Dorothy Wordsworth never considered herself a poet and did not want to receive any fame from her writings. She only chose to write her poems and journal to make her brother, William, happy. I think there were a number of reasons that she did not believe that she had a talent for poetry. The first reason is the fact that she was a female. Women at that time were not as respected as males did. The second reason is that fact that her brother was such a well known and famous poet. I think she revered him and always felt like she was in his shadow. She lived with her brother most of her life and watched him at work. I think through the years she learned from him and was able to elaborate on his ideas through an alternate view. The influence of her brother is shown because she writes about similar topics such as nature and her appreciate of it.
In her poem, "Address to a Child", I thought that she was showing her love for children and her need to console them. Even though she was afraid of the wind because of all the destruction it had done, such as kill her brother John in a boating accident, she wanted to hide her fear for the child. She explains that even though the wind is a dangerous thing, the house will protect against it. As long as they are inside there is nothing the wind could do. This may also have a deeper meaning. It may also be a poem that focuses on the importance of love and family and that family can always keep a person safe.
In the poem, "Thoughts on My Sick-bed", she reflects on her life when she was younger and not sick. She shows her appreciation for the bigger things in life such as the beauty of nature. Even though she can no longer go out into nature, the memories of it suffice and she feels like she is there. This poem made me feel mixed emotions. I was very sad to hear about her sickness, which through the writing, I could really feel. It also made me happy that someone that sick can still think of the good things in life such as reflecting on her happiest moments. No matter how sick she got, her happiness could not be taken from her.
Her journal reflected her life day by day. Throughout that journal, I noticed that she seems to mention all of the vulnerable and poor people that she encounters. She seems to truly care about everyone and tries to help as many people as she can. An example of this is when she bought the gingerbread from the poor family even though she was making it herself. She saw how grateful the family was for the money so she gave it to them. Because of this goodness shown by her, Dorothy's writings have been my favorite to read.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It’s a shame that women in the 1800s were not valued as important as the men were. I feel that she should have followed her brother’s footsteps just to show how powerful their family name could have been in the 1800s. Unfortunately, she did not want the spotlight. She had more respect and love for her brother.
In her poem, “Address to a Child,” I saw the connection to the love of children as well. I also, compared it to her brother’s poem, “We Are Seven”. These two poems were similar. One similarity was the topic of children and the love for children from both of the Wordsworth. Another similarity was having an adult within the writings as protection for the children. So when you speak of the wind and the house and the house being a protection for the children, I totally agree with the meaning of love, family, and protection.
“Thoughts on My Sick-bed” was touching. How many people to you know or have known that were on their sick bed? I have encountered a few and my main memory is that those individuals were weak, sick, tired, and barely spoke a word. So when you compare Dorothy to that, she was phenomenal. Dorothy was sick but she still had the zeal to write about the happy moments and thoughts in her mind. She did not allow her sickness to overcome her happiness.
I appreciate the individual that decided to publish Dorothy Wordsworth’s poetry and journals for people like us. It gave us a sense of women’s mentality and strength in the 1800s. I also feel that her writings would have measured up to her brother’s poetry if she was given the opportunity. I am enjoying reading poetry and other writings from the women of the 1800s!
Nichole,
I am glad you enjoyed Dorothy Wordsworth's writings. You make several astute points in your comments about these various works. I especially liked your mention of her buying gingerbread in her journal; these apparently mundane details really signify important themes in her life and works, if we pay attention (as you do) to them. I would like to see you pursue your discussion with greater focus on fewer works, though; you have good insights, and if you had more room to explore them your blog would be even better.
Post a Comment