Re: Book of the month quote?

heh. :)

I feel the same way. But I don't think it was a matter of taste this time.
Some of Wordworth's early poetry is absolutely intoxicating. I think the
difference is the presence of Ego in Wordsworth vs. the same in Blake,
Coleridge, and Keats.

Reading Blake, for example, I get the distinct feeling that the things Blake
wrote about were more important to Blake than Blake himself. Reading
Wordsworth, I get the feeling that imagination and nature wasn't nearly so
important as WORDSWORTH'S imagination and HIS perception of nature. I feel
like Wordsworth is content to remain stuck in his head and amuse himself with
his own imagination, while Blake uses his imagination to gain insight into
Something Else, and it's this Something Else that's really important to him.

Now, I look at Salinger's fiction, and I see how loss of self is so often
praised and self consciousness is so often derided, and I can see him
disliking Wordsworth simply on the basis of those judgments alone.
Wordsworth is more like the those actors the Lunts, who were a little too
aware of how good they were. Blake is more like that drummer, I think, who
plays only one small part in the Christmas musical, but throws himself into
it completely. More unselfconscious.

That's what I think was going on, anyway. I don't think it can really be
that Salinger thought Wordsworth's best poetry was bad.

Jim

Cecilia Baader wrote:

> --- James Rovira <jrovira@drew.edu> wrote:
>
> > I think it's also interesting he left Wordsworth out of his list of
> > favorite Romantics. He may have admired him as well -- it's just
> > telling W. didn't come immediately to mind.
>
> Ha. Anyone with half a brain will leave Wordsworth off of their list. I
> cannot fault his taste.
>
> Best,
> Cecilia.
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
> http://mailplus.yahoo.com
> -
> * Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
> * UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH

-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
Received on Sat Dec 7 22:51:55 2002