Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level – Excellence in English Language and Literature


wise to look at them a little more closely and see if there is a unifying thread or any sort of explanation. One way to look at it is to say that perhaps Wordsworth’s use of contradictions gives the poem a dream-like quality. The poem does not need to be true, or even credible, to be powerful. (The ‘springs of Dove’ are not real, for example.) We know it cannot be factual, but that does not take from the central message, which is the perfection of this ‘fair maid’, or the idea of her, and the poet’s sense of loss at her passing. The tone appears mournful, and we may be inclined to pity this ‘Maid’ who lived and died seemingly unnoticed.


The paradoxes continue in the last two lines of this quatrain (four lines). The poet says there was nobody to praise the girl, and ‘very few’ to love her. Again, we have to wonder how this can be. If there were even a few people to love her, then they would have praised her, surely? Or is Wordsworth saying that in this quiet, rural place, and in this simple way of life, there was no open, public praise? Is he contrasting it with the more sophisticated, but less sincere city life in which public recognition is often more important than true worth?


If we look at the fi rst stanza again, then we can view it as a contrast between the public and the private worlds. There is no public acknowledgement, no lavish praise, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. The innocent, gentle life of the countryside is held up as something pure and beautiful. This reading changes the tone slightly. From being a sorrowful description of someone who died, seemingly unloved, we can now see that Lucy’s life was one of peace and simplicity. Wordsworth values these aspects of rural life, and Lucy is an example of perfection and beauty. She may be Wordsworth’s muse (poetic inspiration): an embodiment of all that is ideal and natural.


In the second stanza, Wordsworth tells us more about the mysterious Lucy. She is compared to ‘A violet by a mossy stone/Half hidden from the eye!’ The metaphor comparing the girl to a violet is an interesting one. It tells of her shy beauty, but there is more to it than that. Violets play an important role in many myths and legends. They are associated with love, death, humility and mourning. They appear in stories from Ancient Greece, European folktales and Christian tales of saints. There are several accounts of violets springing up on the graves of saints and virgins. It is likely that Wordsworth would have been well aware of all these associations, and they strengthen the idea of Lucy as someone who was pure and natural, as well as emphasising the poet’s sense of loss at her passing.


The last two lines of the second stanza offer a contrast to this idea of Lucy as a shy, simple girl. She is compared to a star ‘shining in the sky.’ Interestingly, this star is said to shine when no others do. The brightest stars (actually planets – Venus or Jupiter, depending on the time of year) are visible before any others. Lucy’s solitary nature and individuality are highlighted here. She shines brightly on her own, before the other stars appear. We may imagine that they are all similar and that none stands out from the others. But Lucy does. She may not shine in the places others do, or at the times others do, but she is unique. This reinforces the idea that Lucy is someone who shines brightly in her own sphere. Her world exists beyond ‘the untrodden ways’, or busy, urban life. Others may need public praise and acknowledgement, but Lucy is a treasure in her world. She is not concerned with, or obsessed by fame. Those who know where to look – whether it is in the shelter of a stone, or in the sky at a time when no stars may be expected to shine – can see and appreciate her beauty and radiance. She does not need to push herself forward in order to be admired by such people.


There is also the possibility that Wordsworth is saying that only a poet is capable of praising Lucy. Her loveliness may go unnoticed by the people around her, but he is able to express his appreciation of her.


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Poetry


oetry


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