Wordsworth was a poet worthy of being uttered in the same breath as Shakespeare. His ballads and sonnets are both simple and profound in a way that even transcends the bard. More, his manner of stirring the imagination of his reader is unprecedented.
Our poem today is the first of the FIVE Lucy poems. (note: some people believe there are more than 5 LUCY poems, but, alas, they are wrong.) :) In the show I explain why.
These five poems should be experienced and understood together, so each week we will explore the Lucy Poems.
We will also be exploring Wordsworth's and Coleridge's philosophy of poetry, with special emphasis on the Preface to the 1802 Lyrical Ballads. Here we will find surprising insights into the nature of poetry and life, and, even more intriguing, a connection between Wordsworth's philosophy and that of author Ayn Rand.
She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways
By William Wordsworth
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
—Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!
