“She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways” By William Wordsworth

The Poem She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye! – Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; But she is in her grave, and, oh, The difference to me!

Some Background Information William Wordsworth was an English Romantic poet. The poem was written in 1798. He fell in love with a French woman, Annette Vallon, in 1792. The poem is one of five in the ‘Lucy’ series. The poems in this series are all focused on a lady, ‘Lucy’, who Wordsworth expresses his emotional feelings through He was one of five children. Three of the children were poets themselves, influenced by the strong academic value in the family. He was influenced by his experience with the landscape and was further turned toward nature by the harsh treatment he received at the hands of his relatives. In particular, Wordsworth could not get along with his grandparents and his uncle, and his hostile interactions with them distressed him to the point of contemplating suicide.

Lucy Wordsworth wrote his series of "Lucy" poems during a stay with his sister. The real life identity of Lucy has never been known. Wordsworth himself never addressed the matter of her existence, and was silent about commenting on the series. Lucy's identity has been the subject of much speculation and some have guessed that the poems are an attempt by Wordsworth to say his affection for Dorothy; this line of thought interpretates that the poems exaggerate Wordsworth's feelings of pain for her expected death. Wordsworth's Lucy possesses a double existence, her actual, historical existence and her idealised existence in the poet's mind. In the poem, Lucy is both actual and idealised, but her actuality is relevant. Lucy is thought by others to represent his childhood friend Peggy Hutchinson, with whom he was in love before her early death in 1796—Wordsworth later married Peggy's sister, Mary.

Title ‘She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways’ Creates a sense of mystery. ‘She’ - This female is ‘Lucy’. ‘Dwelt’ – To live in a constant, unchanged condition. One can dwell in a physical or mental state. It can also mean ‘To ponder in thought’ or ‘To live permanently’ ‘Untrodden’ - This suggests a pathless way i.e. no set reason, no set goal. ‘Among’ – This suggests that Lucy dwells WITH the ‘untrodden ways’. It would be a different story if Lucy dwelt THROUGH. WITH portrays that she is permanently in this state. The title implies that Lucy lived by herself, unknown, wild, free and at one with nature, physically and mentally . Also ‘Untrodden’ refers to a common theme in the poem about ‘Lucy’ not being noticed. Eg Line 7 “Half hidden’ and Line 9 “She lived unknown.”

The First Stanza She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: First line is the same as the title. ‘springs’- this is a noun which means literally an issue of water from the earth. However if it were to be a verb, ‘to spring’ can mean to come into being by growth. This is just a thought. The springs could also represent purity. ‘Dove’ is part of the English Lake District. ‘there were none to praise and very few to love’- this suggests that no one seemed to notice Lucy. However the bare fact that Wordsworth is writing this portrays that he is someone to notice her (He discusses her qualities in stanza two).

The First Stanza She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: In the first stanza, the woman (Lucy) is described; how she lives among nature and “untrodden ways.” And the loneliness of her life where there “were none to praise” and “very few to love” her. The first line suggests that Lucy lived by herself, unknown, wild, free and at one with nature, physically and mentally. Although Wordsworth does specify an actual location in line 2 (‘Dove cottage in the English lake district was the home for him and his sister for some years ) this also was a retreat removed from reality and so a kind of physical location doesn’t draw away from the ‘ideal’ quality of the subject. In the third line you may notice that ‘Maid’ has a capital letter. In that time and even today maids are not highly valued. In this way we can see that Lucy is only precious to him and nobody else can see this. It also serves to represent an idea as opposed to an actual person. ‘none to praise and very few to love’- Wordsworth gives no real picture of the poem’s subject except obscurity. In this way it can be thought that Lucy is not actually a real person. As a whole this stanza can said to represent growth.

The Second Stanza A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye! – Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. ‘A violet’ is a low growing flower and so is not seen from a first glance. You have to look closer before it comes into your vision properly. This adds to the idea that the subject (Lucy) is not easily noticed and only he can see her. Also you may notice that the colour of the flower is a violet/purple colour. Purple was first associated with royalty because of its rarity and expense. A violet is also considered to be delicate and humble. Moreover it says that it is ‘by a mossy stone’. Again this adds to this idea in that we tend to see the ‘mossy stone’ rather than the ‘violet’. ‘Half hidden from the eye!’-This holds the idea as well. “A violet by a mossy stone” can also represent clarity. The reference to nature compares her beauty as well. Furthermore there is the theme of death; nature has incorporated her. This statement contradicts with the second part or the stanza. ‘Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky.’ This implies that, to Wordsworth, she is the only one he can see. A star symbolizes purity and fairness. As a whole this stanza can be said to represent the perfection of Lucy.

The Third Stanza She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; But she is in her grave, and, oh, The difference to me! The first line recalls the introduction (‘unknown, and few could know’). Furthermore it depicts the obscurity of her existence. ‘When Lucy ceased to be’- Lucy has died. But the fact that ‘ceased to be’ has been used instead of ‘died’ is important. Here Wordsworth uses a sort of poetic language but also implying the end of an ideal existence more than an actual life. ‘But she is in her grave’- It is now returned back to the factual view implying that Lucy is a real alive person. ‘The difference to me!’- This exclamation is very spontaneous i.e. out of the blue. This could suggest that Lucy lives vividly but exclusively in the poets reality. As a whole this stanza can be said to represent the death of Lucy.

Themes Nature : Nature plays a huge role in the poem. When describing Lucy Wordsworth refers to a ‘violet’ to represent her beauty and a ‘star’ to represent how she shines. Appreciation : Appreciation is a theme because the poem talks about how she ISN’T APPRECIATED by anyone other than Wordsworth who DOES APPRECIATE her. Emphasizes how strong his emotions for her are.

Structure The poem is short and uses mostly mono-syllabic words. This is important because it represents Wordsworth’s emotional state at the time; He cannot express his feelings for Lucy with words, his emotions are too great. In all the stanzas, though especially the second, phrases are directly followed by contradictions. Wordsworth moves from a factual presentation of Lucy to a perception of Lucy. This helps us, the reader, appreciate the mysteriousness of Lucy: that we might know her, but at the same time she remains remote to us. The poem contains a rhyme scheme a-b-a-b. This is an easy rhyme scheme to keep track to, and the reader finds it easier to read. In addition the poem seems to stick in our heads much easier, which could suggest that Wordsworth wanted the poem’s readers to think deeper into the meaning.

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