She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways

Tone, Theme & Question

~Tone: Sadness, Lovesick, Admiration and Lonliness.

~Theme: Love

~Discussion Question:Although this poem was succinct and simple, what feelings were felt as readers?

Analysis: Stanza 3

~"ceased to be." & "in her grave" = Lucy's death

~ "and oh, the difference to me!" = Wordsworth clearly experiences a great sense of loss at her death.

~She is extremely special and the embodiment of beauty to the poet.

~The exclamation point at the end of the poem puts even more emphasis on his feelings of love and loss

Details:

~Last Stanza: Doesn't describe the "difference" but leaves it to the imagination of the reader which is much more powerful than trying to explain what her passing meant.

William Wordsworth

~Uses simple diction.

~Includes alliteration, assonance, sibilance, metaphors and etc.

~Most words contain one syllable.

~An elegy: is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.

~Rhyme scheme: ABAB

~English Romantic Poet- wrote this in 1798 when he was 28 years old.

Analysis: Stanza 2

~Aim is to show her innocence and beauty.

~The poem is part of Wordsworth's series of five works which comprise his "Lucy" series.

~uses two simple metaphors to emphasize these qualities. "A violet by a mossy stone" and "Fair as a star, when only one is shining in the sky."

~A violet can be a symbol of innocence, modesty or mourning. It has stood for modesty and humility in that it grows so close to the ground and its blooms can be found under the leaves.

~The blooms of the violet cannot easily be seen (like Lucy's isolation).

~Wrote his series of "Lucy" poems during a stay with his sister Dorothy in Hamburg, Germany.

~Referring to the star Venus and also Venus the Goddess of Love (very public for the world to see).

~Star = Pure

~She is beautiful and rare and deserved recognition for these qualities but got none.

~These poems show his feelings of loneliness and loss from a woman who lived unnoticed by all others except by the poet himself.

Continued.....

~Whether Wordsworth has declared his love for her is unknown, and even whether she had been aware of the poet's affection is unsaid.

~"growth, perfection, and death" of Lucy.

Analysis: Stanza 1

~The title line implies Lucy lived unknown and remote, both physically and intellectually.

~Like the woman herself, the place where she lives is virtually unnoticed and untouched.

"Beside the springs of Dove"

~Lines like, "none to praise," "very few to love," and the word "untrodden" tell the reader that Lucy was a nobody to everyone except the poet.

~The word untrodden itself means unexplored, not walked upon, roadless, or pathless.

~If her physical beauty was overlooked, it is almost certain that no one got to know her mind, her inner workings either.

First Response

1. The first line and the title of the poem are the same.

2. This person's life seemed really sad and meaningless.

3. Who is Lucy?

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways

William Wordsworth

pg. 626