In our introduction to Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, we were introduced as to how the authors viewed poetry. Poetry as described in the book was an experiment by Wordsworth to use the language of commoners. He wanted to do something out of the ordinary by not using big fancy words to move people. This can be seen as a radical idea because when one thinks of 17th century poetry or literature, one thinks of obscure words that nobody uses. By using more common language, Wordsworth is reaching out to a larger audience so that more people will be introduced to his poetry if they have not read it before. By using simpler language, Wordsworth is following the wise old saying that bigger is not always better. He could have used big fancy words in his poetry to make it look more sophisticated, but would it have really made that much of a difference or would it have even made it better. Simple words and sentences can still move a person's feelings and emotions. Simplicity is not always bad and a lot of times it is the best option.
In the poem "Lines Written in Early Spring," one can see that there is some repetition. To emphasize, the line "What man has made of man," and the idea of thoughts and thinking are repeated. From reading the poem, I get a sense that this poem tells the story of a man who by being in nature and enjoying its beauty, is able to do some serious thinking about life. The man is reclining and looks around him and notices the flowers and other other aspects of nature around him in action. He is able to see the beauty of the natural world around him because of the peace and tranquility that he is experiencing. The poem does a good job of describing the flowers around him and it really helps to paint a picture into the reader's head of what is going on.
