She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways.doc

Relevant Background William Wordsworth grew up in Englands Lake District and spent much of his life there. His parents died while he was young. This caused him to turn to nature early. His poetry reveals his deeply spiritual and emotional response to nature. This poem is one of a group of five poems called The Lucy Poems. The identity of Lucy is a mystery. Lucy may be an imaginary, beautiful woman who lived alone in the countryside and died. Lucy may have been Dorothy, the poets beloved sister and companion. In that case, this poem imagines the beautiful and solitary life of Dorothy who lived close to nature. It dramatises the poets grief at her future death. In this poem, Wordsworth both praises Lucys beauty and mourns her death. Summary In the first stanza, Wordsworth describes the isolated, untouched and beautiful place where Lucy lived. He shows that her beauty mainly went un-noticed.In the second stanza, he compares her shy beauty to a hidden flower. This shows her innocence. He compares her innocence, aloneness and purity to a single star. This is probably Venus, which appears alone after sunset.In the third stanza, Wordsworth shows that Lucy was unknown and died young. Her death is a cause of deep personal grief to Wordsworth. She Dwelt Among the Untrodden WaysWilliam Wordsworth 1770-1850This is one of the Lucy poems, written in 1799. The Lucy Poems describe with rare elusive beauty of a young country girl living a simple life in a remote village far from the uncivilized world. They are verses of love & loss which hold within their delicate simplicity a meditation on time & death which rises to universal stature. The poem is the best known of Wordsworths series of five works which comprise his Lucy series, and was a favorite amongst early readers. It was composed both as a meditation on his own feelings of loneliness and loss, and as an ode to the beauty and dignity of an idealized woman who lived unnoticed by all others except by the poet himself. Themes LonelinessLucy lived alone in a place that was untrodden, or not stepped in. She had no support from companions or family: none to praise and very few to love. She was half-hidden and unique, only one like the star. She lived alone and died without many knowing. Beauty in natureWordsworth portrays natures beauty in his imagery:The untrodden waysBeside the springs of DoveLucy lives in a place whose natural beauty seems sacred, untrodden. The Ethereal Beauty of a WomanWordsworth portrays a unique and unknown beautiful woman. She was as fair as a star, probably Venus that appears after sunset. She was as beautiful as a flower, violet, beside a green stone, a mossy stone. She deserved great praise for her beauty, but she lived alone: A maid whom there were none to praise. Unrequited LoveThe word fair and the flower comparison reveal love. The final line expresses the poets feeling of loss at the death of such a beautiful woman. Death; Dying young (He who gods love dies young )This poem mourns the death of Lucy, who has ceased to be. The poet pictures her in her grave. He is sad and bereaved: oh, the difference to me. Form: Three-stanza lyric, of four lines each with every second line rhyming. The simple, repeated rhyming pattern gives the poem a nursery rhyme quality. Metaphors: Wordsworth compared Lucy to a violet and to a star. Diction: The words are simple, familiar words of mainly one syllable. The simple language reflects the simple life of Lucy in the country. He uses one awkward phrase for unspoilt nature: the untrodden ways. Tone: There is a mysterious tone throughout. The words she and Maid provide a sense of mystery. The location untrodden ways indicates an unknown and untouched place, which is mysterious. The description in the second stanza has a strong tone of admiration. The tone of the final stanza is mournful. Wordsworth expresses his feelings in a gentle tone throughout. Atmosphere: Mysterious and