"SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS" William Wordsworth - 1799 

SHE dwelt among the untrodden ways

Beside the springs of Dove,

A Maid whom there were none to praise

And very few to love:

 

A violet by a mossy stone

Half hidden from the eye!

-Fair as a star, when only one

Is shining in the sky.

 

She lived unknown, and few could know

When Lucy ceased to be;

But she is in her grave, and, oh,

The difference to me!

ITALIANO

Ella fra strade abbandonate dimorava, 
presso le fonti del Dove, 
una fanciulla che nessuno aveva da lodare 
e pochissimi da amare: 

una Viola su di una muschiosa roccia 
nascosta ai nostri occhi per metà! 
Bella come una stella, quando è la sola 
A splendere nel cielo. 

Fu sconosciuta in vita e pochi seppero 
Quando Lucy cessò di esistere; 
ma ora è in una tomba, e oh, 
che differenza per me! 

 

The first thing that comes to reader's mind are the two uncommon words presented in the title: "dwelt" and untrodden".  Moreover, the reader can notice that the protagonist of the poem will be a woman, this supposition is due to the presence of the word "she" in the title. In addition, the intelligent reader should pose himself a question: why the author chose to narrate about a woman who lives or has chosen to live in hidden places. So the title helps the reader to create the expectation of the protagonist, a woman, and forces the reader to pose himself two questions: why the poet chose to use remote words like "dwelt" and "untrodden"?Why he chose to narrate facts about a woman who lives in hidden places?  The reader should be interested and curious to discover the answers of these two questions.

The poem is arranged into three quatrains. This structure helps the reader to understand that the poem is a ballad.

In the first stanza, the narrator gives the reader  information about the woman, protagonist of the poem . The sentence " beside the springs of Dove" doesn't help the reader to collocate the place, even if the information deal with the setting. Indeed "Dove" is an unknown and a mysterious setting, known only by the reader. The narrator adds some information with the word "Maid", a remote word which stands for a woman who is not married. In the first stanza, the reader can feel a sense of sadness and desolation, even because the narrator highlights that the lady had very few relationship, indeed it was " A Maid whom there were none to praise and very few to love", but doesn't explain why she had no relationship. In this way, he increases the reader's curiosity.

 The second stanza presents two metaphors: the first one deals with flowers, while the second one deals with stars. The word "hidden" recalls the word "untrodden" of the title. The poet use two metaphors to describe her. First, she is characterised as a "violet by mossy stone"   , which underlines her lightness. The second metaphor compares the lady to a "shining star".  Even if, through these figures, the protagonist is described as a beautiful woman, it is still sorrounded by a sense of insecurity and curiosity. Indeed, the reader still don't know why she lives in hidden places and who is she.  

The last quatrain finally unveil who the woman is: her name is Lucy. The past tense used in the last stanza suggests that Lucy might be dead. The thesys is confirmed in the second line of the quatrain, where the poet tells the reader she's dead.

 

In the end, the narrator still doesn't explain why she lived in desolated places, but the intelligent reader should understand that she was her will. Indeed she had "very few to love" because she didn't want to. In the last stanza, the reader notices the relationship between the protagonist and the poet: the poet loved Lucy, but she died before he could tell her his feelings.

In conclusion, the poet invites the reader to reach their dreams or objectives without being doubtful or intimidated.