Bruh, quit being extra

By
One does not have to look closely at the works or Wordsworth and Coleridge to see they both had different opinions on what good poetry looks like.  Wordsworth preferred a more straightforward and simplistic style of writing that he believed was better because, "..Such a language, arising out of repeated experience and regular feelings, is a more permanent, and a far more philosophical language.." (Excerpts from Wordsworth's Preface Lyrical Ballads.  He even expressed his dislike for poetry saying that the fancy wording was all for show and for no other particular reason; he believed that it was utterly unnecessary to the poem.  

"..he will feel that there is no necessity to trick out or to elevate nature: and, the more industriously he applies this principle, the deeper will be his faith that no words, which his fancy or imagination can suggest, will be to be compared with those which are the emanations of reality and truth. "
(Excerpts from Wordsworth's Preface Lyrical Ballads) 

Coleridge, however, has the opposite view on language in poetry.  He used precise language in his poetry and dealt with complex subjects whereas Wordsworth provided everyday things with a fresh look.  Coleridge's The Rhime of the Ancient Mariner is an excellent demonstration of his precise, diction that so completely captured the essence of the poem.  I am a lover of poetic works of all forms and I do enjoy Wordsworth but I'm going to have to side with Coleridge on this one.  The language and wording used by Coleridge that Wordsworth viewed as soo unnecessary paints such a vivid picture in my mind.  Reading his poetry, I can imagine everything he's describing and deciphering the dreamy language is part of the fun.
I'm all for being straightforward and some of my favorite poems are ones that convey deep ideas in few words but there's nothing like a puzzle you get the satisfaction of putting together.

 I find it amazing that these two were friends for such a long time since they both had the same profession but had such differing views on it.  Well you know what they say, drugs destroy dreams kids. (Coleridge had a liquid opium addiction in case you didn't know)

 I commented on Sophia's and Noah's posts.

Comments

  1. Trey NorthcuttOctober 16, 2017 at 5:13 PM

    I had no idea that Coleridge had an opium addiction! That makes so much more sense now. For the topic at hand, I couldn't agree more. Coleridge has a clearer grasp on why poetry works so well - producing big ideas through vivid imagery. Wordsworth's poems are good and all, but his approach just reads as that he doesn't understand it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Natalie SchulerOctober 16, 2017 at 6:49 PM

    "Pains of Sleep" is actually describing his first few nights of withdrawal from his opium. But yeah, Coleridge is the more realistic of the two. Wordsworth fantasizes nature too much. They remind me of Candide and Martin in a sense.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Zelda PeachOctober 16, 2017 at 9:43 PM

    He was on drugs?! Ok well that might explain a few things... As far as them being friends and having opposite views, people usually get along with their opposites, especially considering that poets can be such extreme people. At times you need someone who can level you out. I do find it humorous to picture their critiques on each other's poems.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Phillip VoOctober 16, 2017 at 10:32 PM

    I definitely noted the contrast in the two poets pretty easily as well, and not just through writing style, but through topic of discussion. One chooses pain, one chooses nature, and at the end of it all, both are just trying to get their audience to a better understanding of what they discuss within their poems.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Honest Reaction to Reading "Honest to God"

By
Originally I said in my last blog post that I liked this book, but I have sort of changed my mind. It is not that I hate it or anything, it is just weird and I don’t really agree with what John Robinson is saying most of the time. I appreciate that he is trying to write something different and new, but my problem is that some of the ideas are just a little too radical for my taste, and I disagree with him a lot. In the seventh and last chapter of the book, Robinson himself acknowledges his radicalness and writes about how he knows that this type of thought on religion is controversial. He goes on to write how all great thinkers were seen as controversial when they first started and says, “Every new religious truth comes as the destroyer of some other god”. To further prove this point, he uses the example of how Socrates was condemned as an atheist for not believing in multiple gods, and while it is true that Socrates was a great philosopher who was not seen as so when he was alive, I ...
Read more

Raphael and a man walk into Eden...

By
I'll just start off by saying Raphael is one of the three named archangels in Scripture we hear the least about, and I thoroughly enjoy just reading and seeing his name pop up. Regardless, I want to touch on Adam's recounting of his own..."birth". Take that with a grain of salt as Adam was not physically born, but rather he simply became. In truth, we should all be able to give a similar account to their first memory of consciousness and fully aware. Adam was created, but he realized he could walk, talk, and speak without first learning. Imagine being able to think clear thoughts in your native language and be a functioning individual right out of the womb. It's an incredible thought, and Adam can give a recall of this like it were yesterday...which it might have been, who knows? Aside from that, Adam could even give an account to Eve's creation. The Bible says nothing pertaining to this matter so this is where Milton does a bit of adlibbing and writes around ...
Read more

Extra blog

By
OK so, honors project! Honestly I really loved it as a whole. I said this already in the video, but I feel like I personally could've done better. I just feel like I didn't have enough time to completely process some questions and be able to give my best responses. I really enjoyed reading the O'Connor piece, which I think was everyone's favorite anyway. I love narrative stories like that, but honestly I'm glad I got to be in the Russell group. I feel like that group was the easiest to argue and answer from, honestly. As a whole, I would love to do a project like this again in later semesters. It was a lot of fun and time FLEW by.
Read more