Manifesto to Revelation In his, "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads,"ÃÂ William Wordsworth denotes many ideas that, he believes, construct his contribution to poetry. Among them are the concept of the rejection of a specific and formulated etiquette in writing poetry, and the concept of ordinary things being depicted in an usual way. Along with the others, these concepts help the reader to identify the discoveries not only made by the poet, but also those that are made by him, the reader, as the filter for the poem to flow through. "The Solitary Reaper"ÃÂ is one such poem where the Wordsworthian ideas are truly clear, and through them, revelations are obtained.
Wordsworth repudiated the idea of "decorum,"ÃÂ in that poetry should not be formulated just to be identified as such, but should be written, "in a selection of language really used by men"ÃÂ (241). In "The Solitary Reaper"ÃÂ the poet exhibits this concept by using simple words, so that the image that he is trying to invoke forms in the reader's mind.
Wordsworth on Helvellyn
Photograph of the gravestone of William Wordsworth...
English: Portrait of William Wordsworth by William...Alone she cuts and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain; O listen! for the Vale profound Is overflowing with the sound. (5-8) The language is not at all stilted, so the image forms clearly and is not vague. Most everyone knows what cutting and binding are and can associate with those words mental pictures and sensations. Such a concept delivers to everyone, even those that are "common,"ÃÂ the poem's images, so that the meaning and effect can be deciphered by all who wish to read it. This was an unusual component compared to the poetry before Wordsworth's because before, poetry was concerned with, and written for, the aristocracy. Therefore, the language was saturated with pretension and superfluousness. Also, through this "real"ÃÂ language, the...