Transcript “She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways”

“She Dwelt Among
the Untrodden
Ways”
By William Wordsworth
The Poem
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!
Some Background
Information
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William Wordsworth was an English Romantic poet.
The poem was written in 1798.
He fell in love with a French woman, Annette Vallon, in 1792.
The poem is one of five in the ‘Lucy’ series. The poems in this
series are all focused on a lady, ‘Lucy’, who Wordsworth expresses
his emotional feelings through
He was one of five children. Three of the children were poets
themselves, influenced by the strong academic value in the family.
He was influenced by his experience with the landscape and was
further turned toward nature by the harsh treatment he received at
the hands of his relatives. In particular, Wordsworth could not get
along with his grandparents and his uncle, and his hostile
interactions with them distressed him to the point of contemplating
suicide.
Lucy
Wordsworth wrote his series of "Lucy" poems during a stay with his
sister. The real life identity of Lucy has never been known. Wordsworth
himself never addressed the matter of her existence, and was silent about
commenting on the series. Lucy's identity has been the subject of much
speculation and some have guessed that the poems are an attempt by
Wordsworth to say his affection for Dorothy; this line of thought
interpretates that the poems exaggerate Wordsworth's feelings of pain for
her expected death. Wordsworth's Lucy possesses a double existence, her
actual, historical existence and her idealised existence in the poet's mind. In
the poem, Lucy is both actual and idealised, but her actuality is relevant.
Lucy is thought by others to represent his childhood friend Peggy
Hutchinson, with whom he was in love before her early death in 1796—
Wordsworth later married Peggy's sister, Mary.
Title
‘She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways’
Creates a sense of mystery.
‘She’ - This female is ‘Lucy’.
‘Dwelt’ – To live in a constant, unchanged condition. One can dwell in a physical or
mental state. It can also mean ‘To ponder in thought’ or ‘To live permanently’
‘Untrodden’ - This suggests a pathless way i.e. no set reason, no set goal.
‘Among’ – This suggests that Lucy dwells WITH the ‘untrodden ways’. It would be a
different story if Lucy dwelt THROUGH. WITH portrays that she is permanently
in this state.
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The title implies that Lucy lived by herself, unknown, wild, free and at one with
nature, physically and mentally . Also ‘Untrodden’ refers to a common theme in
the poem about ‘Lucy’ not being noticed. Eg Line 7 “Half hidden’ and Line 9 “She
lived unknown.”
The First Stanza
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
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First line is the same as the title. ‘springs’- this is a noun which means literally an
issue of water from the earth. However if it were to be a verb, ‘to spring’ can mean
to come into being by growth. This is just a thought. The springs could also
represent purity. ‘Dove’ is part of the English Lake District. ‘there were none to
praise and very few to love’- this suggests that no one seemed to notice Lucy.
However the bare fact that Wordsworth is writing this portrays that he is someone
to notice her (He discusses her qualities in stanza two).
The First Stanza
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
In the first stanza, the woman (Lucy) is described; how she lives among nature and
“untrodden ways.” And the loneliness of her life where there “were none to praise” and
“very few to love” her. The first line suggests that Lucy lived by herself, unknown,
wild, free and at one with nature, physically and mentally.
Although Wordsworth does specify an actual location in line 2 (‘Dove cottage in the
English lake district was the home for him and his sister for some years ) this also was
a retreat removed from reality and so a kind of physical location doesn’t draw away
from the ‘ideal’ quality of the subject. In the third line you may notice that ‘Maid’ has a
capital letter. In that time and even today maids are not highly valued. In this way we
can see that Lucy is only precious to him and nobody else can see this. It also serves to
represent an idea as opposed to an actual person. ‘none to praise and very few to love’Wordsworth gives no real picture of the poem’s subject except obscurity. In this way it
can be thought that Lucy is not actually a real person. As a whole this stanza can said to
represent growth.
The Second Stanza
A violet by a mossy stone
hidden from the eye!
– Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
Half
‘A violet’ is a low growing flower and so is not seen from a first glance. You have to
look closer before it comes into your vision properly. This adds to the idea that the
subject (Lucy) is not easily noticed and only he can see her. Also you may notice
that the colour of the flower is a violet/purple colour. Purple was first associated
with royalty because of its rarity and expense. A violet is also considered to be
delicate and humble. Moreover it says that it is ‘by a mossy stone’. Again this adds
to this idea in that we tend to see the ‘mossy stone’ rather than the ‘violet’. ‘Half
hidden from the eye!’-This holds the idea as well. “A violet by a mossy stone” can
also represent clarity. The reference to nature compares her beauty as well.
Furthermore there is the theme of death; nature has incorporated her. This statement
contradicts with the second part or the stanza. ‘Fair as a star, when only one Is
shining in the sky.’ This implies that, to Wordsworth, she is the only one he can see.
A star symbolizes purity and fairness. As a whole this stanza can be said to
represent the perfection of Lucy.
The Third Stanza
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!
The first line recalls the introduction (‘unknown, and few could know’). Furthermore it
depicts the obscurity of her existence.
‘When Lucy ceased to be’- Lucy has died. But the fact that ‘ceased to be’ has been used
instead of ‘died’ is important. Here Wordsworth uses a sort of poetic language but
also implying the end of an ideal existence more than an actual life. ‘But she is in
her grave’- It is now returned back to the factual view implying that Lucy is a real
alive person. ‘The difference to me!’- This exclamation is very spontaneous i.e. out
of the blue. This could suggest that Lucy lives vividly but exclusively in the poets
reality. As a whole this stanza can be said to represent the death of Lucy.
Themes
Nature : Nature plays a huge role in the poem. When describing Lucy Wordsworth
refers to a ‘violet’ to represent her beauty and a ‘star’ to represent how she shines.
Appreciation : Appreciation is a theme because the poem talks about how she ISN’T
APPRECIATED by anyone other than Wordsworth who DOES APPRECIATE her.
Emphasizes how strong his emotions for her are.
Structure
The poem is short and uses mostly mono-syllabic words. This is important because
it represents Wordsworth’s emotional state at the time; He cannot express his
feelings for Lucy with words, his emotions are too great.
In all the stanzas, though especially the second, phrases are directly followed by
contradictions.
Wordsworth moves from a factual presentation of Lucy to a perception of Lucy.
This helps us, the reader, appreciate the mysteriousness of Lucy: that we might
know her, but at the same time she remains remote to us.
The poem contains a rhyme scheme a-b-a-b. This is an easy rhyme scheme to keep
track to, and the reader finds it easier to read. In addition the poem seems to stick in
our heads much easier, which could suggest that Wordsworth wanted the poem’s
readers to think deeper into the meaning.
Questions ?
The End