Time and Mind in Wordsworth's PoetryWilliam Wordsworth was fascinated by the relationship of the creative mind to the created world, and by the effect of time on both of them. In this important new study, Jeffrey Baker explores the significant ways in which the theme of time is manifested in the imagery and diction of Wordsworth's major poetry. He discusses the poet's preoccupation with "clock" and "natural" time, as well as his escape from time through "deliberate holiday" and in the famous visionary "spots of time." Throughout his analysis, Baker concentrateson the texts which the poet himself approved for publication, asserting that the growing practice of citing poetically inferior versions for biographical or other extra poetic reasons misdirects a reader's attention. Only by reexamining the familiar poems as poems, rather than as philosophical or psychological statements, is it possible to appreciate how Wordsworth's changing concepts of the creator, the poet, and the ambiguities of time function as works of art. The volume includes a selected bibliography and an appendix describing the early Christian shrines alluded to in The Prelude. |
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... represents the " authentic " Wordsworth of the great decade — that is , it represents most truly his thought , philos- ophy , and moral views during that period of his life . This reason will be sufficient for those who believe that the ...
... represents solid geometry , its contours , hardness , and tangibility suggesting the logic and verifiable reasoning of mathematics . The shell is doubly symbolic of poetry : its bright , dazzling exterior represents imagery and fine ...
... representing the burden of the world's great literature and drama — the vulnerability of man and his works and the urge to fight against oblivion . It also represents the Book of Revelation , prophesying the passing away of the old ...
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
Ordered and Disordered Time | 29 |
The Nature and Status of the Mind | 51 |
Copyright | |
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