Textuality » 4BLS Interacting
EFidanza-She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
by - (2013-10-01)
Up to 4 BLS - Textual Analysis Practice. She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
William Wordsworth
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!
In the title the poet usesa archaic language, so that the reader can understand the period when the speaking voice is talking about.
The reader can suppose that the poet will tell about a woman who lived in a hidden place.
As for the lay out the reader can understand that the poem is a ballad because it is divided into 3 stanzas and each one has 4 lines (quatrain).
The first stanza introduces the girl, the setting from an external point of view.
The reader undersands that the girl was not appreciated only because she lived faraway, in a distant place, where no one can see she; only few people could meet and therefore love her.
In the second stanza the speaking voice compares the girl to a violet who lives among stones hidden by the moss. In addition, the poet tells she is nice-looking and he compares her to a star when only one shining in the sky. This means she was considered precious by the speaking voice..
The function of the stanza is to express a very positive vision about the maid and to convey Lucy (that's the name of the girl) personality.
In the third and last stanza, the speaking voice tells, again, that only few peopele had the opportunity to meet her. Now Lucy is buried in her grave and that makes a great difference for the poet.
The reader can therefore understand that the speaking voice has a very positive opinion about Lucy and she was very important for him. That is why he says he misses her so much, in particoular now, after her death he can feel the difference due to the lack of her.