The Lucy poems

Wordsworth’s “Lucy Poems” – A Glimpse into Romanticism

The Lucy poems are a series of five poems written by William Wordsworth between 1798 and 1801, published in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads. These poems were penned during his time in Germany with his sister Dorothy and collaborator Samuel Taylor Coleridge. But who was Lucy? And what do these poems really mean?

The true inspiration for the character of Lucy remains a mystery to literary historians, but scholars speculate that she may be based on Wordsworth’s sister or be a fictional creation. The poems deal with themes such as love, death, and nature, united by a melancholic tone, particularly in their depiction of Lucy’s death.

When Lyrical Ballads was published in 1798, it marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement. Wordsworth and Coleridge aimed to use everyday language and project an ‘unusual colouring of imagination’ onto ordinary things. Their friendship and shared disdain for artificial poetry laid the foundation for their creative partnership.

Wordsworth’s anguish was compounded by his contrast with Coleridge’s life, feeling envious of his friend’s ability to entertain due to wealth. The “Lucy poems” served as an emotional outlet while living in solitude with his sister Dorothy. These poems are written from the point of view of a lover who has long viewed an object of affection from afar and is now affected by her death.

The Mystery of Lucy

Various theories suggest that Lucy was inspired by a fictional character or real person such as Mary Hutchinson or Margaret Hutchinson. Some believe she may have been based on facts, but it’s unclear whether Wordsworth intended to represent a single individual. Earlier literary critic Richard Matlak tried to explain the Lucy-Dorothy connection in William Wordsworth’s poems, suggesting that Dorothy represented a financial burden to Wordsworth.

19th-century poet Frederic Myers observed that the memory of an emotion prompted the lines in ‘Lucy,’ but he did not speculate on its history. Literary scholars Karl Kroeber, Hartman, Johnston, Mahoney, and Kim Blank have offered different interpretations of Lucy’s identity. Kroeber views her as having a double existence: actual historical existence and idealized existence in the poet’s mind.

The Poems Themselves

“Strange fits of passion have I known” describes the narrator’s fantasy of Lucy’s death, with constant shifts in perspective and mood reflecting his conflicting emotions. The poem focuses on mood rather than abnormal action, unlike traditional ballads. The presence of death is felt throughout, but explicitly mentioned only in the final line.

“She dwelt among the untrodden ways” presents Lucy as living in solitude near the source of the River Dove, charting her growth, perfection, and death. It uses simple language to convey dignity and naturalness, describing an isolated area where Lucy lived, innocence, and beauty. The poem begins with descriptive rather than narrative manner, introducing death only at the end.

“A slumber did my spirit seal” consists of two stanzas, each describing the image of Lucy as ‘a thing that could not feel’ and her eventual death, leaving the narrator with a sense of consolation. The poems were grouped together by literary critics in 1831 and later advocated for by Margaret Oliphant.

Themes and Interpretations

The five “Lucy poems” are seen as representing Wordsworth’s opposing views of nature, meditations on the cycle of life, and the connection between humanity and nature. Lucy is portrayed as a boundary being, intermediate between human and natural realms. The imagery used in Lucy poems separates Lucy from reality.

Wordsworth’s poems focus on the dead and dying, often blurring the line between life and death. They describe a rite of passage and attempt to convey the death of Lucy through semi-mythical form. The reader’s experience is filtered through the narrator’s perception, suggesting that nature can bring pain even to those who loved her.

Some months ago Wordsworth transmitted to me a most sublime Epitaph / whether it had any reality, I cannot say. —Most probably, in some gloomier moment he had fancied the moment in which his sister might die.

Legacy and Parodies

Charles Lamb praised “She dwelt” as one of his favourites from Lyrical Ballads. John Keats also praised the poem, describing its powerful effect on the loss of an obscure object upon one tenderly attached to it. Literary critics reviewed the poems, with some praising their pathos and others finding them inconsistent or lacking in polish.

David Rannie praised the poems as a whole at the beginning of the 20th century, noting that they breathe a passion unfamiliar to Wordsworth. Later critics focused on the importance of the poems to Wordsworth’s poetic technique. The “Lucy poems” have been parodied numerous times since their first publication.

Butler believed Wordsworth was ‘most careful not to explain the nature of the difference which the death of Lucy will occasion him to be.’ He remarked that superficial readers took it as meaning Wordsworth was very sorry she was dead. Not every work referring to the “Lucy poems” is intended to mock, however; the novelist and essayist Mary Shelley drew upon the poems to comment on and re-imagine the Romantic portrayal of femininity.

The ‘Lucy poems’ have been set for voice and piano by composer Nigel Dodd, were first performed at St George’s in October 1995, and include settings by Benjamin Britten (‘I travelled among unknown men’).

The ‘Lucy poems’ are a testament to the complexity and depth of William Wordsworth’s work, blending personal loss with broader themes of nature and human emotion. They continue to captivate readers and scholars alike, offering a profound insight into the Romantic era and its enduring legacy.