Question

How did Wordsworth view the speech of rural people?

• A. He considered it inferior to refined language.
• B. He believed it was more natural and emotionally authentic.
• C. He thought it lacked the qualities needed for poetry.
• D. He rejected the idea of using it in poetry.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. He believed it was more natural and emotionally authentic.

Wordsworth believed that the speech of rural people was more natural and emotionally authentic because they lived closer to nature and were less influenced by the artificiality of urban life. In the Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1800), he argued that the language of common rural folk was:

1. Closer to the Essence of Human Emotion – Rural people, according to Wordsworth, express themselves with greater sincerity and simplicity. Their speech is free from the pretensions and social conventions that often distort the emotions of more educated or urban individuals.

2. More Connected to Nature – Since rural life is in harmony with nature, Wordsworth believed that the thoughts and emotions of country people were purer and more profound. Nature, he argued, nurtures deep and genuine feelings, which are reflected in their language.

3. Free from Artificial Poetic Diction – He criticized the elaborate and ornamental language used in 18th-century poetry, arguing that it was far removed from real human experience. The straightforward and unaffected speech of rural people, in his view, was better suited to conveying deep emotions in poetry.

4. Universally Understandable – By using the everyday language of rural people, Wordsworth sought to make poetry more accessible to a wider audience. He believed that poetry should speak to the common experiences of all people, not just the educated elite.