Romantic Poets: William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Inglese

Scarica Romantic Poets: William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! WILLIAM WORDSWORTH BIOGRAPHY William Wordsworth was born on 7 april 1770 in the north-west of England. He lost both his parents when he was youmg. He studied at Grammar School and then went to Cambridge University. He supported the ideals of French Revolution and the new government ‘s republivan ideals, and he visited France during that period. In 1795 he received an inheritance and he started to live with his sister, Doroty,who was a writer too. That same year, Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and they became friends. Their relationship became crucial for the development of English Romanticism. The two men, leading exponents of the First Generation of Romantic Poets, worked together on the publication of the “Lyrical Ballads (1798- anonymously) , a collection of poems mostly by Wordsworth. The Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, that was included in 1800, is considered the Manifesto of English Romanticism. In this period the author wrote a big quantity of poems including short works about nature and meditative works written in blank verse. We can find some of them in the collection “Poems, in 2 Volumes” (1807). He also wrote “Prelude”, his autobiography in 13 books and “The Excursion”, a long work of philosophical reflection on man, nature and society. His most creative period was between 1798 and 1808. He achieved a great reputation as a poet and he also became England’s Poet Laureate in 1843. He died on 23 april 1850 RECOLLECTION IN TRANQUILLITY Wordsworth is considered as one of the first romantic poets and in his literary production emphasises the importance of feelings, instinct and pleasure rather than formality and poetic elegance. He believed that poetry should be written in the common language of everyday life. He focused on simple country people and naturale scenes, believing as Jean Jacques Rousseau, that man and nature are in community with each other and that man could truly find himself in communion with nature. THE ROLE OF IMAGINATION AND MEMORY Wordsworth believed that the poet could understand reality thanks to the use of imagination. He celebrated nature and described the poetic process in this terms: • The poet escapes from the city and prefers to stay in a natural enviromment (in nature he feels good) • Wanting to experience new sensations, he feels nature, a source ofinspiration for him, and then the memory of that emotion is re-created and re-elaborated and put into poetry (this is the so called “kindred emotion”) Scheme: emotion- re-elaboration - poetry A PLAIN AND EASY STYLE Wordsworth’s style is plain and easy to understand. He didn’t care about using a complicated and high style but he concentrated on researching a style that could re-create the emotions he felt. The main themes of his poetry are childood, the memory of childood in adults and the lost of connection with nature. His metaphors mixed natural scenary, religious sentiments and memories of his own childood in the country TRADUZIONE di “I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD” Me ne vagavo solo come una nuvola Che fluttua sopra valli e colline Quando all’improvviso vidi un gruppo, una moltitudine di narcisi dorati Dietro al lago, sotto agli alberi ondeggianti, ballavano nella breazza Estesi come le stelle che brillano E scintillano come le stelle della via lattea Loro si estendevano in una fila senza fine lungo i margini della baia Ne ho visti 10 000 con un solo sguardo Che muovevano la testa in una danza felice Le onde dietro loro si muovevano/danzavano Ma loro superavano le onde in quanto a gioia Un poeta non potrebbe essere altro che gioioso in una tale felice compagnia Io guardavo e guardavo E non pensavo alla ricchezza che questo spettacolo mi aveva portato (no rielaborazione, per ora solo sensazione) Spesso quando me ne sto seduto sul divano Con un umore vagante o pensieroso Queste sensazioni mi appaiono come dei flash nell’occhio interiore (interiorizzazione sensazione) Che è la beatitudine della solitudine (Spiegazione processo che porta alla poesia) E quindi il mio cuore si riempie di gioia E balla con i narcisi (rivive la medesima sensazione vissuta) ▪ The last part of the poem is the extract that describes the process the author goes through to make poetry SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE BIOGRAPHY Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in Devon in 1772. He went to Christ’s Hospital School in London where he studied Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English literature and composition. While he was at school, the young Coleridge already showed his poetic talent. In 1791 he went to Cambridge University and he became interested in the political situation of that time. He was uncertain abput the situation in France, more convinced of the ideal of freedom than of the revolution itself. In 1794 he dreamed up an idea of emigration to America, where he would try an experiment: people living together, sharing the same rights and having the same money (kind of utopian and comunistic – in fact, the experiment collapsed). Coleridge left college without graduating and in 1796 published his first volume of Poems on Various Subjects. After marrying Sarah Fricker, he moved to a cottage in the countryside, which became a sort of meeting place for intellectuals, including William Wordsworth. This marked the beginning of a long period of literary co- operation and friendship with Wordsworth. The 2 men published the “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798, mostly containing poems by Wordsworth but with thevery important contribution of Coleridge’s masterpiece “The Ryme of the Ancient Mariner”. His lifestyle was very complex: he became ill and depressed because of some events of his life and partially as a result of his use of opium (that’s also the reason why he had to go back to London from Lake District to recover), a drug that also influenced his literary production. In 1816 he published “Christabel” and “Kubla Kan” and in 1817 he wrote “Biografia Literaria, which contained his finest literary criticism. He died in London on 25 July, 1834.