Wordsworth's Preface To Lyrical Ballads

This post is in reference to the questions asked here:
 http://dilipbarad.blogspot.in/2014/09/short-learning-video-on-wordsworths.html

          Lyrical Ballads, with a few other poems is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. The immediate effect on critics was modest, but it became and remains a landmark, changing the course of English Literature and poetry.

          The preface to the Lyrical Ballads is an essay, composed by William Wordsworth, for the second edition published in January 1801, and often referred to as the "1800 Edition". The second edition of the poetry collection Lyrical Ballads, and then greatly expended in the third edition of 1802. Wordsworth added an appendix titled Poetic Diction in which he expanded the ideas set forth in the preface.

Q1.   Why does Wordsworth say 'What is Poet?' Rather than who is poet?
Ans.  In the Preface of Wordsworth he says a poet is a man speaking to sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who has a great knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, who rejoices, more than other men in the spirit of life, habitually impelled to creative volition's, passion and situations where he does not find them.

          Poet defers from normal people in degree for example he is endowed with more lively sensibility. A poet is a person who creat's something in his imagination even if it does not exist.


Q2.   What is poetic diction? Which sort of poetic diction is suggested by Wordsworth in his preface?
Ans.  In simple words poetic diction is choice of words which gives a unique style for each individual poet or author. Wordsworth published his Lyrical Ballads for the first time in 1798. In Biographia Literaria there is Coleridge's disagreement with Wordsworth poetic diction. Wordsworth is against the poetic diction and says that poet should use language or words which are really used by common people.


Q3.   What is Poetry?
Ans.  According to Wordsworth "Poetry is spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling recollect in tranquility." Spontaneous is subjective but classical believe in objective. It is different of their approach to life.


Q4.   Discuss 'Daffodils- I wondered lonely as a cloud' with reference to Wordsworth poetic creed.
Ans.  Daffodils is a poem with four stanzas; first three are in past tense. In the last stanza poet says that he is laying on his couch and rejoicing the feelings or emotions he had when he went for a walk at lakeside and saw thousands of Daffodils and through that he is a lonely and is wondering like a lonely cloud here and there. He compares himself  with the lonely cloud. Daffodils is an example of spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling which he feels and writes the poem.


Q5.   What is the basic difference between the poetic creed of 'Classicism' and 'Romanticism'?
Ans.  In England Neo-Classicism began at the latter half of the 18 century and Romanticism began at the end of the 18 century. Some of the famous neo-classiest are John Dryden, Alexander Pope etc were as Wordsworth, Keats, Shelly etc are romantic writers.

Neo-Classicism	Romanticism
·         Intellect is the guiding force.	·         Imagination is the guiding force.
·         They thought restrained was the ruling world.	·         They believed in liberty and freedom.
·         They relied on classical masters.	·         They inspired themselves from medieval poets and writers.
·         There topics are about city or urban life.	·         There topics are about rustic life or countryside.
·         There poetry is objective.	·         There poetry is subjective.