In the present text I'm going to analyse William Wordsworth's poem "She dwelt among the untrodden ways" in order to discover the poet's message and make my personal consideration about it.

The title of the poem creates expectations in the reader. It invites curiosity about the identity of the "She", the reasons why she lives there and what the untrodden ways are like. The reader may think the "She" can be a lady, a young girl who lives in a place that is not much known or attended by a lot of people. So the question is: why don't people go there? We also have to notice the poet's use of the language: he uses archaic words such as "dwelt" which is rather removed from everyday language. This improves the curiosity of the reader.

As regards the layout, we can notice that the text is a poem; it's arranged into three quatrains, so each consists of four lines of different lenght. The text is written in alternate rhyme and this contributes to create a rhythmic sound pattern.

Each stanza plays its own specific role in the text. In the first stanza the writer introduces us the identity of the girl, saying that she was a maid, who lived in a sort of rural place in Dove, near the fountainhead of water. However, even if she dwelt in this beautiful place, no one loved her, she was alone. In the second stanza the writer introduces the beauty of the girl comparing her to a violet hidden by a mossy stone. This means her beauty is not immediately visible by other people, so the writer wants us to reflect, inviting the reader to appreciate this kind of hidden beauty. In the third stanza the writer increases the condition of the girl saying that she lived unknown. Since only few people knew her, only few people knew about her death. One of them is the writer himself, who expresses all the emotions experienced and the astonishment felt with the exclamation "oh" at line 11; it seemed a sigh. As a consequence we understand that this girl is very important to him.

As regards the connotation, the reader must notice the presence of an echo-effect. This kind of device has got a particular and specific function inside the poem: as a matter of fact this effect conveys the poet's emotions linked to his memory of the girl. Furthermore the poet uses some sound devices. First of all the rhyme scheme is ABAB in all the poem. This sound pattern contributes to make a regular and cadenced rhythm. In the poem there are some frequent sounds. Afterwards there are some alliterations: in the first line there is the repetition of the consonant "d"; in the second one there is the repetition of the letter "s"; in the fifth there is the repetition of the "s" and even in the seventh and in  the eighth lines. There is an assonance as well. In the third line of the first stanza we have the repetition of the vowel "e". All the assonances and the alliterations presented in the text contribute to make a regular rhythm. The uses of long vowel sounds  helps create the idea of vastity and distant place where Lucy lives unknown. As regards the semantic choices, the writer uses natural words and expressions that recall the sense of solitude. Then there are some figures of speech; at line 5 there is a metaphor: the beauty of the girl is compared to a hidden violet. The poet means that the girl is like a very shy flower that hasn't got the courage to reveal itself to the world. Another metaphor appears in lines 7-8 where the girl is compared to a shining star, the only one in the sky. The name of the girl, which is revealed only in the last stanza of the poem, after all the curiosity of the reader, is very important. According to the metaphor, Lucy implies the word light, tha girl is bringer of light in the poet's life.  In the second stanza, at lines 7-8 there is an enjambement with the function to make the reader continue to read the poem. Finally there is a change in the words order at lines 5-6 when the writer says "A violet by a mossy stone/ Half hidden". 

To conclude the themes of the poem are death, that is part of each human being, even if in this case it is a death in solitude, without anyone. Then we have the theme of beauty, which is a hidden and not external beauty, but it's a sort of interior beauty that has to be perceived and understood. Furthermore there is the theme of remembrance and memory, which is very satisfying for the poet because it's the only way in which he can remember the girl.

The poem I've read was very interesting and even if it was written a few time ago, it deals with important and actual themes such as death and beauty.