The Presence of God in the Works of William Wordsworth

by Eliza Borkowska

Overview

Approaching Wordsworth’ writings from perspectives which have not been considered in critical literature, this book offers a multiangled reflection on the technicalities of the poet’s religious discourse, including the methodology of The Prelude revision, or Wordsworth’s patent art of "pious postscripts." The book constitutes a self-contained whole and can be read independently. Simultaneously, it creates an unusual duet with The Absent God in The Works of William Wordsworth, whose six chapters follow this book’s eight chapters like a sestet which complements the octave—becoming, thus, a tribute to Wordsworth as one of the most prolific sonneteers in history. Both monographs build their theses on Wordsworth’s entire oeuvre and embrace the whole of his wide lifespan. Their completion in 2020 coincides with several round anniversaries: the 250^th anniversary of Wordsworth’s birth, the 200^th anniversary of The River Duddon, and the 170^th anniversary of the publication of his autobiographical masterpiece, The Prelude.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367641405
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/31/2023
Series:	Routledge Studies in Romanticism
Pages:	210
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Eliza Borkowska (https://www.elizaborkowska.com/info) is Associate Professor of Literature at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw and the author of But He Talked of the Temple of Man’s Body: Blake’s Revelation Un-Locked (2009). She is currently working as a co-author on the first translation of Blake’s Jerusalem into Polish.

Table of Contents

ONE A Prelude—

The Author Behind the Work: The Memoirs of William Wordsworth

TWO "Wisdom and s/Spirit of the universe[!]"—

The Indeterminacy of Wordsworth’s Religious Signposting

THREE "(Thanks to the good God / That made us)"—

The Allusiveness of Wordsworth’s Religious Discourse

FOUR "Upon this I shall insist elsewhere . . ."—

Religion in The Prose Works of William Wordsworth

FIVE "[S]urrounded . . . by kneeling crowds"—

Churchgoing and Prayer in The Poetical Works of Wordsworth

SIX The Excursion—

Wordsworth’s "Dramatic" Mode

SEVEN The Prelude—

The Author’s Voice

EIGHT Postscript—

The Author’s Method

RETROSPECT—Or the Turn

Editorial Reviews

I know of no other study of Wordsworth that compares with this in its range, or in the passionate attention it brings to its subject. It is an extraordinary, imaginative, and thoughtfully empathetic reading of the whole of the poet’s long lifetime’s work. This is a book with which future Wordsworth scholars will have to reckon, and one that will offer much to surprise and challenge readers who think they know his poetry.” Heather Glen, University of Cambridge, UK.

From the Publisher