Chapter - 9

"Tintern Abbey"
- William Wordsworth

Question- Discuss Wordsworth's contribution to English criticism.

Or
Write a short note on Wordsworth's achievement as a critic.
Or
What is the contribution of Wordworth to literary criticism?
Or
Write a note on Wordsworth's contribution to English Romantic criticism.

Answer -

"Wordsworth holds a position in the history of criticism which must be called ambiguous or transitional. He inherited from neo-classicism theory of the imitation of nature to which he gives, however a specific social twist, he inherited from the 18th century a view of poetry as passion and emotion which he again modifies by his description of the poetic process as 'recollection in tranquillity'. He takes up, rhetorical ideas about the effect of poetry but extends and amplifies, them into a theory of the social effect of literature, binding society in a spirit of love. But he also adopts in order to meet the exigencies of his mystical experience, a theory of poetry in which imagination. holds the central place as a power of unification and ultimate insight into the unity of the world. Though Wordsworth left only a small body of criticism, it is rich in survivals, suggestion, anticipations and Wordsworth's aim was to find the best soil for the essential passions'. In eshewing artifice, he looked for simplicity. He thought the problem was solved by the deliberate choice of subjects from humble and rustic life. He has found poets extravagantly preoccupied with the affairs of nymphs and goddess. He was guided by a sound instinct. When he said, 'avoid poetic diction'. There was a healthy realism in the demand that the poet should use the language of man.' The language of prose when prose is well written, and that should aim to, keep the reader in the company of flesh and blood. But the flesh and blood of a yoke are not more human than the flesh and blood of a townsman. The emotions of a rustic are not more profound because his experience is narrow. In rightly condemning a too specialized language for poetry, Wordsworth advocated a language that was always in danger of becoming, trivial and mean. In proportion as he confined himself too exclusively to characters chosen from 'humble and rustic life', he confined himself to persons for whom many essential elements in human experience were lacking. It was emotion which he sought to display. But his principle lessened the range without deepening the quality of emotion. It is when he most strictly obeys his own injunctions that he writes his least satisfactory poems. The end he had in view could have been better attained by the portrayal not of crude rustic persons, but simple sharply defined characters in which a few qualities were deeply graven-heroes like Oedipus or Lear or Giles winter bourne characters in some clear emotional relationship with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature.

"Though Wordsworth is not among the best English critics, not even the best Romantic critic, his criticism has value and significance of its own. He was not qualified to be a critic either by training or temperament. It is doubtful if he had written a single line of criticism, had "The Lyrical Ballads' written conjointly by him and Coleridge been so severely criticised by the critics of the 'Edinburgh' and 'Quarterly Reviews'. It was only other his severe criticism by them that he had to write critcism in self-defence and justification of the type of poetry he was writing. He added a preface to the second edition of The Lyrical Ballads' in 1800 and then enlarged it in the edition of 1815. His critical writings also include the 'Appendix' to the edition of 1815 and the Supplementary Essay to the edition of 1802 and the three essays upon eiptahus and the correspondence. Although study of his critical writings will prove his worth as a literary critic and will also bring out the originality of his views with regard to the nature of poetry, poetic creation and poetic diction." Wordsworth's critical writings demolished much that was false and injurious in English critical tradition, so that English poetry could breathe a large and freer atmosphere. English criticism poetry could never be the same after Wordsworth had written. The historical significance of his criticism is very great. It served as a corrective of the artificial and innane phraseology of contemporary poetry emphasized the value of simpler and more natural language."

It has been pointed out earlier that Wordsworth's work is not among the best English critics, and his position as a critic is not as high as that of Coleridge. But still his criticism has a value and significant of its own. Wordsworth was against neo-classicism in his views on the nature of poetry. Poetic diction, and also in his judgement of poetry Wordsworth posed the important problem that a poem might be flawless and perfect from the point of view of metre, diction etc. and yet it may fail to please the reader. The ultimate test of the beauty and literary excellence of a work, therefore, is not in its outwardly perfect structure but somewhere else. It lies, according to Wordsworth in the healthy pleasure which a poem afforded to the reader."

Wordsworth gave first priority to pleasure in poetry than to any other thing in it. This impressionistic approach towards literature was a major contribution of Wordsworth to English critical thought. In Wordsworth's theory genius has all the free play. Wordsworth propagates all the liberty to genius. A man of genius and originality can follow whatever way he likes. He is not bowed by any restrictions. For that reason, he says, "that every author, as far as he is great and at the same time original, he had the task of creating the taste by which he is to be enjoyed, so has it been, so will it continue to be."

"Wordsworth also emphasizes the union of thought and feeling in the poetic artist. He says, "Good poems are produced only by a man who has thought long and deeply. For our continued influences of feeling are modified and directed by our thoughts, which are indeed the representative of all our past feelings."

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