Commentary on Preface to Lyrical Ballads

                Wordsworth’s Preface begins by stating that he wrote these poems as an experiment of applying meter to the language of excited people.  He then states that he asked for the assistance of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and that this preface is to explain why he has performed this experiment.  He then goes on to explain that he wrote about mainly rural people, as they are closer to nature and thus experience “purer” emotion.  Another of Wordsworth’s stated goals is to help sharpen the modern human mind that has been blunted and warped by modern calamities and progress.  He then warns the reader of another radical departure he has made from poetry; that is, Wordsworth has attempted to abandon all abstract ideas and poetic diction in an attempt to make the poems more down to earth.  In the next paragraph he rebukes the critics who criticize poets with prose interspersed within their poems.  He explains that former great poets used the technique and that prose and poetry can easily be melded into a combination.  Switching topics, Wordsworth then explores what it is to be a poet and notes that a poet, while intelligent, is limited to only imitating the passions unless using normal language.  The poet’s duty is to display the beauty of the universe according to Wordsworth; normal people do this through their attained knowledge.  This means that the poet’s job is to convey humanity’s collective knowledge, giving the poet and scientist a common ground.  Wordsworth ends his Preface by summarizing his points.

Commentary on Biographia Literaria

Within our reading of the Biographia Literaria, written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is his dissection and criticism of William Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads.  Coleridge begins by restating Wordsworth’s intentions and lauding him for his attempt and execution of it.  Coleridge then states that if he has interpreted Wordsworth’s words correctly and that he says that poetry is derived from the common language and common language is the proper diction for poetry, then he must disagree.  Coleridge states that he believes it only applicable in certain types of poetry and that even within those types is isn’t practical or even applicable.  Coleridge then explains his reasoning by saying that a common man’s language is very limited according to the common man’s small vocabulary and generalizations he must use to describe emotions, situations, etc. He then goes on to say that a “common language” itself is very limited according to regional dialects as no country has one single common language, but instead regional variations on the same language.  Coleridge ends his criticism by stating that when in the throes of a passionate feeling a common man is limited by the former experiences he has with such a feeling and that to attempt to use the language of common men will only result in useless repetition to get the point across.