Fairy*♡*Diary

 On William Wordsworth’s idea of Ego Involved Realm as Expressed in Lines Written in Early Spring

 

In the On Ci-Poetry, the famous literator Wong Guowei talks about the two theories of artistic conception------ “Ego involved realm” and “Ego absent realm”. The “Ego involved realm” emphasizes the importance of “I” in the expression of the poet’s affection. Between the lines the poet is the true existence that we can see, can hear, and even can feel, the sentiment that he wants to show us right there. On the contrary, the “Ego absent realm” emphasizes the importance of the objects themselves. The writer hides his idea in the description of the sceneries. We cannot see “I” there, and the affection we perceive from the poem could come from anywhere.

 

From Wong Guowei’s theory, we learn that the two states is the major different between the Chinese poetry and the western poetry. The English poet William Wordsworth is a representative of western poetry. People call him “Lake Poet” or “Poet of Nature”. His Lyrical Ballads is regarded as epoch-making work in the western literature history.

 

Wordsworth’s style of writing is common and natural. He grew up in the Lake Strict of the northwest England. The nature beauty affected him a lot when his was very young. And then his travel through the Continent deepened this affection. We can see the beautiful description of the nature in many of his poems.

 

In his poem Lines Written in Early Spring, Wordsworth uses the depiction of the singing birds, the lovely flowers, and every beautiful scenes of the spring to express his adoration to the nature. According to the poet himself, when he was listening to the birds singing in the Alfoxden, he looked around and found that everything immersed in the harmony and joy of the spring. He saw the primroses and the bower; he thought himself was one of them. From his words, the nature is given a soul and illustrated as a beautiful young lady with all means of beauty in her character. The poem is just like the scene that he is there with the lady. He enjoys the purity and the simplicity of the nature and wants to be one part of it. However, there is a sense of grief rises from his mind---“What man has made of man?” The poet discovers the differences between human and nature. We were all pure and harmonious at the very beginning, existed joyfully. But time changes everything. Men leaved the nature, changed the nature, and even want to dominate the nature.

 

We can see the connection of nature and human in most of Wordsworth’s poems. In his poems, there is always an “I” exists. We see the relation between the scenery and “I”, just like a miniature of nature and human society. He expresses his ideas from the thought of himself, not only from the objects appears in the poem. I think the “Ego involved realm” has been fully reflected in this romanticist’s work.

 

When talking about Wordsworth, we often mention the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming. They are all regarded as “Poet of Nature” and are all good at describing the beautiful sceneries of the nature. The peaceful lakes, the silent villages and the nice waves of the flowers and willow branches made them the remarkable literators in the history. But what I want to say here is the major difference in their creating of poems. Tao Yuanming is the typical poet of “Ego absent realm”, while Wordsworth is of the “Ego involved realm”.

 

In Tao’s poems, we seldom see the subjective view of himself. He usually hides his affection in the illustration of the scenery and never tells directly. In his works, we get the thoughts and feelings by ourselves, not from the poet, because he’s not there. It’s a state that beyond all the subjections, no desires and no demands. It seems that the poet lost himself in the world. But actually, he doesn’t. He puts himself into the picture of the nature, and combines perfectly with it. His existence seems nowhere but everywhere. He catches the core of the “Ego absent realm”.

 

Different from Tao, in Wordsworth’s most works, there is always an “I”. He doesn’t remove himself out of the description. He is just standing there, seeing the world changing with his own eyes. He is the witness of the coexistence of the nature and human beings. As he has written in the poem Lines Written in Early Spring------

"I heard a thousand blended notes

While in a grove I sate reclined,

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

 

To her fair works did Nature link

The human soul that through me ran;

And much it grieved my heart to think

What man has made of man?”

While expressing his appreciation of the greatness and harmony of the nature, the poet doesn’t forget the existence of himself. He is the one who catches the feeling from the scene and moved by it. Then he compares this kind of purity to the human society and sees the ugliness of the human world. He finds this kind of comparison everywhere in the nature, puts himself in the scene, and then thinking about it. His poems are the outcomes of his sentiment and reflection. The intense existence of “I” in his works should be the major difference to Tao’s “Ego involved realm”.

 

The theme of William Wordsworth’s poetry is always the appreciation of the nature. He asserts that the language in poetry should be common and natural. His language in poetry is simple, his emotion is true, and his rhythm is beautiful.

 

Wordsworth’s works of poetry show us a natural world that is pure and peaceful; attract people to pursue the purity and harmony. What’s more, his view on the world and the philosophic thought helped him to create the “Ego involved realm” to the western literature and became a remarkable poet in the literature history.

Sth happende these days

i thought it was a negation of my ability and my major

i don't wanna explain anything and find fault on others

it's me, yes, its my fault...

not i should get ready for everything

must work harder...

not for anyone ,just for myself

Fighting!!!

 

---

I wanted to be like you
I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you
And I got swept away
I didn't know that it was so cold
And you needed someone to show you the way
So I took your hand and we figured out That
when the tide comes I'd take you away
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cares
I'm sinking slow
So hurry hold me
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cares
All you wanted was somebody who cares
If you need me you know I'll be there
Oh, yeah
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cares
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cares
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone

 

 Chinese Valentine''s Day