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Late-Neoclassical Writers
Wordsworth considered the thoughts, feelings, and language of the peasantry to be ideal for poetry. In the Lyrical Ballads, he depicts “low and rustic life” because he believes the thoughts of the peasantry are less restrained, more communicative, more easily comprehended, and more durable “because in that situation the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature.” In other words, the thoughts of these working-class peasants are more sincere and pure because they are in daily contact with nature. Furthermore, their language, consisting of “simple and unelaborated expressions,” is also ideal for poetry as “a language arising out of repeated experience and regular feelings is a more permanent and a far more philosophical language” than the artificial language of the late-Neoclassical poets. Wordsworth uses working-class language because it is more in tune with reality and “the sympathies of men.”
The Peasantry Quotes in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
The Preface to the Lyrical Ballads quotes below are all either spoken by The Peasantry or refer to The Peasantry. 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
The principal object then which I proposed to myself in these Poems was to make the incidents of common life interesting by tracing in them, truly though not ostentatiously, the primary laws of our nature: chiefly as far as regards the manner in which we associate ideas in a state of excitement.
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Wordsworth states that his foremost goal is to portray common life in an interesting way. The fact that his goal is considered to be revolutionary at the beginning of the 19th century implies that at the time, poets mostly portrayed the dramatic and spectacular—the sensational. This trend of sensationalism most likely arose from the conception that, for whatever reason, common life is unworthy of portrayal. Contrary to the other poets, Wordsworth believes that common life can be an immensely interesting subject for poetry. Wordsworth believes in tracing the incidents of common life “truly though not ostentatiously”: he aims to be 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. Ve
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
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The Peasantry Character Timeline in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
The timeline below shows where the character The Peasantry 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
...in that condition are simpler, more understandable, and more durable. Furthermore, the language of the peasantry is pure, as common people are in constant communication with nature and far away from...
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The language of the peasantry carries a certain permanence, unlike the lofty language of the late-Neoclassical writers. The late-Neoclassical poets...
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