William Wordsworth

Paper Summary:

This paper explains the biographical and historical context of the works of British literature poet, William Wordsworth. It focuses on his sonnet, "It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free." The paper presents many examples from the text of the sonnet to explain its themes and style. The paper also presents the writer's interpretation of the sonnet.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biographical Context
Historical Context
Own Interpretation

From the Paper:

"In William Wordsworth's sonnet, "It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free", he reminisces about the time when he and his illegitimate child walk on the beaches of Calais. In 1792, Wordsworth had gone to Orleans, France to improve his French speaking skills to become a tutor (Davies 51). In the process, he had an affair with his French teacher, Annette Vallon, and had conceived a child. However, he had to travel back to his birthplace in England to get money, but promised Annette that he would return to her and the baby. He left someone with legal powers to register the birth, and his name was entered on the baptismal certificate as the father. Annette's child, a girl, Caroline, was born on December 15, 1792 (Davies 54). In 1802, when England and France were on good terms, he and his sister, Dorothy, traveled to Calais, a region that borders the Atlantic Ocean, to meet up with his lover and daughter. Caroline would romp and play on the beach as her mother and father would go on endless walks along the beach shores of Calais. "It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free" was one of the many sonnets that he wrote while he was in Calais, many of which were influenced by his daughter and the scenario (Davies 141). Also, Wordsworth came under the joint imperative of English Protestantism which urged him to humanize his imagination, and so to abandon the older mythical and cosmological imaginings (Hartman 75). In "It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free", Wordsworth's embracing of religion, as well as his self-conscious writing are shown when he uses several allusions, personification and repetition, thus, illustrating a moment in time with the daughter that he never coexisted with."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Davies, Hunter. William Wordsworth. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing, 2003.
• Garber, Frederick. Wordsworth and the Poetry of Encounter. Urbana: University of Illinois P, 1971.
• Hartman, Geoffrey H. Wordsworth's Poetry 1787-1814. New Haven: Yale University P, 1964.
• Heffernan, James A.W. Wordsworth's Theory of Poetry: The Transforming Imagination. Ithaca: Cornell University P, 1969.
• Johnston, Kennet R. The Hidden Wordsworth: Poet, Lover, Rebel, Spy. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998.

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