PREFACE TO LYRICAL BALLADS

- Worsworth's poetic manifesto

1. Principal object of the poems

-to choose incidents and situations from common life and to relate and describe them but adding `certain colouring of imagination' - these usual, ordinary aspects of life were to be presented in an unusual way

- W. wants to deal with `natural' man, the one who is not `spoiled' by civilization, the one who is close to the nature

2. dealing with HUMBLE AND RUSTIC LIFE

- the essential passions of the heart find a better soil in which they can mature

-speak a plainer and more emphatic lg

- in that condition the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature

3. LANGUAGE

-the choice of subject matter necessarily involves a rethinking of the lg of poetry

- to some extent W. admits that the lg should be `tided up' of `ordinary men'

- lg of ordinary men has been adopted, but it has also been purified from what may cause disgust or dislike

- ordinary men, being less under the influence of social variety, convey their feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions

- such a lg, resulting from regular feelings and experience, is more permanent and even far more philosophical than that the poets frequently use

4. POETRY

-`emotion recollected in tranquility' - the mind transforms the raw emotion of experience into poetry capable of giving pleasure

- idealistic idea of poetry - it plays a vital role in educating the mind and sensibility of the readers, there's a moral purpose for that; benevolent effect upon readers

- `For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: and though this be true' - any valuable poems were written under the influence of `organic sensibility' (nature, living things), but written after over thinking the emotion, the feeling of being possessed by the moment, long and deeply

-impact of the feeling is modified with time, changes its course because of our thoughts which reflect our past feelings -> W. believes that by contemplating these feelings and comparing them, one discovers what is truly important for human beings -> repetition and continuance of this act connects our feelings (universal to some extent) with important subjects -> finally one possesses such a sensibility and `shapes' such `habits of mind' that obeying automatically the impulses of these habits, the poet is able to describe objects and relate to such notions that the understanding of the reader must be `enlightened' to some extent and, therefore, his affections strengthened and purified

5. POET

- a genius, a special person, capable of re-formulating thoughts and feelings so as to educate the reader

- a man speaking to men, a prophet?

- in comparison to ordinary people: more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, greater knowledge of human nature, more comprehensive soul

- `rejoices more than other men in the spirit of life that is in him'

- contemplates similar volitions and passions

- a disposition to be affected by absent things as if they were present (creating them where they cannot be found)

- acquired a great readiness and power in expressing what he thinks and feels

WORDSWORTH'S POETRY

Themes:

1. The beneficial influence of nature on the human mind; all manifestations of the natural world (`from a mountain to a small flower') cause noble, elevated thoughts and passionate emotions in the people observing them; the importance of nature to an individual's intellectual and spiritual development; humanity's innate empathy and nobility become corrupted by artificial social conventions; people who spend a lot of time in nature, such as laborers and farmers, retain the purity and nobility of their souls

2. The power of the human mind - using memory and imagination individuals could overcome difficulties and pain (the I-speaker in `Lines composed…' relieves his loneliness with memories of nature); powers of the mind available to all, regardless of the class and background; it emphasises individuality and uniqueness

3. The splendor of childhood - a magical, magnificent time of innocence; children form an intense bond with nature, they appear to be a part of natural world, not a human, social one; the relationship seems to be passionate and extreme -> feeling joy at seeing rainbow and terror in response to decay; as children mature, they loose the connection but gain the ability to feel emotions, both good and bad; through memory adults are able to recollect their devoted connection to nature of their youth

LINES COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY

• 5 years have passed since he last visited the location, encountered its tranquil, rustic scenery, and heard the murmuring waters of the river

• He recites the objects he sees again and describes their effect upon him

• Sycamore and `wreaths of smoke' link the earth with the sky - UNITY

• The memory of beauty of nature influenced his deeds of kindness and love

• Nature offers him access to spiritual and mental state in which he becomes a `living soul'

• The present moment and the memory blend, overlap, causing a bittersweet joy in reviving them -> present experience is to provide happy memories for future years

• He acknowledges that nature used to serve for his entire world, his old relationship with nature has been replaced with new `gifts'

• `dear, dear Sister'/ `dear, dear Friend' in whose voice and manner the I-speaker observes his former self

• He offers a prayer to nature

• The I-speaker encourages the moon to shine upon his sister and the wind to blow against her -> in the future the memory of this experience will help to heal her fears and sadness

• Blank verse (unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter)

• Style is very fluid and natural, it reads as if it was a prose piece

• The poetic structure, however, is still tightly constructed

• Slight variations of the stresses -> some lines fit loosely into rhyme patterns which helps to approximate the sounds of natural speech without breaking the meter

• Childhood memories of communion with natural beauty (which works upon the mind even in adulthood) -> the ability to see nature in relation to human life; shift from being thoughtless to awareness

• A monologue, addressing the spirit of nature and occasionally the speaker's sister

• Lg: simplicity and forthrightness; speaking from the heart in a plainspoken manner instead of speaking with ostentation

• The memory is `the anchor' of the poet's `purest thought'

• A subtle strain of religious sentiment

DON JUAN by LORD BYRON (Canto I)

• Never-completed satirical mock-epic

• Don Juan portrayed as an innocent who has a special influence on women, who try to seduce him

• Poem full of digressions on politics, poets which add to the humor

• Byron uses narrator with a distinct personality and his own voice is also present in the work -> simultaneous telling the story of Don Juan and commenting on that from different perspectives-> irony (TO CHYBA WŁAŚNIE SELF-REFLECTIVENESS)

• Byron offers sardonic commentary on various societal ills; love and sexuality are among central targets, but Byron gives also a biting commentary on war, religion, restraints on personal liberty and freedom of speech as well as injustice upon the society's weakest inhabitants

• Passive character, Juan, reacts rather than manipulates the world around him

• Brave, resourceful but without motivation or direction becomes a victim of a harsh, hypocritical world -> Byron reversed the popular legend about an extravagant lover to suggest that society, not the individual, bears responsibility for evil in the world BUT -> regardless of character's presentation, the narrator provides a more hardly voice; sympathises with the weaknesses displayed by certain characters; overall tone, however, is cynical and a bit amused

WILLING SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF

• Term coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in `Biographia literaria'

• The temporary acceptance as believable of events or characters that would ordinarily be seen as incredible; to allow an audience to appreciate and fully understand works of literature or drama that are exploring unusual ideas

• Accepting as real an actor on a stage or marks on paper in order to fully experience what the artist is attempting to convey

SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS (“Rime of Ancient Mariner',Coleridge)

• The persistence of natural laws

• C. makes the natural look supernatural by ascribing to nature sth of the special power and proficiency of the supernatural

• Supernatural is made believable and convincing

• Supernatural element artistically interwoven with convincing pictures of nature

• Possible and impossible are skillfully mixed -> as a result they are both quite convincing and credible

• Supernatural incidents in natural, well-described setting

• Familiar setting passes into an unreal world

• Nature punishes the mariner supernaturally for killing the albatross

• Portraying mariner's mental states, Coleridge produces the realistic effect

• Use of natural setting, logic of cause and effect, melody and psychological truth allow Coleridge to present incredible events in a credible, convincing way

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