Absolute Power and Clearest Insight: Imagination in The ...
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"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude 163 "Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight": Imagination in The Prelude The Prelude is usually considered Wordsworth's masterpiece. It is regarded as the greatest long poem since Milton's Paradise Lost. Instead of the present title Wordsworth himself had referred to the poem in different ways: "the poem to Coleridge ," "the on the growth of my own mind ," and "the poem on my own poetical education." The Prelude is different from any epic in the previous times; it is the first epic that is completely employed to describe the poet himsel f. This as the poet himself called it , is actually a poem on the growth of the poet's own mind. In this poem the poet traces back to his earlier life to scrutinize the stages of his mental growth as a poet. The Prelude of 1850 contains totally fourteen books , and it chiefly Wordsworth';:. life from his boyhood to about 1798. In the first two books Wordsworth recalled his childhood and his schooHife at Hawkshead. His college-life at Cambridge was dealt with mainly in Book Third. In Book Fourth , the poet described his return to Hawkshead in one summer vacation at Cambridge , and his walking tour to the Alps during the third summer vacation was recounted in Book Sixth. Book Fifth was Wordsworth's representation of his idea of books and human immortal- ity; he also told us what books had influenced him in his childhood. After he left Cambridge , the poet went to London , and his experience there was mostly depicted in Book Sventh. Book Eighth provided a retrospect of the first seven books , in which the poet reviewed his transformation from love of Nature to love of man. Wordsworht's experience in France during 1791-93 was recounted in Books Ninth to Eleventh. In Books Twelfth and Thirteenth Wordsworth talked about the impairment and restoration of his imaginatIOn. The last book was the conclusion , in which the ascent of Mount Snowdon served as the climax of the whole poem. In that episode , the poet presented the harmonious fusing of .his mind with Nature. Wordsworth clearly depicted his trans- formation in different stages in The Prelude , and his concepts toward Nature and imagination are also revealed in this poem. We can get further understanding of Wordsworth through the study
Transcript of Absolute Power and Clearest Insight: Imagination in The ...
"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude
163
"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight":Imagination in The Prelude
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The Prelude is usually considered Wordsworth's masterpiece. It is regarded as the greatest
long poem since Milton's Paradise Lost. Instead of the present title Wordsworth himself had
referred to the poem in different ways: "the poem to Coleridge ," "the ~oem on the growth of my
own mind ," and "the poem on my own poetical education." The Prelude is different from any epic
in the previous times; it is the first epic that is completely employed to describe the poet himsel f.
This po已m， as the poet himself called it, is actually a poem on the growth of the poet's own
mind. In this poem the poet traces back to his earlier life to scrutinize the stages of his mental
growth as a poet.
The Prelude of 1850 contains totally fourteen books, and it chiefly C:~scribes Wordsworth';:.
life from his boyhood to about 1798. In the first two books Wordsworth recalled his childhood and
his schooHife at Hawkshead. His college-life at Cambridge was dealt with mainly in Book Third.
In Book Fourth, the poet described his return to Hawkshead in one summer vacation at
Cambridge, and his walking tour to the Alps during the third summer vacation was recounted in
Book Sixth. Book Fifth was Wordsworth's representation of his idea of books and human immortal-
ity; he also told us what books had influenced him in his childhood. After he left Cambridge, the
poet went to London, and his experience there was mostly depicted in Book Sventh. Book Eighth
provided a retrospect of the first seven books, in which the poet reviewed his transformation
from love of Nature to love of man. Wordsworht's experience in France during 1791-93 was
recounted in Books Ninth to Eleventh. In Books Twelfth and Thirteenth Wordsworth talked about
the impairment and restoration of his imaginatIOn. The last book was the conclusion, in which the
ascent of Mount Snowdon served as the climax of the whole poem. In that episode , the poet
presented the harmonious fusing of .his mind with Nature. Wordsworth clearly depicted his trans-
formation in different stages in The Prelude , and his concepts toward Nature and imagination are
also revealed in this poem. We can get further understanding of Wordsworth through the study
教學與研究第十五期
164
of this poem. Though most critics , considering its description more vivid and spontaneous, prefer
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presents the poet's transformation through his revision during the long forty-five years. Through
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the
The Prelude or, Growth of a Poet's Mind, as an autobiographical poem, can be read as an
account of the development of Wordsworth's imagination. Bloom also claims that "The inner prob-
(Visionarylem of The Prelude . . . is that of the autonomy of the poet's creative imagination"
the inspiration and nourishment ofwill be put onmy emphasisCompany 144). In this article ,
Wordsworth's concept of imagination, and the influence ofNature to Wordsworth's imaginarion,
imagination in his career as a poe t.
"Nature, forAs most of us know , natural objects exert a great influence on Wordsworth.
Wordsworth ," Hartman comments, "is not an 'object' but a presence and a power; a motion and a
spirit; not something to be worshiped and consumed , but always a guide leading beyond itself" (
traditionaltheconfrontwebook,firstopening lines of thethePoetry 42). InWordsworth's
symbol of inspiration--the "gentle breeze." The poet, after escaping from the big city London,
felt free amid the gentle breeze in the countryside. He was free and could choose wherever he
would to settle down. Yet, he was not sure where to go; he asked
What dwelling shall receive me? in what vale
Shall be my harbour? underneath what grove
Shall I take up my home? and what clear stream
(I. 10-14).Shall with its murmur lull me into rest?
mind. And the place he was searching is for theThe beautiful rural place elevates the poet's
settlement of his imagination , and "the vale , the grove and clear stream ," as Durrant interprets, "
are not to be understood as parts of the English countryside; they are the landscape of the imag-
. " (William Wordsworth 114).ination
awithinTo Wordsworth, the wind, the gentle sweet breath of heaven now made him feel
"correspondent breeze ," which at last became a tempest, "a redundant energy, I Vexing its own
creation" (I. 37 -38). Here , no doubt , "the correspondent breeze" represents inspiration and revived
"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The F、relude
165
creativity; besides, Abrams has said in his famous article
Metaphor" that "the recurrent wind serves unobtrusively as a leitmotif, representing the chief
theme of continuity and interchange between outer motions and interior life and powers , . . .(39).
Then the tempest , aroused by the correspondent breeze in the poet's mind , made the poet wish
to write a poem even though he was not accustomed to making a present gaiety the theme of
his verse. When he sat beneath a tree in a green shady place , trying to choose the theme for
the opem soon to be begun , he recalled the cottage he stayed when he was a schoolboy,
and while upon the fancied scene
I gazed with growing love. a higher power
Than Fancy gave assurance of some work
Of glory there forthwith to be begun.
Perhaps too there performed" 0. 76-79).
Yet , as Hartman suggests in "Via Naturaliter Negativa ," "The Prelude opens with a success
immediately followed by a failure"(33). Nature breaks up the frost in his mind and stimulates his
aspiration to write "some work of glory." The beauty of Nature also challenges his creative mind.
He wrote,
It was a splendid evening. and my soul
Once more made trial of her strength. nor lacked
Aeolian visitations; but the harp
Was soon defrauded. and the banded host
Of harmony dispersed in straggling sounds.
And lastly utter silence! (I. 94-99)
Present joy strangely prevents Wordsworth from the composing of his verse. As creativity being
discouraged , he abandoned the idea of writing a poem. And the highly-estimated jobof verse-
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was going back home under the mellowing sun , that dropped "Mild influence; nor left in me one
wish/ Again to bend the Sabbath of that time / To a servile yoke" 0. 103-05). This hindrance ,
nevertheless , does not dispirit Wordsworth; it gives him instead a kind of joy and leisure. He
interpreted:
教學與研究第十五期
166
What need of many words?
A pleasant loitering journey, through three days
Continued, brought me to my hermitage.
I spare to tell of what ensued, the life
In common things- -the endless store of things,
Rare, or at least so seeming, every day
Found all about me in one neighbourhood --
The self-congratulation, and, from morn
To night, unbroken cheerfulness serene. (I. 105-113)
Superficially, it seems that Nature , besides nourishing the poet's imagination , hinders in a way
his imagination and poetic creativity. In fact , as the poet himself regards "vital soul ," "general
ltruths ," and "external things" as the therr basic elements for poetry'; Nature is therefore an
inseparable element in Wordsworth's poetic imagination and creativity. The outside world always
corresponds with what he feels within and the external forms always arouse his internal feeling.
Nature inspires the poet's imagination, and at the same time , the poet's imagination gives life to
Nature. As the poet himself stated, the powers of "Soul of Nature" are the "Powers on whom/ I
daily waited , now all eye and now/ All ear; but never long without the heart/ Employed, and
man's unfolding intellect" (XII. 98-101). The failure of the autonomy of his poetic creativity indi-
cates the mutual independence between the poet's mind and Nature. As Hartman interprets,
"Nature keeps the initiative. The mind at its most free is still part of a deep mood of weathers"
(36).
Nature's influence on the poet's mind and the interaction between them do not exist abruptly.
The influence and independence form gradually and their development can be traced back to the
poet's childhood. In Wordsworth's opinion, a child is blessed because he owns the first poetic
spirit and there is a maternal bond between child and Nature. The poet himself also depicted the
situation in "The Intimation Ode'
There was a time when 'meadow, grove,- and stream,
1. Wordsworth in The Prelude stated that "I neither seem! To lack that first great gift, the vital soul,! Nor
general Truths, which are themselves a sort! Of Elements and Agents, Under-powers,! Subordinate helpers
of the living mind:! Nor am 1 naked of external things" (I. 149-54).
刊 Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude
167
The earth. and every common sight.
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light.
The glory and the freshness of a dream. (1 -5)
Living in this active universe, the child, working in agreement with the outside world , is both a
receiver and creator. The infant sensibility to Wordsworth is augmented and sustained by the
natural surroundings: "All that I beheld/ Was dear, and hence to finer influxes/ The mind lay
open, to a more exact/ And close communication" (II. 281-84). This glory, however, will pass
away with the growing of the child. The Prelude is at the same time a description of the loss
and regaining of this glory.
As Wordsworth himself describes in Book I , when he was an infant he was influenced by
the fair Derwent river , and his imaginative response to Nature was founded gradually. When he
was five years old , his bathing in the river was another experience of getting nourishment from
Nature.
When he was five years old , hd frequently bathed in a small mi l1 -race severed from
Derwent.
Basked in the sun. and plunged and basked again
Alternate. all a summer's day. or scoured
The sandy fields. leaping through flowery groves
Of yellow ragwort; or when rock and hill.
The woods. and distant Skiddaw's lofty height.
Were bronzed with deepest radiance. stood alone
Beneath the sky. as if I had been born
On Indian plains. and from my mother's but
Had run abroad in wantonness. to sport
A naked savage. in the thunder shower. (II. 291-300)
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教學與研究第十五期
168
shower could not frighten him. J. R. Watson says in Wordsworth's Vital Soul, "As Wordsworth
recalls his earliest childhood, therefore , he does so in terms which emphasize that childhood's
state of relationship with the primary forms of nature: a relationship which is trusting , enjoying,
experiencing to the full " (1 32). Though he did not understand the significance of Nature to him,
his firm and lasting relationship with Nature was gradually formed. When bathing in the river
and basking in the sun alternatively, he was inspired by Nature unconsciously. "During this stage,
however , his innate sensibilities are gradually and unconsciously expanded into an inward principle
of love which , in turn , increase his imaginative response to nature" (Wiener 160).
In his boyhood, he also gets inspiration from Nature in his activities of vulgar joy, such as
woodcock-catching, and raven's nest-robbing. In those activities beauty and fear together help
with the growth of the poet's imagination. In the episode of Stolen Boat, Wordsworth's imagina-
tion makes him see the natural surroundings as the reflection of his mind, and the experience of
guilt and joy together helps with the development of the poet's imagination. At first the beauty
of Nature gave the boy delight and inspired his imagination. When he was absorbed in the beauti-
ful fancied world, however, with a guilty conscience, he felt that a giant mountain was chasing
him. The familiar beauty of Nature suddenly disappeared. By way' of such experience,
Wordsworth learns the projected power of human mind, and his poetic imagination is established.
When they flew , in the skating incident , through the darkness and the cold , it seemed that
"not a voice was idle" (I. 438-39). Since Wordsworth projected his feeling to the outside forms ,
the whole world was filled with sound:
with the din
Smitten.the precipices rang aloud:
The leafless trees and every icy crag
Tinkled like iron: while far distant hills
Into the tumult sent an alien sound
Of melancholy not unnoticed. while the stars
Eastward were sparkling clear. and in the west
The orange sky of evening died away. (I. 439-446)
Besides, by giving his body to the wind, and then stopping short , the poet seemed to see the
"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude
169
solitary cliffs move--"as if the earth had rolled/ With visible motion her diurnal round" (1. 459-60).
Through this kind of reciprocal interaction, Wordsworth becomes more aware of the presence of
Nature and this presence does help him develop his imagination.
As mentioned above, there is inevitable independence between nature and Wordsworth's imag-
ination and poetic creativity. Later, when he is getting older and the stage for vulgar joy has
passed, Nature becomes "all in all" to him. At that time, he still possessed his infantile creative
sensibility, which sometimes was capricious and unconformable with the general rule. Yet , by
subordination to Nature , this creativity could be stabilized. The poet reported:
A plastic power
Abode with me; a forming hand. at times
Rebellious. acting in a devious mood;
A local spirit of his own. at war
With general tendency. but. for the most.
Subservient strictly to external things
With which it communed. (II. 362-68)
On the other hand , however , Nature was also subordinate to his creative sensibility and every
outward shape to him was full of life. This resulted in his love and devotion to Nature and also
the joy he got from Nature. The poet remembered:
An auxiliary light
Came from my mind. which on the setting sun
Bestowed new splendour; the melodious birds.
The fluttering breezes. fountains that ran on
Murmuring so sweetly in themselves. obeyed
A like dominion. and the midnight storm
Grew darker in the presence of my eye:
Hence my obeisance. my devotion hence.
And hence my transport. (II. 368-77)
To Wordsworth , imagination is more like "the exercise and produce of a toil" than 、nalytic indus
try." The former is also more poetic. To those higher minds , there is always connection between
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"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude
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Of more distinct humanity. that left
All genuine admiration unimpaired. (III. 272-77)
During a long summer vacation at Cambridge, Wordsworth went back to Hawkshead , where
the poet had been at school, and the familiar Nature again inspired him and he got his restora-
'tion. He used to walk along the lake at Hawkshead with his rough terrier and he considered ,
"Those walks in all their freshness now came back! Like a returning Spring" (IV. 136-37). While
he made the circuit of the lake on the first evening after his return, comfort and strength came--
"and restoration came! Like an intruder knocking at the door! of unacknowledged weariness" (IV.
156-58). In such circumstances , Nature not only amused his eyesight but also inspired his inner
feeling and gave him inward hope. The sleep of his mind was thawed:
- -Of that external scene which round me lay.
Li ttle. in his abstraction. did I see;
Remembered less; but I had inward hopes
And swellings of the spirit. was rapt and soothed.
Conversed with promises. had glimmering views
How life pervades the undecaying mind;
How the immortal soul with God -like power
Informs. creates. and thaws the deepest sleep
That time can lay upon her; how on earth.
Man. if he do but live within the light
Of high endeavours. daily spreads abroad
His being armed with strength that cannot fai l. (IV. 160-171)
Another importance of th~s long vacation is that during this summer he made up his mind
to be a poet. As mentioned above, in his college days though he still had his admiration for
lofty things, those clamorous youthful activities , those feats , dances, sports and games, all
attracted him and lured him fwm his quest of lofty pleasure. Then one evening in this summer
vacation he again joined a joyful party, which was full of dancing, gay chatter, and high spirit
for the whole night. When he went home in the early morning, he beheld the beautiful view of
the q.awn: "in the meadows and the lower grounds! Was all the sweetness of a common dawn--!
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教學與研究第十五期
174
his bodily senses. "The visitation of the imagination is not something that can be willed. It is
always an unexpected usurpation succeeding a displacement in his perception of the world" (
Sherry Wordsworth's Poetry of the Imagination 26). Leading by his imagination , he was in quest
for the distant hope, great but unattainable; therefore, his quest is frustrated by the revelation of
the peasant. Without the imaginative mind , Nature is lifeless; however, without Nature's guidance,
the mind's eye can not overcome the physical senses. After this disappointment , they went back
to the way they sought previously. This time they knew which way to choose and now brook
and road were their fellow-travellers. Nature and the poet's mind finally blended togther peace-
fully:
The immeasurable height
Of woods decaying. never to be decayed.
The stationary blasts of waterfalls.
And in the narrow rent at every turn
Winds thwarting winds. bewildered and forlorn.
The rocks that muttered close upon our ears.
Black drizzling crags that spake by the way-side
As if a voice were in them. . . . (VI. 624-32)
Nature was not the same as what he had seen before. Nature relieved him from the dominance
of bodily senses. Seeing through his mind, he found the voice of Nature and saw life in the
outward forms. In this scene, we can see that "In the revelations of the imagination the speech
of the world is once more recovered" (Sherry Wordsworth's Poetry of the Imagination 26).
the sick sight
And giddy prospect of the raving stream.
The unfettered clouds and region of the Heavens,
Tumult and peace. the darkness and the light-
Were all like workings of one mind. the features
Of the same face. blossoms upon one tree:
Characters of the great Apocalypse.
The types and symbols of Eternity.
Of first. and last. and midst. and without end. (VI. 632-640)
"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude
175
This apocalyptic event again proves to us that Nature and mind are inseparable elements in
Wordsworth's poetry composing. The independence of one from the other in the forming process
of poetry is unattainable. Only when these two blend together and help with each other can the
composing of poetry be possible. In the end of this book, Wordsworth concluded that the richness
of his expedition to Alps lasted forever , and in this adventure , his mind was not only a passive
receiver but had actively participated in facing the magnificent scenery.
Three months after his excursion on the Alps , the poet got his B.A. and left Cambridge. He
then went to London. His experience in London, the big city crowded with men from different
walks of life, is an important episode in the growth of his love of man.
When Wordsworth is about twenty-two years old, Nature no longer stays to be the only
inspiration to him; his love to man is felt and this love also helps in the developing of his imagi
nation.
The shepherd is the man that impresses him first in his childhood, and he admires the
simplicity and beauty of the shepherd's rural life. In addition to beauty, the rural place, where he
was reared, also gives him "images of danger and distress'; Man suffering among awful Powers
and Forms" (VIII. 164-65); and the poet said, "of this I heard and saw enough to make/ Imagina
tion restless" (VIII.166-67). The "tragedies of former times" inspired his imagination and wherever
he roamed , the immutable rocks and everflowing streams were speaking monuments. To
Wordsworth, the shepherd's rural life and his simple ritual are admirable , and even "Philosophy,
methinks , at Fancy's call,/ Might deign to follow him through what he does. . " (VIII.249-50).
"The poet's imagination also provides him with more direct experiences involving a sense of
humanity . . . these imaginative experiences . . . also provides him with his first sensation of the
dignity and majesty of man" (Wiener 190). The shepherd's free life in the natural surroundings
introduces the poet to love and reverence to human nature. Man is ennobled and human form to
the poet becomes "an index of delight/ Of grace and honour, power and worthiness" (VIII.280-8 l).
This creature is an imaginative form to him. Because of this confrontation of the goodness of
human nature through fair natural objects, Wordsworth is prepossessed by the grace and beauty
of human life so as to be prevented from too early intercourse with the meanness of ordinary
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"Absolute Power" and "Clearest Insight" : Imagination in The Prelude
181
name remained clear on the tur f. Being frightened , the boy hurried away and tumbled on the
road. Then, he saw a pool laying beneath the hills with beacons on the top of a crag, and a girl ,
bearing a pitcher on her head, struggled her way against the blowing wind. To the young poet,
this scene was full of visionary dreariness. However, when he was seventeen, he revisited this
place with his beloved one , and at that time "Upon the naked pool and dreary crags,! And on
the melancholy beacon fell/ A spirit of pleasure and youth's golden gleam" (XII. 264-66).
From this experience , Wordsworth apperhends the great power of man's mind , and he learns
that "feeling comes in aid/ Of feeling , and diversity of strength/ Attends us , if but once we have
been strong" (XII. 269-7 1). Besides , he also understands that the greatness of man comes from
man himself and man must first give otherwise he can not receive , that is, only when man
projects his mind to the surroundings first , can the world become meaningful to him and thus
yield new inspiration. As Abrams says , "The mind finds in the scene what it has become ready
to find , and what it finds is its own aspect" (Natural Su戶rnaturaJism 105).
Moreover this experience also helps the poet realize along with his recollection man's glory,
which the older he grew the lesser he could see. The poet says:
The days gone by
Return upon me almost from the dawn
Of life: the hiding-places of man's power
Open; I would approach them, but they close.
I see by glimpses now; when age comes on,
May scarcely see at all (XII. 277-82).
This thought has been expound吾d in the "Intimation Ode ," in which Wordsworth emphasizes that
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting" (58) and therefore , the glory we can see in our child-
hood will gradually pass away with our growth. The child are not conscious of the human time.
He acts according to the natural time and seems to live in eternity. Thus he can enjoy the glory
of pre-existence. As he is growing old, he is gradually aware of the human time and human limi-
tation. The glory fades away step by step. In Wordswrth's words, in the infancy he could see
heaven around him, in childhood he still could see the light of the heaven in his joy, and in
youth he was Nature's priest: yet , at last as a man he "perceives it die away,/ And fade into
教學與研究第十五期
182
the light of common day" (75-76). Hence, he tries to give meaning and life to his feeling by way
For futurePast/by doing so he wishes to enshrine "the spirit of theof writing poetry and
restoration" (285心6).
Another example depicts that one Christmas-time when he was at school anticipating his
family livery to pick him and his brothers home , he climbed the summit of a crag in order to
see the first glimpse of the horse. In that tempestuous day, he sat half-sheltered by a wall, at
his right couching a single sheep and at his left standing a blasted hawthorn. This scene imprints
on his mind with his anxiety, and in his later life it greatly influences him. Ten days after they
got home , his father passed away. "The event,/ With all the sorrow that it brought, appeared/ A
chastisement" (XII. 309-11). Whenever he recalls this event , he becomes humble and feels grateful
Afterwards , he oftento be acceptant.who thus corrects his desires and teaches himGod,to
recalls the scene, all the elements of which provide as a fountain of inspiration to his spiri t.
In addition to those spots of time , man also plays a significant role in repairing his imagina-
tion. In search of knowledge, the poet explored the field of human life, and during this. explo-
his disappointment at the French revolution. However,moral crisis, that is,ration, he met his
since he had been taught to pay reverence to Nature, which taught him 'what can endure , when
would easily pass away, the poetwhichephemeral objectswith thewas intoxicatedhis mind
learned "To look with feelings of fraternal love/ Upon the unassuming things that hold/ A silent
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station in this beauteous world" (XIII. 45-47). Wordsworth admits that
Thus moderated. thus composed. I found
Once more in Man an object of delight.
Of pure imagination. and of love:
And • as the horizon of my mind enlarged.
Again I took the intellectual eye
For my instructor. studious more to see
Great truths. than touch and handle little ones.
The poet learned then not to put too much trust to the promise of present time, but to seek for
the eternal good.
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教學與研究第十五期
186
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---. Wordsworth's Poetry, 1787-1814. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1964.
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