W. Wordsworth, Textual Analysis - She dwelt among the untrodden ways

Since the title of Wordsworth’s poem it’s possible to put into focus  the main subject: it’s about a woman who lives in a lonely place. The title, repeated in the first line, seems quite complex because of its length. Here the poet  uses the simple past tense maybe because he tells the reader a story that took place in the past.

The text is organized into two parts: the first is a four-line stanza and has an introductory  function while the second is longer (eight lines) it probably provides more details about the woman.

The layout is quite conventional: there is a regular line arrangement. Some lines are longer (e.g. 1, 3, 9 lines) in order to reinforce the visual impact.  

The rhyme scheme is alternate in the whole text. The poem can be compared to a nursery rhyme and therefore easy to remember. The emphasis is provided by a frequent of enjambments to quicken the  rhythm.

The narration is stopped by commas, full stops, exclamation marks and semicolons to pavethe way to the reader's reflection.A meaningful example is the full stop in  4^th line. It creates a strong pause and divides the two paragraphs. On the other hand exclamation marks (lines 6, 12)  also have the function to highlight the poet’s emotions, and his involvement in the situation described.

The lyric is the narration of Lucy’s events: a beautiful girl who lived lonely in Scotland till her sudden death. Therefore the text is a poet’s memory about someone he met in the past.

Wordsworth gradually gives the reader information about the girl:  he provides real geographicaldata (springs of Dove river)  that remind peaceful places), information about her young age (she is called “maid”: not a “child” or a “woman”), he tells her name and finally describes some of the girl's features. For example she probably liked living alone, far from people who could not met her. Most likely she was loved by the poet: this opinion may be confirmed in  the end of the text, where the poet’s nostalgia for is apparent. In the 10^th line her death is unveiled  by  the verb “ceased to be”.

Wordsworth resorts also to rhetorical figures to create a better profile of the girl: for example a metaphor (lines 5, 6) and a simile (line 7). The first one links Lucy to a violet, a  very small and simple flower that is not easily visible since  it grows in the middle of mistletoe.

On the contrary the girl's name Lucy, is compared  to the star when only one is shining in the sky so Lucy becomes a light and therefore not only visibile but also a carrier of light to anybody outside on that night.