First of all my first critique is that this guy does not understand the meaning of run on sentences.
The theme chosen is the common language amongst “men.” In
this portion of the preface to the
Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth speaks on how poets should use the
everyday speech of the common man to express complex ideas; opening the common
man up to new and enlightening ideas .
“But, as
the pleasure which I hope to give by the Poems now presented to the Reader must
depend entirely on just notions upon this subject, and, as it is in itself of
high importance to our taste and moral feelings,”
William Wordsworth
is saying that the subject’s “just notions” (the subject being a common man
reader) is more important than the poets “taste “, which is the poets style and
moral feelings which is referring to something he spoke about earlier in the
preface about meanness
“I cannot, however, be insensible to the present outcry
against the triviality and meanness, both of thought and language, which some
of my contemporaries have occasionally introduced into their metrical
compositions; and I acknowledge that this defect, where it exists, is more
dishonorable to the Writer’s own character than false refinement or arbitrary
innovation, though I should contend at the same time, that it is far less
pernicious in the sum of its consequences.”
The comment about moral feelings could have been taken as
bible or himself being facetious. Depending on whether someone was guilty of
this or not probably influenced how they took those words.
The problem and paradox is that later he proclaims the
enlightenment and responsibility to common man to interpret the complexities of
life; which is good and great and all but where’s all the women; I am of course
assuming they had women back then and that some of them knew how to write and
even write poetry; I am also assuming that a manly man, super man
poet/philosopher could see the beauty and talent of the female poet, speaking on the injustices shared by
women all around the world in common day occurrences.
Overall the essay was good and this part a complex and
understandably controversial subject of how people should speak, especially
when personal and artistic expression. Though Wordsworth has good ideas and is
technically right, he should just practice what he preaches and stop judging
and picking apart his peers, who I am sure worked hard and had lots of talent.
All in all it was a good essay with many valid points and
many contradictions, but that is the beauty of essays like this that bear no
legislative implications, thus it is allowed to be imperfect and irrational,
while still being valid and a necessary expression of opinions.
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