Poems+by+William+Wordsworth+1897


 * Title:** //Poems by William Wordsworth: A Selection Edited by Edward Dowden//
 * Author:** [|William Wordsworth]
 * Editor:** Edward Dowden
 * Place of Publication:** London
 * Year of Publication**: 1897
 * Call Number:** [|PR 5852 D6]

__**Introduction**__

Published by Ginn & Company (London) in 1897, //Poems by William Wordsworth: A Selection Edited by Edward Dowden// boasts a diverse collection of Wordsworth’s “best poems in the best text” (Dowden Preface). Bursting with over two hundred poems, the selected edition includes political sonnets, lyrics, and narratives geared towards scholars and students of Wordsworth.

__**Author**__

William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland in April 1770, the second eldest child of a middle-class family (Gill para.1). Wordsworth attends numerous different schools throughout his childhood before finally graduating from Cambridge in 1791 (Gill para. 8). Yet, his literary career starts long before his graduation. In 1787, a seventeen-year-old Wordsworth publishes his first poem under the pseudonym Axiologus titled “On Seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep at a Tale of Distress” (Gill para. 5). This poem acts as a catalyst from which Wordsworth begins to stitch letterpress into literary genius, and remakes the very foundation of poetry.

As a literary icon, Wordsworth possesses a unique characteristic for he bestrides the border between two disciplinary distinctions: the Romantic and Victorian periods. Having published a substantial amount of his works before the rise of Queen Victoria, scholars conventionally relate him with other Romantic writers such as Coleridge, Blake, and Byron. Yet, Wordsworth wrote well into the Victorian period, and in 1835 published his current compositions in a volume titled [|//Yarrow Revisited//](Gill para. 70). Reflective and melancholic, Stephen Gill describes the volume as “powerful in economy as any [Wordsworth] had ever written (para. 70). On the heels of //Yarrow Revisited//, Wordsworth published his last major works [|//Poems, Chiefly of Early and Late Years//] in 1842 (Gill para. 71). Both publications were vastly read and disseminated among Victorian readers, providing pleasure and inspiration to many.

__**The Book and Its Contents**__

The front of Ginn & Company’s //Poems by William Wordsworth//, employs a sober green cover whose circumference is encased by an intricately designed, and imprinted, border. The front proclaims the book to be part of “The Athenæum Press Series,” which publishes in New York, Boston, Chicago, and London (according to the Title Page). The relatively plain front cover suggests the series is geared towards serious and thoughtful scholars. The decision to bind the book in a muted green dyed cloth cover further supplements the text’s sombre elements. The title consists of imprinted gold gilt lettering and a decretive font, which adds vitality to the rather dull exterior. The size of the front title is rather small and does not demand a significant portion of the covers’ real estate. The spine of the book features the annuals’ title in gold lettering as well, to aid the book’s aesthetic appeal while shelved. As a mass produced series the binding is fairly simple and consists of standard thread which has been used to sow each section together one at a time. All of the aforementioned information leads to the belief that Ginn & Company produced the book for scholars and students alike.



__**Illustration of Author**__

Moving into the interior of the selected collection we are met with a striking black and white wood print portrait of William Wordsworth. The portrait—titled “WM. Wordsworth, From a Drawing by Miss M. Gillies,”—illustrates Wordsworth in a very solemn and subdued atmosphere. Only half of the great poets’ face is shown as he stares to the left side of the page. Similar to the sober nature of the cover, the portrait portrays Wordsworth in a serious manner- wearing formal attire with no hint of any facial expression. Due to the speckles of grey hair and a thinning hairline, the drawing appears to have taken place later in Wordsworth’s life. All in all, Miss M. Gillies drawing of Wordsworth provides readers with a visual representation of the great poet and his scholarly nature.

__**Preface**__

Following the solitary picture of Wordsworth is a lively Preface written by Edward Dowden. The distinguished editor utilizes the Preface to highlight the process he employs in selecting the poems. Dowden states that he wishes for each reader to “sink into the beauty of the poems,” for there is “much to be learnt as to the craftsmanship of the poetic art” from Wordsworth (Preface viii). The poems Dowden selects are then representations of what he believes are Wordsworth’s most striking poems. Dowden continues on to inform the reader that the selected edition includes “all the pieces by Matthew Arnold” with considerable additions of his own made (Preface viii). In 1879, Arnold publishes a selected collection of Wordsworth’s poems he edits himself titled [|//Poems of Wordsworth//]. Dowden adopts the list of poems included by Arnold in his collection and adds in numerous others which he deems important for readers.

__**Addenda**__

Directly following the Preface is an Addenda which explains that two texts (useful to students of Woodsworthian poetry) have been published since the writing of the introduction. These books are: “A Description of the Wordsworth and Coleridge Manuscripts in the Possession of Mr. T. Norton Longman,” edited, with notes, by W. Hale White (Longmans, Green & Co., 1897), and “Poems in Two Volumes by William Wordsworth, reprinted from the original edition of 1807; edited, with a note on the Wordsworthian Sonnet,” by Thomas Hutchinson (London, David Nutt, 1807). While outdated, both of these books may prove to be beneficial for students wishing to further their knowledge on Wordsworth through the lens of Victorian scholarship.

__**Organization of Poems**__

Not wishing to taint the unique order Wordsworth intends, Dowden assembles the poems in a way which aids didacticism and originality. He states that: "Wordsworth's general design in arranging his poems necessarily disappears from a volume which does not include 'The Excursion' as a whole. The chronological arrangement has been adopted as the most instructive to a student. In the Political Sonnets, although they are only a selection from the series, the sequence, as determined by Wordsworth, has been followed" (Preface viii). Dowden, in his arrangement of the poems, stays true to his intended goal to teach readers the artistry of Wordsworth's genius. By changing the order Wordsworth intends his poems to be intellectually consumed, Dowden believes the learning process would be hindered. For Dowden, the arrangement of the poems seems just as important as the texts themselves.

In terms of the physical characteristics, the text’s thin yellowish paper possesses clean cut edges and seems prone to ripping. Throughout the book, numerous tears and stains are present, suggesting extensive use by the owner(s). In addition, the books’ 4”x6 1/2 dimensions advocates for its massed produced and simplistic style.



__**Introduction to Text**__

Dowden’s thorough one hundred and twenty (of five hundred and twenty) page introduction takes readers on a literary tour through Wordsworth’s growth as a literary icon. Beginning with the “Facts of Wordsworth’s Life,” Dowden highlights where the poet is born, to whom, and where he grows up. This simple beginning acts as a platform from which Dowden dives head on into the torrential stream of Wordsworth’s journey as a writer. Such titles include the “Characteristics of Wordsworth’s Genius," "Wordsworth in Relation to his Age," " Development of Wordsworth's Genius," "Classification of Wordworth's Poems," "The Text of Wordsworth's Poems," and finally "Wordsworth's Prose Works as Illustrating his Poems Bibliographical Note." To encapsulate Dowden's introduction into one sentence, he proclaims that Wordsworth's "various powers not only act in unison, they seem, as it were, to interpenetrate one another, each living and moving in its fellow" (XXXVII). Evidently, Dowden seems to venerate Wordsworth and hold him in high regards as a literary genius.

__**Editor: Edward Dowden**__

Why does Dowden possess such reverence for Wordsworth? Born on May 3 in 1843, [|Edward Dowden] begins his literary learning at home before attending Queen's College in York, and then Trinity College in Dublin (Gwynn para. 1) Eventually, Dowden progresses in his learning and attains a position as professor of English Literature at both Alexandra and Trinity College (Gwynn para.1). In preparing lectures for his students on Shakespeare, Dowden subsequently accumulates a substantial amount of letterpress which he compiles into one of his most famous works: //Shakespeare: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art// (Gwynn para. 2). Evidently, with Dowden being a literary lover he develops an appreciation and admiration for Wordsworth’s poems, which leads to the publishing of //Poems by William Wordsworth.//

Works Cited

Dowden, Edward. Preface. //Poems by William Wordsworth: A Selection Edited by Edward Dowden//. By William Wordsworth.London: Ginn & Company,1897. Print.

Gwynn, E. J. “ Dowden, Edward (1843–1913) .” Rev. Arthur Sherbo. //Oxford Dictionary of National Biography//. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed. Ed. Lawrence Goldman. Sept. 2013. 13 Feb. 2016 .

Gill, Stephen. “ Wordsworth, William (1770–1850) .” Stephen Gill//Oxford Dictionary of National Biography//. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed. Ed. Lawrence Goldman. May 2010. 14 Feb. 2016 .

Secondary Reading //Wordsworth and the Victorians// by Stephen Gill ([|Click Here]) William Wordsworth by The Victorian Web ([|Click Here])

William Wordsworth and the Victorians - Literary Relations: Influences, Analogues, Intertextuality by The Victorian Web ([|Click Here]) C.S. Engl386.SUvic.Spring2016.