International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

ISSN 2220-8488 (Print), 2221-0989 (Online) 10.30845/ijhss

Emotions Recollected in Tranquility: Wordsworth’s Concept of Poetic Creation
Faria Saeed Khan

Abstract
Wordsworth was of the view that ‘Poetry is spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. When reading this statement, one might think that, for Wordsworth, poetic composition is solely based on the expression of emotions, excluding any reflection about them. But Wordsworth gave equal importance to the element of thought in poetry and says that poems to which any value is attached were never produced on any variety of subjects but by a man who being possessed of more than usual organic sensibility, has also thought long and deep. Wordsworth believes that artistic process is combination of thought and emotion. This research article will study Wordsworth’s concept of poetic creation Wordsworth believes that artistic process is combination of thought and emotion . During the poetic process, the poet is possessed by powerful passions but he undergoes a period of emotions reflected in tranquility. During this process the influxes of feelings are modified and directed by thoughts. The direction of thought adds a depth of meaning and truth to poetry. For Wordsworth poetry is a method of interpreting the reality or the meaning of life.

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