| This thesis explores the different sources of inspiration in William Wordsworth's poetry. These sources, I argue, can mainly be classified into two types: supernatural and human-oriented. The classical and traditional Wordsworth relies on supernatural sources, such as pagan spirits, the Christian spirit, and neo-classical spirits to sustain and inspire his poetry. In addition to these sources, I argue that he has invented human-oriented 'spirits of place', and that his use of these spirits reflects a Wordsworth who is independent of tradition and more reliant on his own genius and the human communities around him.;Because the inspiration of most of Wordsworth's poems springs from nature, my first chapter will study how nature is instrumental in bringing about this inspiration. Nature is symbolic of those metaphysical truths which he considers important subjects for writing, under the influence of eighteenth-century expectations that poetry be philosophical. As a result, while longing to portray nature 'as it is', as his sister Dorothy does, he nevertheless resorts to ii the metaphorical meanings of nature rather than its beauty in its basic appearance.;My second chapter will focus on the Christian spirit in Wordsworth's poetry, especially in Memorials of a Tour in Italy, and Memorials of a Tour on the Continent. It seeks to show how the poet, especially while abroad, depends on it for inspiration. He seems to be creating a safe environment for writing, when his surroundings look and feel foreign. He cultivates a feeling of familiarity through tangible things such as religious relics, architecture, and music, and the Christian history of the places.;My third chapter will investigate neo-classical spirits in Wordsworth's poetry. I argue that his invocation of them is a rhetorical device employed as part of a tradition among neo-classical poets such as Dryden, Pope, and Johnson, whom Wordsworth highly respects as his poetic predecessors. There will also be a note on his critical stance against this method of obtaining inspiration, as he realises an elitist kind of poetry does not suit that responsibility for the rustic and lowly which he considers his.;My fourth chapter will introduce the genius loci of the Lake District, which to Wordsworth was a preferred source of inspiration, because of the physical and emotional intimacy that he cultivated with the place since childhood. I attempt also to show that the genius loci has sustained his poetry even when he is abroad and imaginatively revisits the place. Despite the strength of this source, he eventually longs for a more sustainable source, one that is not prone to be destroyed due to the possibility of a change of landscape in the locality due to rural development or industrialisation.;As a result of this, Wordsworth invents what I term 'historical', 'literary', and 'embodied' spirits of place, as alternative sources. These three kinds of spirit of place will be discussed in Chapters 5, 6, and 7 respectively. Historical spirits of place are a community imagined by Wordsworth, one in which people share the same valuation of certain virtues that are specific to the British nation. Literary spirits of place are a community in his mind, one that consists of literary figures who are supportive of or foundational for Wordsworth's writing. He imagines receiving their support through quoting from their poems. Embodied spirits of place are also an imaginary community based on the rural one in the Lake District. They are characters that Wordsworth creates based on real rustic people, and their lives are sustained by the love and sympathy of the community, just as his own poetry is sustained by it. |
