SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS

The title draws the attention due to the use of two remote words. This might mean the poem was written a long time ago or that the poet wanted to draw the attention of the reader on language itself. The two words are not only remote: they are also longest in the title.
The text seems to refer to a she, this might mean the she may be an old woman, a young girl or an innocent child. The reader doesn’t know yet and he may be interesting to find it out. In addition he should be curious to discover why the “she” lives or has chosen to live in hidden places.
Textually analysis could also unveil the reason why the poet wrote a poem about her. This poem might be a ballad because it is organized into 3 quatrains.
The first quatrain gives to the reader the information about where she lives and who is she. The reader can discover that she is a young lady and also that she is alone because nobody loves her. This is due to the presence of the repetition of sound “r” that gives a negative aspect of her life.
The second quatrain starts with an image of a lonely violet and nobody can see the whole flower. There are two similes: the violet and the star. The similes characterize the personality of the young girl. She is shy and simply like a violet; the reader can discover those information thanks to the alliteration of sound “s” in “mossy stone” and sound “h” in “half hidden”. She is also nice and brilliant like a star; even there the alliteration of sound “s” in “star - shining in the sky” confer to the reader the idea of this girl.
The third quatrain we understand the importance of this young lady to the writer because is the only one who know and figure out this girl. He knows that the girl’s death is a sufferance for him, especially because nobody knows her.