The poem “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways” was written by William Wordsworth in 1798.

Looking at the title the reader can get that the poem will talk about a lady because there is the personal pronoun “she”; the reader can also perceive by the use of an archaic language (as “dwelt” and “untrodden”) that the poem has been written long time ago. Al least, the reader expects an unusual setting because the words “untrodden ways” give an idea of lonely places. So the information given by the title create a sense of curiosity in the reader’s mind.

Coming to the text, you can understand that it is not a sonnet because there are twelve lines, not fourteen as it’s used to be in a sonnet.

The text appears divided in two parts: the first one is half of the second one.

Reading the first two lines, the reader has already an idea about the setting of the poem: the poet mentions the springs of Dove, which is a Scotland river and gives to the setting an exotic atmosphere.

In line 3 comes out a first description of the girl: the author tells that very few people loved her. He uses past tenses, so maybe the girl is dead.

The colon at the end of line 4 makes the reader expect something as a description.

From line 5, the poet talks about the lady and first of all he creates a metaphor using the image of a violet hidden between mossy stones. Then he compares the lady to a star which is the only one shining in the sky; the star could represents a point of reference for the poet.

Then the poet repeats that few people loved the lady and known her when she “ceased to be”: so the girl in dead and her death makes a difference for the poet, whose life was enriched by her presence.

Looking at the rhyme scheme, you could notice that the words that rimed summarize the poem and give more rapid rhythm to it, pushing the reader to read.

The poem could give to the reader the message that a simple person with quality and richness of spirit could change the life of a person. Meet and know interesting people can make the difference in our lives.

Another message could be related to the beauty of landscape, which sometimes influences our life positively. A person who live absorbed in the nature can discover unknown own qualities and reach a level o inner happiness.

Maybe the poet wants the reader to know