Preface to lyrical ballads(1798) : wordsworth vs. coleridge

Hello readers,

as we all are stuck somewhere about "what is poem" according to Coleridge and Wordsworth  as they represents classicism and romanticism side by side "how their views are contrasting and combining with each other" and in what manner they are representing themselves as an individual of a particular concept of writing poem

 -Task Assigned by sir (Dilip Barad)

Concerning "biographia literaria of coleridge(1815-17)" we come to know that he is against wordsworth's views on writing poems. He considers "wordsworth's poem style to be silly, childish, which has meanness of language, inanity of thoughts etc.

while seeing wordsworth, to which coleridge is telling "inanity of thoughts". wordsworth says it "spontaneous overflow of powerful passion". furthermore he says that "his poetic diction is based on villagians". The language which is spoken by a common men living in his vicinity or village. So obviously the characters, events and images would be from his surroundings not from outside world, moving ahead he says when he is about to write poetry or poem "emotions or feelings get recollected in tranquility" but thoughts arises in mind, when poet is in joyful mood or somewhat in excitement.

On the other side, when evaluating coleridge's writing style of poem we come to know that "though meter or rhyme isn't in his poetry/poem, but if it is superadded it must be harmonised with meter, rhyme, theme and diction", while its ultimate object should be to provide pleasure than fact or truth related to science and history. furthermore he also states that "poem is an expression" not verbal expression associated with poetry.

Relating poem as an expression, perhaps coleridge is here indicating brutal sounds, that was prevailing in ancient times, when the language wasn't developed and  it was in idle state, while people were also unaware of that gift, which makes humanbeing exceptional from animals.

For example:

The origin of language(F.T. Wood)

"Ding dong theory".

"Bow wow theory".

"pooh-pooh theory".

"Gesture theory".

let's analyze some lines of "Daffodil poem" by Wordsworth to see if the views introduced by wordsworth is befitted or not...

"I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills.

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils".

Wordsworth has described himself "as seeing cloud, floating over vales and hills and also as seeing a host of golden daffodils'. 

where he has abundantly used metaphors from nature written in very simplistic diction, so the common men can also decode the language easily and make it understandable atleast to themselves. 

In last stanza, we see how he has "recollected his emotions in tranquility"...

"For oft, when on my couch I lie;

  In vacant or in pensive mood,

  They flash upon that inward eye,

  Which is the bliss of solitude".

 while in first three stanzas, it is "spontaneous overflow of powerful passion".

"The waves beside them danced, but        they

  Out did the sparkling waves in glee".

Seems as the poet is "just wandering and describing what he feels" but in very simplistic manner. which a common man can also do with the help of general observing power. But as we know that his prime aim was to write for the village people or its nearby vicinity, so his writing style was such.

Moving forward, we will also see some hindi poems, which represents the characteristics of writing style of poem of coleridge...

"Aankhon se door dil ke Kareeb tha;

 Main uska aur woh mera naseeb tha,

 Na kabhie mila na kabhie juda huva,

 Rishtaa hum dono ka kitna ajeeb tha".

We can easily decode the meaning of this poem. That it is 'a hindi love poem'. Where a lover/beloved is addressing his/her love that though they were far from each other, unable to meet or separate, but considering one another as each other's fate and in that manner their relation with one another was peculiar.

which gives pleasure harmonising with all its elements, written in very simplistic language, lines rhyming at the end "kareeb tha"

               "naseeb tha". 

Furthermore the below mentioned hindi poem "tum  ladki ho" describes an advisor, who is telling a girl to take precautions before moving further in her life.

"Tum ladki ho 

  ye achchi tarah yaad rakhna

  Tum jab ghar ki chaukhat langhogi

  log tumhe tedhi-medhi nazron se            dekhenge

  Tum jab gali se hokar guzrogi

  Log tumhara picha karenge

  siti bajaaenge".

Here we can see, someone is threatening or making her aware of her limitations towards life. How by being a girl, a girl has to made many precautions before going ahead in her life.

When guided on how to live.. A girl must be thinking that "only she is there to follow each and every instructions, why she doesn't have a free will of living, always have to live in fear and in insecurity and when one is there to secure her, it would be always in upper hand manner. But what to do, from where she would accumulate such strength to revolt against, from what she is suffering and as she is alone in her journey she succumbs to that specific situation.

In this poem the meaning is explicitly mirrored and understandable to the reader and avoided using various images or metaphors, by putting various ideas about a girl or a woman.

Hence we are to see how "wordsworth and Coleridge" have given their different views on the style of writing poems and how it is applicable in various simplistic poems.



Thankyou👏😍🤝👍

References:

https://dilipbarad.blogspot.com/2015/10/coleridge-biographia-literaria.html

https://dilipbarad.blogspot.com/2014/09/short-learning-video-on-wordsworths.html

Wikipedia:for poems









                    

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