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. |
From inside the book
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... things by " objects . " If what the mind craves is material things that last a long time , then earth can supply them . But the very use of " endure " in connection with the cravings of “ the immortal Mind " implies more than this . It ...
... things " earthly " and things " of the sky " ; she pauses for no philosophical reflection , but hastens on , equally joyous and excited , to the pleasure of the next spectacle . The immediate delight in what is before her eyes at any ...
... things tidy , will " manage books , and things , " " control all accidents , " " confine us down , / Like engines , " and , when we go to their school , the first thing they will ask us to learn is the class timetable . People who will ...
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
Ordered and Disordered Time | 29 |
The Nature and Status of the Mind | 51 |
Copyright | |
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