ENGL200B Lecture 9: Jan. 26 - Wordsworth
Document Summary
Determined to make himself into a famous poet (like milton) Wrote a lot of autobiographical pieces and made his personal life a big deal. Title sounds like charlotte smith in how it"s structured like a letter but is also dramatic in setting the scene. Five years have passed reflecting on a memory. Doesn"t let us go where we are before reminding us of where we have been. This is a response to the enlightenment, which emphasized an empirical understanding of humanity that is, you are what your sense-data is in the moment. Your childhood/past doesn"t matter, and the future does not yet exist. He is not in the wild he is regarding the seamless blend of nature and culture. Nature is trying to take back what humans have imprinted on it. The puffs of smoke may be from a hermit"s cottage (romantic view), but it is more likely from charcoal burning or other destruction (realistic view).
