William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth -

He wrote a very famous poem, entitled "Prelude", which he wrote during his lifetime. It is considered to be the crowning achievement of English romanticism.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."
— William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth is a great poet and I respect him highly as he suffered a lot of grievances in his life. I believe that he did his work with all his heart, maybe due to interest, maybe not, but he let his work tell his feelings, his thoughts, etc. He wrote his life story in his poem mentioned above - Prelude, but it was published after his death!

Background and historical context

Wordsworth attended Hawkshead Grammar School, where his love of poetry was firmly established and it is believed that he made his first attempts at verse there. Then, he studied at St. John's College in Cambridge and before his final semester, he set out on a walking tour of Europe, which influenced both his poetry and his political sensibilities. While touring Europe, Wordsworth came into contact with the French Revolution. This experience as well as a subsequent period living in France, brought about Wordsworth's interest and sympathy for the life, troubles and speech of the "common man". These issues proved to be of the utmost importance to Wordsworth's work. Also, in 1795, Wordsworth met with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and it was with Coleridge that Wordsworth published the famous Lyrical Ballads in 1798.

Three Poems by Wordsworth

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

by William Wordsworth

A slumber did my spirit seal;
   I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
   The touch of earthly years.

No motion has she now, no force;
   She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth's diurnal course,
   With rocks, and stones, and trees.

My Heart Leaps Up

by William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold
   A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
   Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Surprised By Joy

by William Wordsworth

Surprised by joy—impatient as the Wind
I turned to share the transport—Oh! with whom
But Thee, deep buried in the silent tomb,
That spot which no vicissitude can find?
Love, faithful love, recalled thee to my mind—
But how could I forget thee? Through what power,
Even for the least division of an hour,
Have I been so beguiled as to be blind
To my most grievous loss?—That thought's return
Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore,
Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn,
Knowing my heart's best treasure was no more;
That neither present time, nor years unborn
Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.

Poem...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Meaning?
The roads represent making a choice; and he could not choose both. He thought about both choices (looking down one) before making his move. Both choices were equal (fair) but one seemed that it was the better choice. Both choices were not taken yet the author knew which choice would lead to which consequence, so he took the harder one, the one less travelled by, most likely the better choice, and thus made the difference.

The author brings out the meaning subtly, and makes it very interesting for the reader. It makes it nice to read because of all the figurative language used. The author makes it so real, like it was really two roads, yet it means something completely different, very complex.

Singapore "Discrimination"

I'm back in Singapore and well, when I went back to school, they were conducting temperature checks and asked a lot of questions. I had to fill out a form and a lot of other matters. And think! Just to hand up a worksheet! I understand still, but when I went to another school, they did not conduct checks, only took temperature. Obviously, they are "kiasu" as Singaporeans would say. Anyway, my homework is almost complete, and well, the hols are almost over. Cya!

Philippines Trip - White Sands Resort

I'm back from the "resort" I went to... not bad, I would say... I mean, it has a wave pool, a new one coming up as well, another swimming pool with a basketball net, a basketball court, a floating platform in the sea, those bouncy types, and a cafeteria. Anyway, it was supposed to be a company gathering to relax, but my father brought me along. We had a gathering every night and talked... Anyway, I'm back from there and well, suddenly  the Wii works perfectly! LOL

Philippines...

I'm in the Philippines now, so far so good, I didnt get H1N1, so the first day went okay, we reached home, turned on the Wii and started playing. Oh, yes by the way, after I logged out after the previous blog post, there was a blackout - at 0020 and lasted for 30mins. My cousin complained about it being the second day in a row, I mean, the first day was only our house, the second was the whole taman (malay for park, street). Anyway, the Wii was screwed, only could play 1 game... haiz... but i still turned in late...

BBQ Nite

I'm back. Today's the barbeque... In fact, I'm posting this during the BBQ! Anyway, we did prepare alot, like I predicted yesterday. In the morning was slack, I slept until 12pm ++. Then, I facebooked (lol) for sometime, before my cousins forced me to help with the shopping. It was okay, I just had to sit somewhere while they got the stuff. So they came back with a lot of things and I had to carry them back... Just like that. Anyway, There is a lot of food outside right now, I'll go eat some more. Just saved this just in a case another blackout occurs. ...... Anyway, no blackout yet (and hopefully none) so we were talking about all stuff under the sun. I'll go out again. ... Well, so far no blackout, I'm helping clear out the stuff and you know, clean the area, etc. Well, I'll go for now... See you soon!

Malaysia...

Hi All, this will be my first blog post of the holidays. Anyway, I am in Malaysia right now, and well, I am enjoying it. I can facebook all day long, together with my cousins, so if you go to our house, you will see 6 computers min. on our coffee table, all logged into facebook. LOL. Anyway, we will be having a barbeque tomorrow, and I am very excited, since it has BEEN sometime. It will also be considered an early family father's day celebrations, so ......... OMG! A blackout while I was blogging. Phew! Luckily I saved this draft. Anyway, as I was saying, it would be a father's day celebration as well and so I predict that there will be lots of preparation tomorrow!