On "Prospectus"

Wordsworth presents here all his fundamentals:  the beauty of nature and man working on the imagination, "recollected in tranquility," leading to that sense of awe and wonder that comes from contemplating something greater than one's self.  The poet, or any artist, has the unique privilege of seeing more than the ordinary--the ancient concepts of poet as creator (poiema) or prophet (vates).  The poetic imagination is able to take the materials of the surrounding world and realities, and move beyond them.  Here is one key point:  the poet must go beyond the world, beyond himself, or he loses his role as creator and prophet--or at least denigrates them by trapping them in himself.  As "Prospectus" shows just as clearly, the poet must unite the sense impressions with the actions of the intellect, and be honest with himself:  he must write what he truly perceives, not how he wishes things to be, or exaggerating one element over another, or sacrificing intellect for emotion or vice versa.  Creating art is process that requires the involvement of the whole person:  senses, heart, mind, soul, and that extra creative "something" that belongs to the poet alone.

Because of this transcendent and objective element, it is essential that art not be a rule unto itself.  Wordsworth speaks "Of moral strength, and intellectual power" and "the law supreme Of that intelligence which governs all."  The work of art must be in accord with the natural moral order so that the audience can receive that "blessed consolation in distress" that the poet has found in his imaginative contemplations.  The highest art is that which heals by revealing new truths and perspectives, by portraying the pathos of the human condition without submitting it to the banality of mere self-expression or out-pouring of some unmitigated or unbalanced emotion.  The poet is not an autonomous rebel, not a Manfred, but a priest, one with heavy obligations to the gift which has been given to him.

The Starting Point: from "Prospectus"

On Man, on Nature, and on Human Life,

Musing in solitude, I oft perceive

Fair trains of imagery before me rise,

Accompanied by feelings of delight

Pure, or with no unpleasing sadness mixed;

And I am consicous of affecting thoughts

And dear remembrances, who presence soothes

Or elevates the Mind, intent to weigh

The good and evil of our moral state.

--To these emotions, whencesoe'er they come,

Whether from breath of outward circumstance,

Or from the Soul--an impulse to herself--

I would give utterance in numerous verse.

Of Truth, of Grandeur, Beauty, Love, and Hope,

And melancholy Fear subdued by Faith;

Of blessed consolations in distress;

Of moral strength, and intellectual Power;

Of joy in widest commonalty spread;

Of the individual Mind that keeps her own

Inviolate retirement, subject there

To Conscience only, and the law supreme

Of that Intelligence which governs all--

I sing:--"fit audience let me find though few!"

          --Wordsworth