Wordsworth’s view about the place of feelings and emotions in poetry

William Wordsworth was not only a great poet but also a great critic. He expounded his views on poetry, its nature and function of a true poet in his  “Preface to the Lyrical Ballad”. As regards the nature of poetry he clearly states that “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”. In other words poetry comes from the internal feelings of the poet. It is a matter of feeling mood and temperament. When the mood is on him it flows naturally and without labour. True poetry cannot be written without his proper mood and temperament. In his own words “the clear springs of poetry must flow freely and spontaneously – it cannot be made to flow through artificially laid pipes”.

Secondly, poetry is a matter of feelings. Feeling is generated in the heart and not in the mind. Wordsworth’s own words, explained his ideas in the lines “Poetry is born not in the mind but in the heart, overflowing with feelings.”

            Wordsworth also believes that good poetry is never an immediate expression of such powerful emotions. A good poet must ponder over them long and deeply. In the words of Wordsworth, “poetry has its origin in emotions recollected in tranquility.” According to him there are at least four stages through which a successful piece of poetry can be composed.

            First of all there is the observation on perception of some object, character or incident, which set up powerful emotion in the mind of the poet. 

        Secondly, there is recollection or contemplating on the emotion in tranquility. At this stage, memory plays a very important part. An interval of time may be quite long and may elapse, but during that period, the experience seems deep into the poets’ consciousness and becomes a part and parcel of his being. As during the interval the mind contemplates in tranquility, the impression received by it.

            Thirdly, the interrogation of memory, the poet sets up or revives the emotions in the mind itself. But it does not mean that the creative process in tranquil one. The poet is disturbed by his own thought by selection, omission and arrangement of composition.

             Fourthly, it is the last stage of composition. The poet must convey that over balanced of his pleasure, his own state of enjoyment to others.

            This theory of poetry expounded by Wordsworth has been criticized by many even his friend and great poet – Coleridge. T.S. Eliot is another critic of his theory. However Wordsworth himself followed his theory of poetry, many subsequent poets were influenced by this theory. Of course Coleridge and Eliot confined their criticism not so much to the theory of poetry as to the diction and language of poetry.