-Who had been reproached for taking long walks in the country.
William Wordsworth
DEAR Child of Nature, let them rail!
--There is a nest in a green dale,
A harbour and a hold;
Where thou, a Wife and Friend, shalt see
Thy own heart-stirring days, and be
A light to young and old.
There, healthy as a shepherd boy,
And treading among flowers of joy
Which at no season fade,
Thou, while thy babes around thee cling,
Shalt show us how divine a thing
A Woman may be made.
Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die,
Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh,
A melancholy slave;
But an old age serene and bright,
And lovely as a Lapland night,
Shall lead thee to thy grave.
Written by William Wordsworth(7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) who is perhaps one of the most iconic poets of English Romantic movement, he was indeed Britain's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850. "To a Young Lady . . ." was published in fourth and final edition of Lyrical Ballads from 1805. The poem was composed at the same time and on the same view, as "I met Louisa in the Shade," additionally, they were drafted to make one piece. "To a Young Lady . . ." is not a particularly long or complex composition, but for reasons of analytical interest I only focused on the first two octaves in my interpretation, I wished to determine the thematic magnitude of the conclusive octave in the poem's overall tone and motif. I didn't read the conclusive octave until my essay was complete and honestly Wordsworth's final stanza startled me. It truly conveyed the depth and intimacy of the love the speaker of the composition has for this woman, in the respect and tenderness with which he speaks of her future. But it was the extension of the title that truly made me reconsider my initial thoughts. Yet, I stand by my past understandings, and infatuated as the speaker of Wordsworth's poem may be his promise is still is darkened by the chauvinistic biases of the time. |
Elegant and eloquent, William Wordsworth sings praise to that ever brilliant enigma that is woman. This is no love poem, this is an ode: a celebration of the unique process that is a young lady evolving into a woman, and the glory that is all women young and old. Wordsworth’s poem takes of the form of a Pindaric ode(which was originally written as a public poem and set to music, it was often played at athletic events in the time surrounding its creation), but penned in the idiosyncratic rhyme scheme of a French sestet. Using organization and grace Wordsworth commends the eternal and catalyzing force that is feminine nature, playing on established styles and the beauty that can be the english language. |
Wordsworth’s piece is a infusion of traditional elements and contemporary ones, unusual in a couple of aspects including meter and rhyme scheme. “To a Young Lady . . .” is written in trochaic feet as opposed to iambic meaning that every second syllable is unstressed. The rhyme scheme however is perhaps the most intriguing element of the poem; AABCCB is a fairly rare rhyme scheme which is only known to be used in the sestet, which is the second division of the Italian sonnet. The use of particular rhyme scheme however was mainly attributed to the French sonneteers of the 16th century, exemplified by Ronsard, who cherished its softer sound. This rhyme scheme was made effective by its incorporation of syllabic balance in addition to the defined correspondence of the sounds at the end of lines. The A lines both have eight syllables respectively as do the C lines, whereas the B lines have only six. The B lines function as both the coupling and conclusion of an octave(or eight line stanza), they add subtle interest and the change in cadence they facilitate is pleasantly audible. The french sestet rhyming structure Wordsworth uses provides poise and soft inflection. The second octave has an identical format and similarly impeccable fluency.
“To a Young Lady . . .” Begins with a trochaic(a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable) seven syllable line, ending and beginning with a stressed syllable. “Dear Child of Nature, let them rail!” Here he begins his address, and expresses his disregard of all castigations for the one in question, he follows this with the assertion that there will always be a haven for this woman, and that this “nest in a green dale,” will be a home, and provide protection from whatever storms may come to pass: “A harbour and a hold;”. Wordsworth uses this apostrophe to direct his speech to his audience: which is this text is the woman in question. Presumably, this character is a younger lady who has yet to find her permanent abode where she might become both a wife and a friend in turn: “where thou, a Wife and Friend . . .”. Yet this domestic existence will not be entirely dull, here, Wordsworth promises she will experience: “[her] own heart stirring days, experiencing such miracles as birth, first words, first steps, the development of her own children, family holidays and the like. All the while Wordsworth assures her that she shall be a pleasure for all to be around, a protector, teacher, mother and joy: “A light to young and old.” bringing blithesome living to not just Wordsworth but all those she may encounter friend, family or future child. Wordsworth continues in this persuasive monologue with the assurance of health akin to that of a young working boy; “There, healthy as a shepherd boy,” fueled by the freedom of the countryside, fresh air and homemade food, she will be “ . . . treading among the flowers of joy” practically wallowing in happiness and contentment, followed by the pledge, “Which at no season fade,” it is this hyperbole more than any that makes clear to the reader the desperation of the speaker, and in his haste he uses hyperboles shamelessly. He is a mere man, he could not hope to grant her eternal, ceaseless, happiness: life is not fair it will forever be a equal balance of serenities and traumas. This is an inescapable truth. It is unclear whether Wordsworth is attempting to fool just the girl, or himself as well, but following this statement with no true verisimilitude left to his name, save the certainty of his love for this girl, Wordsworth persists in the ambiguity he has begun. “Thou, while thy babes around thee cling,” unless Wordsworth has suddenly become augural he cannot know the fate of this woman or her children, or more particularly the effect of the woman he knows and loves on any barring himself. How could he possibly know that this life he prognosticates, full of domiciliary delights, will “ . . . show us how divine a thing a woman can be made.”? In the final three lines of his poem, William reveals the biases of the still highly chauvinist period in which he was writing. Wordsworth will hopefully forgive our lack of nostalgia for a period when the majority of women we thought to have reached the pinnacle of their potential as a docile housewife. In this period rebellious works written by women were only just beginning to emerge, these works included “Reflections on the Present Condition of the Female Sex, with Suggestions for its Improvement”(1798), “An Appeal to the Men of Great Britain on Behalf of the Women”(1797) and “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”(1791) and they appeared along sides works such as the misogynistic text: “An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex”. Though many women no doubt enjoyed their lives(probably including Wordsworth own wife, Mary Hutchinson, with whom he had 5 children) as they were, the freedom and equal rights were plainly absent, and the propagation of the thought that a woman reaches her highest incarnation tucked away and laden with children, a healthy and obedient housewife was rather sexist even if this was not the intention. Wordsworth(1770-1812) was born in the year when Victorian England had just passed the law against women entrapping husbands by 'scents, paints, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, high-heeled shoes or bolstered hips'( alternatively stated makeup and false hair were viewed as unacceptable and whorish), and though he makes it clear he loves this woman, his love is tainted by the underlying chauvinist ambience. Wordsworth doesn’t make it clear who the woman he addresses poem to is: she could be his sister or one of his daughters, yet it seems most likely is regard to the composition's presentation that she is his future wife, who had been his childhood friend. Though Wordsworth is polite and charming “To a Young Lady . . .” is doomed by the patriarchal opinions of the time and serves as bitter reminder of a time a women’s potential was squashed by society.
Whatever its flaws, “To a Young Lady . . .”, was written for love of a woman and retains the strength and intimacy of emotional with which it was written. William Wordsworth’s passion may have been clouded by the misogynist biases of the period, but he is still a romantic poet and it is evident in his composition. Wordsworth's poem may have lost a component of sensuality and sentiment, nevertheless its intriguing arrangement and archaically traditional structures have been preserved and though it will never be a contemporary love poem nor a timeless classic, it is endearing historic and dulcet. A beautiful revival of the basic structure of the Pindaric ode in combination with rhyme format of the French sestet, that for all its amorous tone is condemned to feel shallow in its chauvinist delivery. “To a Young Lady . . .” ameliorates its obsolete articulations concerning women with a compelling rhyme scheme and ravishingly traditional verse.