Defining poetry Wordsworth
says in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads (1798): "Poetry
is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feel ings; it takes its origin from
emotion recollected in tranquillity: the emotion is contemplated till, by a
species of reaction, the tranquillity gradually disappears, and an emotion,
kindred to that which was before the subject of contemplation, is gradually
produced, and does itself actually exist in the mind. In this mood successful
composition generally begins, and in a mood similar to this it is carried
on.' Thus to Wordsworth poetry, is a matter of feeling, mood and
temperament. When the mood is on him it flows naturally, and without labour.
There are at least
four stages through which an experience has to pass before successful composition
becomes possible. First of all, there is the observation or perception of some
object, character or incident which sets up powerful emotions in the mind of
the poet. Secondly, there is recollection or contemplation of that emotion in
tranquillity. An interval of time, it may be quite long, say ten years, must
lapse, during which the first experience sinks deep into the poet's
consciousness and becomes a part and parcel of his being. For the filtering or
selective,process, time and solitude are essential. Thirdly, the integration of
memory by the poet sets us, or revives, the emotion in "the mind
itself." It is very much like the first emotion, but is purged of all
superfluities and constitutes a 'state of enjoyment'. The fourth is that of
composition.
