In this text I am going to analyse Wordsworth’s poem “She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways” to find out the poet’s message.

The title is about a woman, or a girl, who lived in a lace that was unknown. it elicits curiosity in the reader’s mind about the identity of the “She”, the reason why she lived in a far away place and what the “untrodden ways” are like.

The layout shows that the text is arranged into three quatrains and that the poem was written in alternate rhymes. The fist stanza plays the role of the introduction of the poem where the reader understands who the text is about: a girl living in Scotland near the “springs of Dove”, who is not loved because she lives in a hidden place, in close contact with nature. In the second stanza the poet invites the reader to consider the unique quality of the girl’s beauty, even if it is not apparent. In fact, he describes her as a precious yet isolated beautiful young woman, but her name and her identity remain unknown so that the reader has still a reason to go on reading the poem. Also, in the second quatrain the writer develops a comparison and gives a judgement on the girl, saying that she is “A violet by a mossy stone” and that she is “Fair as a star, when only one / Is shining in the sky”, highlighting the uniqueness of her beauty. In the last stanza the reader’s curiosity about the girl’s identity is ultimately satisfied when the poet says that her name is Lucy. After that he makes clear the importance that the girl had in his life, saying that when she died, that made a great difference for him.

Regarding the connotative analysis of the poem, the writer enriches the text with frequent exclamation points, which convey and emotional effect by stressing specific fragments of the poem, especially the last line (“The difference to me!”). this echo-effect has the function of communicating the poet’s emotions linked to the memory of the girl. This sound device, and the use of long vowel sounds that creates the idea of vastity, serves the function of making the mystery surrounding the girl tangible to the reader. The choice of words, such as “untrodden”, “very few”, “half hidden”, “only one”, also reinforces the curiosity of the reader because he would like to know more about the girl’s identity. Also her name is particularly relevant because the name Lucy implies the word “light” and therefore the girl seems to be a source of light in the poet’s life. The use of the metaphor “a violet by a mossy stone” allows the poet to refer to the girl as a shy flower that lives hidden. In addition, the simile “fair as a star” shows the uniqueness of the girl’s beauty. The cyclical structure of the poem highlights the dramatic impact the death of Lucy had on the poet’s life.