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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
According to Wordsworth, these writers diverted public interest from the “invaluable works” of writers like Shakespeare and Milton to their own “frantic novels, sickly and stupid German tragedies, and deluges of idle and extravagant stories in verse.” The late-Neoclassical writers relied on sensationalism, artifice, and stylistic excess to hold readers’ interest. Wordsworth believes that the works of these writers have dulled the minds of many readers.
Late-Neoclassical Writers Quotes in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
The Preface to the Lyrical Ballads quotes below are all either spoken by Late-Neoclassical Writers or refer to Late-Neoclassical Writers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Preface to the Lyrical Ballads Quotes
[…] it is proper that I should mention one other circumstance which distinguishes these Poems from the popular Poetry of the day; it is this, that the feeling therein developed gives importance to the action and situation and not the action and situation to the feeling.
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Wordsworth’s poetry differs from “the popular Poetry of the day” in many ways: his poetry focuses on common life while popular poetry focuses on sensational dramas; his poetry uses common language while popular poetry uses lofty language and “poetic diction.” In this passage, Wordsworth gives another, less immediately noticeable way his poetry is different from popular poetry: “the feeling therein developed gives importance to the action and situation and not the action and situation to the feeling.” In other words, emotions, rather than plot, are the most critical aspect to Wordsworth’s poetry. Many popular poets rely on a dazzling plot Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimu
For a multitude of causes unknown to former times are now acting with a combined force to blunt the discriminating powers of the mind, and unfitting it for all voluntary exertion to reduce it to a state of almost savage torpor.
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Wordsworth believes that many aspects to modernity are dulling the minds of humankind. Of course, there are the sensational works written by late-Neoclassical authors—superficial and lacking in purpose, they are rendering readers and theatergoers less sensitive to the profound beauty of nature. Wordsworth also references a “multitude of causes unknown to former times,” referring to the urbanization and industrialization of society that was unfolding while Wordsworth was writing. During the latter half of the 18th century, increase in trade and business catalyzed the Industrial Revolution in Britain. With this technological progress, people began to crave instant gratification. Wordsworth believes that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis
Except in a very few instances the Reader will find no personifications of abstract ideas in these volumes, not that I mean to censure such personifications: they may be well fitted for certain sorts of composition, but in these Poems I propose to myself to imitate, and, as far as possible, to adopt the very language of men, and I do not find that such personifications make any regular or natural part of that language. I wish to keep my Reader in the company of flesh and blood, persuaded that by so doing I shall interest him.
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Poets during Wordsworth’s time, especially the late-Neoclassical poets, often personified abstract ideas or used elaborate similes and metaphors. This was viewed as the “poetic” and proper way to write. In this passage, Wordsworth declares that he refrains from these poetic gestures not because he “[means] to censure such personifications,” as “they may be well fitted for certain sorts of composition,” but because he feels that common people neither speak nor write this way. In other words, personifications of abstract ideas are neither “regular” nor “natural” in the real world. Wordsworth wants to keep his “Reader in the company of flesh Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus
Poetry sheds no tears "such as Angels weep," but natural and human tears; she can boast of no celestial Ichor that distinguishes her vital juices from those of prose; the same human blood circulates through the veins of them both.
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In this passage, Wordsworth emphasizes that poetry and prose aren’t as different as they may seem at first glance. During Wordsworth’s time, poets often believed that poetry should be written in a sort of sublime poetic language, different from the worldly, down-to-earth language of prose. Being the revolutionary that he is, Wordsworth dedicates a section in the “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads” to explaining why he believes poetry and prose should be written in essentially the same language. To prove his point, he quotes a sonnet by John Gray where the verses in “prosaic” language are much more effective than Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possi
I have one request to make of my Reader, which is, that in judging these Poems he would decide by his own feelings genuinely, and not by reflection upon what will probably be the judgment of others.
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Here, Wordsworth closes out his preface by asking his readers to form their own opinions about the ballads to come. Given the revolutionary nature of his poetry as well as the criticisms he makes in the “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads,” Wordsworth is keenly aware that the popular poets of his time will most likely react negatively to his work. This rather unsettles Wordsworth, as the herd mentality of modern, urban populations may cause groups of people to unnecessarily “dislike” his poems. In attempt to prevent this from happening, Wordsworth encourages the reader to “decide by his own feelings genuinely, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debi
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Late-Neoclassical Writers Character Timeline in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
The timeline below shows where the character Late-Neoclassical Writers appears in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
The language of the peasantry carries a certain permanence, unlike the lofty language of the late-Neoclassical writers . The late-Neoclassical poets believe that the lofty poetry they write bring them as well...
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...and stupid German tragedies, and deluges of idle and extravagant stories in verse” of the late-Neoclassical writers rather than the invaluable works of writers like Shakespeare and Milton. Wordsworth is disgusted with...
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