention (2015).
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