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Wordsworth Poetry Exam Notes
Wordsworth Poetry Exam Notes
Wordsworth Poetry Exam Notes
Repetition of being alone mentioned 5 times in first verse - solitary, single, solitary, by
herself, alone
Strikes poet with the song shes singing & what shes doing; not conscience of audience
Shes doing work in a graceful ways, just her being one with nature, not sweating
Importance of Nature & emotions
Wordsworth using his level as poet to describe a normal scene - show to people the importance of
nature
heart - romantic thoughts as too much emphasis on the head & logic - needs emotion response
stop here, or gently pass - stop &look, its actually not something ordinary but you can learn
some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, - bubble out of natural feelings & strong emotions - natural contrast to the logical world of that time
Techniques
Hyperbole
second verse
so thrilling - her song is even better than all of nightingale, welcome notes
Will no one tell me what she sings? - use of Q; poet haunted by the song
Themes: solitary, individuality, importance of nature, elite poet & having great ideas about things
Moment of revelation
Wordsworth saw field of daffodils - filled him with peacefulness & gratefulness for nature
Important as he was in vacant or in pensive mood - got away from mechanical & strict world to
freedom from nature
For oft - tone changes, feels empty & lost sense of purpose
Contained elements from nature e.g. stars, trees, lake, waves etc
heart - humans connection to nature, emphasis on emotional response from the heart instead of
logic in head
Poet away from noise, activity of busy industrial world and recalls nature
Techniques
Personification
golden daffodils fluttering and dancing in the breeze. - gives daffodils character, human
features & emphasis on its movements
I gazed - and gazed - reinforce action of searching & being captured by the image and his
admiration for it
Introduce theme of nature & contrasts with all at once - fast paced & direct
Alliteration
be but - emphasis on be
dances with the daffodils - emphasis on how poet have joined with daffodils & nature as one
Soft sounding words
stars that shine and twinkle in the milky way - exaggerate beauty of imagery
Maid - idea of purity & she is outdoorsy and earth contrast to idea of girls staying indoor
Half hidden from the eye - other people go out to nature but dont notice it
Explains why he isnt drowning in sorrow (no human fears) - because Lucy has joined in spirit with
nature
She seemd a thing - not human, connect with nature, that could not feel The touch of earthly
years & can not age as death made her safe from passing of time
Solitude
untrodden - reminds of heavy footsteps, ruin & left imprint - destruction OR unspoiled nature, no
one else have been there
none to praise - turns her back on how the human world long for approval but she is self sufficient
& no need for vanity/pride
She lived unknown - sense peacefulness, calmness & doesnt mind no one knows about her
Techniques
Hyperbole
Lucy ceased to be - musical & lyrical (assonance) - the ceased emphasised Lucy
Syllables
slumber - slow & gentle caused by 2 syllables which drags it instead of the word sleep
Alliteration
slumber spirit seal - add to understanding of sleep to gain tranquility - a revelation to him
(realisation)
Rolld round diurnal (daily) - idea of energy of daily cycle of life continuing - like energy of
human transformed to spirit (a contemporary idea)
Punctuation
With rocks, and stones, and tees! - how important his revelation is
No motion has she now, no force; She neither hears nor sees - negative repeats enforcing her
control & effortlessness of being neutral
too much - judgment on the world how its making too much demands
The world is too much with us - bold & strong statement and starts with generalization
we lay waste our powers - humans energy, resources & creativity destroyed & lost
late and soon - balance, parallel construction - a cycle takes all our time
Nature
Mentions of Proteus & Triton - ancient Greek Gods more comforting than new creeds of
materialism & industrialisation - at least believed in something
Techniques
Alliteration
Getting and spending - the ing makes it feel its continuous, never-ending
humans being caught up with the cycle of getting more and more things
Oxymoron
a sordid boon - the reward is spoilt if we have given our hearts away - the center of our
emotions
Poetry form
Sonnet 14 lines and iambic pentameter - but plays with the sonnet form
Spilt into two parts with - which draws attention to final paragraph reject everything before
Interrupts and start putting I - personal POV to reject world & return back to past
Metaphor
bares her bosom - female bearing her bosom resembles effects of tides; vast sea: huge impact on
the world & a large aspect of nature
Great God! - exclamation; juxtapose God and Pagan who worship idols not God; despair with
exclamation mark
Inversion of up-gathered now - emphasis on compound word; wind can unleash its power
Contrasts too much with little we see (first and third line)