Critical Analysis of Theory of Poetic Diction by Wordsworth and Coleridge and its Practice in their Poetry

Abstract

The Study pursues the practice of poetic diction by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and their collaboration in the Lyrical Ballads. The principles which were developed by William's words worth in his preface of the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads undergo lots of criticism even by his companion Coleridge. Therefore, the study is a critical analysis of the poems/ work done. I have chosen two poems of William Wordsworth and these are ‘To the Cuckoo’ and ‘The Daffodils’. Although, the poems are not part of the collection of 'Lyrical ballads; it is yet to observe how far William Wordsworth justifies his principles of poetic diction in his poetry. Rather the criticism of William Wordsworth is well-suited or not? Furthermore, I critically analyze a few works of Coleridge including ‘The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Christabel Part-1 too. The present study is a comprehensive discussion of the preface and criticism that has developed on the Romantic theory. The framework of the research design is qualitative whereas data are taken from the secondary audience. The original work of the preface by William Wordsworth (1802) is also subjugated in the finding portion of the study. The paper focuses in specific the concept of the poetics style of William Wordsworth and his principles in the Preface which later become his theory of poetic diction in the Romantic age of English Literature.