Dorothy Wordsworth

Previously, I had only heard Dorothy Wordsworth mentioned in the context of her brother, or with the poetry Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The fact that Ms. Wordsworth was a writer, and a talented one, had not been emphasized. My goal when I began reading this journal excerpt was to separate it's Dorothy Wordsworth from the giants of Romanticism she is so often associated with. I wanted to read Dorothy as writer with individual and unique insights, rather than as a role player in a larger literary movement. Initially, I was successful in focusing on the content, rather than the context of the journals. This feat became slightly harder once William and Samuel began appearing directly in it's entries. The appearance of William Wordsworth did produce one of my favorite moments in the excerpt however, in which compares lying in the grass beneath waterfalls and rocks to lying peacefully in the grave. The writing of Ms. Wordsworth is full of goose bump inducing images such as these: trees become ruins and serpents, the sky and earth become one, everyday reality is repeatedly transposed with surreal visions of the natural world. That is why these journals work so well. The writing shares common traits, stylistically, with her brother and Samuel Coleridge. There is a clear reverence for nature, something I had previously seen in several Romantic Poems of the time period. Ms. Wordsworth is further akin to her contemporaries in the use of nature as a backdrop for more ethereal concerns, such as life, death, birth and love. Where Dorothy differs is in the tone and delivery of her thoughts. There seems to have been no concerted effort to make these entries resemble a poem or lyrical vision, they just emerged that way. It is as though Dorothy was recording her environment for sheer enjoyment, rather than for recognition. Maybe that is why I haven't heard her mentioned more prominently along other writers of this time period. It seems as though Dorothy is every bit as talented and socially conscious as William or Samuel. It's interesting, this piece brings to mind a similar question as that of Gertrude Stein in my American Lit. class. Why was Dorothy Wordsworth not immediately heralded as a great nature and social commentary writer? Why is she not mentioned more often in association with William and Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Maybe it was because of her gender or audience. Perhaps it was the time period she wrote in. Either way,these journals were enjoyable, thought provoking and smooth reading. I would like to see and know more of Dorothy Wordsworth.