“Preface to Lyrical Ballads” seems to be a guideline to comprehend themes and subject matters of William Wordsworth. It is also to make the reader understand the form of poems, the moral impact on readers, and what a reader should understand from reading poems. The main focus of poets should be human nature according to Wordsworth. He explains his purposes in writing poems that seem to be deprived of any hidden meaning or message .He also argues that the best knowledge is the one from poetry; historians and scientist tend to have obstacles between them and the subject matter they are discussing. I was quite curious when I read about the idea that he believes he traces “primary laws of nature”. It seems quite odd to believe that a poet that interprets subject matters would believe that. Nature is a crucial aspect of Romanticism, and it meant several things to the Romantics. It is usually depicted as a character itself, protagonist of multiple poems, and quite often the center of attention.
Wordsworth believes that his poems speak to the common people and not just to the small portion of rich and wealthy people. He writes about common life situations and especially “humble and rustic life”. He argues that by living a common life, you tend to appreciate more the small and simple things. As a consequence, you are purer, and comprehend better basic ideas that poets want to convey. Vanity, arrogance and self indulgence are less likely to influence these people, who “convey their feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions”(between 5 and 6). This simple language is being used to convey regular and uncomplicated feelings. Which, he argues are “more permanent, and a far more philosophical language”. He then continues by comparing this simple and “permanent” language to the usual language poets use. A language which is used to confer “ honour upon themselves and their art” sets poets apart from the rest of the people, making them look like outcasts. Further on, he asks himself what it meant by the word poet, and what type of language is expected from a poet. He investigates the idea that it is a man speaking to men. I personally thought this passage was the most interesting. The way Wordsworth illustrates precisely how poets emotionally interact with the readers is fascinating. “He is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness” shows how much he values poets and their capability of observing the world in a different way than average men; he also mentions that poets are “pleased” with their passions and volitions” (part 16). These hidden beautiful things that only poets seem to notice, and capability of being “affected more than other men by absent things as if they were present” an ability, or a skill that is far beyond the ones that are produced from real events. So poets acquired a skill that helps them express their feelings and emotions in a superior way than how a common person expresses his.
Nevertheless, even if a poet is capable of feeling emotions that no common person has ever felt, if he is not able to translate them in language comprehensible to the common people, they are not valid. He then goes on saying that poets could argue “It is impossible(…) to produce upon all occasions language as exquisitely fitted for the passion as that which the real passion itself suggests”(part 18). His counter argument states that it can be difficult to translate into simple language, emotions that cannot be felt by some people. These “translations” might ruin the original meaning of the poem and convey the wrong message. He then argues “further, it is the language of men who speak of what they do not understand”. Wordsworth wants to highlight his idea of making poetry accessible to simpler people.“ I wandered lonely as a cloud” is a perfect example. It is a simple and elementary poem that is enjoyable and honest.
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