Before this course, neither one of our group members has had much experience with British American Literature. Majority of the poets we have discussed thus far—Wordsworth, Emerson, and Coleridge—are names we, as a group, recognize. Our "literature knowledge" mainly stems from previous literature courses, which consists of a combination of the following three courses: 1) ENGL 370 - The Making of English: Literature, Language, and Culture Before 1600, 2) ENGL 371 - 17th and 17th Century Transnational Literature in English, and 3) ENGL 373 - 20th and 21st Century Global Literatures in English. Despite our somewhat different literature-based academic backgrounds, we have collectively decided that William Wordsworth's "Resolution and Independence" is the most interesting thus far.
In "Resolution and Independence," the first two stanzas inform the audience of the setting. The previous night was stormy, but since then, the weather has cleared up. The third stanza is when we are introduced to the narrator, who experiences a sudden mood change as he begins to fear some elements of life because he remembers Chatterton--a poet that died at a young age. As the poem continues, the narrator encounters a man that looks out of place. The narrator begins a conversation with the man and asks him, "'What occupation do you there pursue?'" in which the man says he is a leech gatherer. Upon finishing the poem, the purpose of the leech gatherer is to demonstrate that one can persevere through hard times in life. As a result, the leech gatherer is an example of resolution and independence. Among the first few stanzas is the line, "a happy Child of earth," which goes back to a theme of romantic poetry: nature. This line ties the world of man into the world of nature. This poem is also captivating in the way it is written, which is through use of iambic pentameter and an ABABBCC pattern. As we learned in class, the last line has an extra syllable, therefore, making it an alexandrine.
The parody of Wordsworth's poem by Lewis Carroll is worthy of noting when discussing "Resolution and Independence." One difference between the two poems is Carroll's places more emphasis on the aged man, whereas Wordsworth's places more emphasis on the protagonist. In Carroll's poem, the aged man is abused, but despite this abuse, the aged man says he will gladly drink "Your Honour's noble youth." Carroll does not romanticize the poor, but rather suggests that they need money.
I decided to do some further research about Carroll because I feel like I don't know much about his other words. As I researched, I found that one of Carroll's poems ("The Walrus and the Carpenter") makes an appearance in a Disney movie titled Alice in Wonderland. This connection between Carroll and Disney reminds me how much I am exposed to things that have roots somewhere I am unaware of. I've actually come to find that some Disney movies have literature-based connections, such as The Lion King and Shakespeare's Hamlet.
