Preface to Lyrical Ballads blog #1

In the preface of Lyrical Ballads it is stated that all of their works revolve around the idea of "real language". I feel that poetry turns many readers away because they feel as if the use of personification, metaphors, and underlying symbols are too difficult to connect with. Writing with that poetic diction is the opposite of real language. It can be hit or miss for readers when it comes to understanding and relating with that sort of poetry. Introducing the concept of real language which can be described as the every day language used by men of middle class. By using what I am referring to as real language Wordsworth hopes to add a sense of natural connection and understanding of human experiences. Wordsworth and Coleridge described their use of real language in poetry as an experiment. They hoped to find out whether the use of this language would ever be deemed poetic. They also were curious as to if when reading it pleasure would be sparked. A personal comparison I could make to this would be when I read an unpublished work by Walt Whitman entitled "Beauty". When I read the title I wasn't expecting to read what I did. This poem speaks of beauty differently than I had ever seen before. It steers into the world of reality rather than that of one that you can not associate with. Real language contains a natural depiction of human passions, characters, and experiences.

Found on page 71in Western Wind an Introduction to Poetry fifth edition by David Mason and John Frederick Nims.

Beauty

a series of comparisons

not the beautiful youth with features of bloom & brightness

but the bronzed old farmer & father

not the soldiers trim in handsome uniforms marching off to sprightly music with measured step

but the remnant returning thinned out,

not the beautiful flag with stainless white, spangled with silver* gold

But the old rag just adhering to the staff, in tatters- the remnant of many battle-fields

not the beautiful girl or the elegant lady with ? complexion ,

But the mechanics wife at work or the mother of many children

middle-aged or old

Not the vaunted scenery of the tourist, picturesque,

But the plain landscape, the bleak sea shore, or the barren plain, with

the common sky & sun,- or at night the moon & stars

Walk Whitman (1819-1892)