Since that Prologue was written, _you_ have
exhibited
most
splendid effects of judicious daring, in the opposite and usual
course.
splendid effects of judicious daring, in the opposite and usual
course.
William Wordsworth
the time is come when thou should'st wean"
October, 1803
To the Men of Kent. October, 1803
In the Pass of Killicranky
Anticipation. October, 1803
Lines on the Expected Invasion, 1803
* * * * *
WORDSWORTH'S POETICAL WORKS
* * * * *
PETER BELL: A TALE [A]
Composed 1798. [B]--Published 1819.
'What's in a Name? ' [C]
'Brutus will start a Spirit as soon as Caesar! ' [D]
To ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. , P. L. , ETC. , ETC.
MY DEAR FRIEND--The Tale of 'Peter Bell', which I now introduce to
your notice, and to that of the Public, has, in its Manuscript state,
nearly survived its _minority_:--for it first saw the light in the
summer of 1798. During this long interval, pains have been taken at
different times to make the production less unworthy of a favourable
reception; or, rather, to fit it for filling _permanently_ a station,
however humble, in the Literature of our Country. This has, indeed,
been the aim of all my endeavours in Poetry, which, you know, have
been sufficiently laborious to prove that I deem the Art not lightly
to be approached; and that the attainment of excellence in it, may
laudably be made the principal object of intellectual pursuit by any
man, who, with reasonable consideration of circumstances, has faith in
his own impulses.
The Poem of 'Peter Bell', as the Prologue will show, was composed
under a belief that the Imagination not only does not require for its
exercise the intervention of supernatural agency, but that, though
such agency be excluded, the faculty may be called forth as
imperiously and for kindred results of pleasure, by incidents, within
the compass of poetic probability, in the humblest departments of
daily life.
Since that Prologue was written, _you_ have exhibited most
splendid effects of judicious daring, in the opposite and usual
course. Let this acknowledgment make my peace with the lovers of the
supernatural; and I am persuaded it will be admitted, that to you, as
a Master in that province of the art, the following Tale, whether from
contrast or congruity, is not an unappropriate offering. Accept it,
then, as a public testimony of affectionate admiration from one with
whose name yours has been often coupled (to use your own words) for
evil and for good; and believe me to be, with earnest wishes that life
and health may be granted you to complete the many important works in
which you are engaged, and with high respect, Most faithfully yours,
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
RYDAL MOUNT, April 7, 1819.
[Written at Alfoxden. Founded upon an anecdote which I read in a
newspaper, of an ass being found hanging his head over a canal in a
wretched posture. Upon examination a dead body was found in the water,
and proved to be the body of its master. The countenance, gait, and
figure of Peter were taken from a wild rover with whom I walked from
Builth, on the river Wye, downwards, nearly as far as the town of Hay.
He told me strange stories. It has always been a pleasure to me through
life, to catch at every opportunity that has occurred in my rambles of
becoming acquainted with this class of people. The number of Peter's
wives was taken from the trespasses, in this way, of a lawless creature,
who lived in the county of Durham, and used to be attended by many
women, sometimes not less than half a dozen, as disorderly as himself,
and a story went in the country that he had been heard to say, while
they were quarrelling, "Why can't ye be quiet, there's none so many of
you? " Benoni, or the child of sorrow, I knew when I was a schoolboy. His
mother had been deserted by a gentleman in the neighbourhood, she
herself being a gentlewoman by birth. The circumstances of her story
were told me by my dear old dame, Ann Tyson, who was her confidante. The
lady died broken-hearted. In the woods of Alfoxden I used to take great
delight in noticing the habits, tricks, and physiognomy of asses; and I
have no doubt that I was thus put upon writing the poem out of liking
for the creature that is often so dreadfully abused.
October, 1803
To the Men of Kent. October, 1803
In the Pass of Killicranky
Anticipation. October, 1803
Lines on the Expected Invasion, 1803
* * * * *
WORDSWORTH'S POETICAL WORKS
* * * * *
PETER BELL: A TALE [A]
Composed 1798. [B]--Published 1819.
'What's in a Name? ' [C]
'Brutus will start a Spirit as soon as Caesar! ' [D]
To ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. , P. L. , ETC. , ETC.
MY DEAR FRIEND--The Tale of 'Peter Bell', which I now introduce to
your notice, and to that of the Public, has, in its Manuscript state,
nearly survived its _minority_:--for it first saw the light in the
summer of 1798. During this long interval, pains have been taken at
different times to make the production less unworthy of a favourable
reception; or, rather, to fit it for filling _permanently_ a station,
however humble, in the Literature of our Country. This has, indeed,
been the aim of all my endeavours in Poetry, which, you know, have
been sufficiently laborious to prove that I deem the Art not lightly
to be approached; and that the attainment of excellence in it, may
laudably be made the principal object of intellectual pursuit by any
man, who, with reasonable consideration of circumstances, has faith in
his own impulses.
The Poem of 'Peter Bell', as the Prologue will show, was composed
under a belief that the Imagination not only does not require for its
exercise the intervention of supernatural agency, but that, though
such agency be excluded, the faculty may be called forth as
imperiously and for kindred results of pleasure, by incidents, within
the compass of poetic probability, in the humblest departments of
daily life.
Since that Prologue was written, _you_ have exhibited most
splendid effects of judicious daring, in the opposite and usual
course. Let this acknowledgment make my peace with the lovers of the
supernatural; and I am persuaded it will be admitted, that to you, as
a Master in that province of the art, the following Tale, whether from
contrast or congruity, is not an unappropriate offering. Accept it,
then, as a public testimony of affectionate admiration from one with
whose name yours has been often coupled (to use your own words) for
evil and for good; and believe me to be, with earnest wishes that life
and health may be granted you to complete the many important works in
which you are engaged, and with high respect, Most faithfully yours,
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
RYDAL MOUNT, April 7, 1819.
[Written at Alfoxden. Founded upon an anecdote which I read in a
newspaper, of an ass being found hanging his head over a canal in a
wretched posture. Upon examination a dead body was found in the water,
and proved to be the body of its master. The countenance, gait, and
figure of Peter were taken from a wild rover with whom I walked from
Builth, on the river Wye, downwards, nearly as far as the town of Hay.
He told me strange stories. It has always been a pleasure to me through
life, to catch at every opportunity that has occurred in my rambles of
becoming acquainted with this class of people. The number of Peter's
wives was taken from the trespasses, in this way, of a lawless creature,
who lived in the county of Durham, and used to be attended by many
women, sometimes not less than half a dozen, as disorderly as himself,
and a story went in the country that he had been heard to say, while
they were quarrelling, "Why can't ye be quiet, there's none so many of
you? " Benoni, or the child of sorrow, I knew when I was a schoolboy. His
mother had been deserted by a gentleman in the neighbourhood, she
herself being a gentlewoman by birth. The circumstances of her story
were told me by my dear old dame, Ann Tyson, who was her confidante. The
lady died broken-hearted. In the woods of Alfoxden I used to take great
delight in noticing the habits, tricks, and physiognomy of asses; and I
have no doubt that I was thus put upon writing the poem out of liking
for the creature that is often so dreadfully abused.
