Textual analysis

SHE DWELT AMOUNG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS

In  the title the author uses archaic words: dwelt ( that means to live) and untrodden (an archaic word to say hidden). Reading the title the intelligent reader may wonder :
- why the poet uses an archaic form;
- why the lady lives hidden;
-why he tell us about the girl.

The poem is organized into three stanzas, of four lines each. The reader may expects to be in front of a ballad, used to communicate to common people.

In the first stanzas there is a speaking voice who says that the lady lives in a distant place: near springs of Dove ( Scotland ) and make the reader think that she is a young lady who is not praised because no one knew her , and also few people can love her.
the function of this stanza is to introduce the girl, the setting, where she lives and to introduce her from a different point of view.
In the second quatrain the poet compares the girl to a violet who lives among the stones, hidden by  moss and as a consequence you could hardly see her. The poet gives a judgment and tells the reader she is very nice-looking and she remind him a star. He gives additional information:  he says that her beauty is similar to the beauty of the star when only one is shining in the sky. It means that she  is precious  for the narrator.
The function of the second stanza is to give the reader a very positive idea of the girl, saying that she is a rare creature.
In the third quatrain the intelligent reader understands the speaking voice has a very positive opinion about Lucy, this is the name of the girl, and he misses her because he can feel the difference because she is no longer here.

The poem is composed mostly in alternative rhyme is of type A-B-A-B: the rhythm is given by the rhyming couplet  and the close and open vowel sounds. Close vowels reinforce  a feature of Lucy: the secretly.
The assonance creates an echo effect.
The first stanza ends with a colon to drive the reader attention and only in the last stanza he shows the girl and says her name. The second quatrain presents a metaphor: violet. With it the author gives a judgment : the girl is shy, hidden and perfumed. There is also a simile that better describes the girl's qualities: uniqueness and preciousness.

The poem tells about the life: sometimes there are people almost insignificant who have values thst only few people can see.