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"SHE DWELT AMONG THE
UNTRODDEN" WAYS
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
SHORT QUESTIONS
1. “She dwelt among the untrodden ways”—Who dwelt
among untrodden ways? How did she lived there?
Ans. A
beautiful, maiden girl named Lucy lived among untrodden ways.
She lived there alone. None knew her and even none knew when she died.
2. Who was Lucy?
Ans. Lucy was
probably an imaginary girl whom poet Wordsworth loved very much and who had
died young.
3. How many poems did Wordsworth write on Lucy?
Ans. Poet
Wordsworth wrote five poems on Lucy.
4. Where did poet’s beloved/ Lucy live?
Ans. Lucy lived in a solitary place beside the river
Dove.
5. Which river is mentioned in this poem and why?
Ans. William
Wordsworth mentioned River Dove in this poem.
River Dove is considered as holy river. In order to state his
beloved’s virginity and purity, the poet mentions this river.
6. “A Maid whom there were none to praise”—Who is
referred to “Maid” here? Why were there none to praise her beauty?
Ans. Here “Maid”
refers to a beautiful, maiden girl named Lucy whom poet Wordsworth loved very
much and who had died young.
There were none to praise that girl’s beauty because she lived in a
solitary place that was hidden from the eye of people.
7. With whom was Wordsworth’s beloved (Lucy) compared
to?
Ans. Wordsworth
compared his beloved (Lucy) to violet flower that bloomed in unseen places and
Venus that shined more than other stars in the sky.
8. “......Oh, / The difference to me!”—About whom has
this remark been made? Explain the line.
Ans. This
remark has been made about Lucy who was probably an imaginary girl whom poet
Wordsworth loved very much and who had died young.
According to the poet, none cared, noticed, loved that girl and that girl had
died with her unsung beauty; but nobody knew that. But the poet expressed his
immense love for her and to him that girl is special and extra-ordinary one.
9. “But she is in her grave”—Who is in the grave?
Ans. Poet’s
beloved Lucy is in the grave.
10. “Fair as star, when only one
Is shining in
the sky”—who is compared to a star? Which star is referred to here and why?
Ans. Poet’s
beloved Lucy is compared to a star.
Here Venus is referred to the mentioned star.
According to Greek mythology, Venus is goddess of love. For this
reason, poet has compared his beloved to Venus. Besides, in the night sky,
Venus is the brightest among the stars.
11. “A violet by a mossy stone”—Who is compared to a
violet flower and why?
Ans. Wordsworth
compared his beloved (Lucy) to violet flower that bloomed in unseen places.
A violet flower is beautiful but none cares it. Similarly, poet’s
beloved’s beauty is seen, admired by none. So the poet compares her to a violet
flower.
12. “Half hidden from the eye”—Who is half hidden and
why?
Ans. Poet’s
beloved Lucy is half hidden because she lives in a solitary land beside the
river Dove where nobody goes even nobody notices her.
13. What is the other title of this poem? Who made
this other caption? Do you think it is apt?
Ans. The other caption is “The Lost Love” by F.T.
Plagrave in Golden Treasury. In this poem the poet expresses the life and death
of Lucy, his lady-love. The word ‘love’ stands for the poet’s beloved and the
word ‘lost’ signifies that she is dead. The caption signify, the central theme
of the poem and thus apt.
14. Where did Lucy dwelt? What did the poet imagine
about how Lucy dwell?
Ans. Lucy dwelt among untrodden ways beside the
springs of Dove.
Lucy
dwelt lonely on the Lap of nature. She was not on the view of outside world in
her living existence. She was completely unseen, unheard and unsung while she
was alive as well as after death.
15. How does William Wordsworth describe the loss of
Lucy?
Ans. The death of Lucy made him morose. It was great blow
to him. He felt the sea-difference between life and death.
16. “A maid whom there were none to praise;
And very few to love.” Who is the ‘maid’? Why were
there were none to praise and ‘very few to love’ her?
Ans. The poet, William Wordsworth’s beloved Lucy who
dwelt among the untrodden ways is the maid referred to here.
Lucy lived a
secluded life. The place where she lived was ‘exempt from public haunts. This
is why she is unseen, unheard, unsung and unhonoured.
17.Why does the poet compare Lucy to a ‘violet by a
mossy stone’?
Ans. To Make everyone aware of Lucy’s exquisite,
beauty, unassuming innocence and appeal, the poet compares Lucy to a violet by
a mossy stone’.
18.“Fair as a
star, when only one
Is shining in the sky?” -Who is fair as a star? What
does ‘only one’ signify?
Ans. Lucy, Wordsworth exquisite creation, ‘is fair as
a star.
In these two lines Lucy is
compared to the evening star which looks brighter when there are no visibility
of other stars in the sky. Likewise, Lucy lived in a lonely place untrodden by
human feet with other unparallel beauty and charm.
19. “But she is in her grave, and oh!
The difference to me!” -Who is she? What predicament
does she face? Explain these lines.
Ans. She is referred to Lucy, a child of Nature and
the poet’s beloved. She embraces death.
William
Wordsworth loved Lucy. Her death bears a great blow to him. Her living
existence was a boon to the poet. But she is no more and her absence makes a
difference to the poet though to others, it is nothing but a common departure.
20. What are the similes used by the poet, to describe
Lucy?
Ans. Lucy’s life and death are established by two
images. She is compared to a violet, modest flower which blooms by a moss
covered stone bearing the suggestion of strength of the external world. She is
also compared to the evening star shines alone in the sky. These two similes
expose Lucy’s unparallel, unique beauty, charm and appeal.
21. What is meant by the phrase ‘ceased to be’? How
did the poet feel when he came to know that Lucy had ceased to be?
Ans. Here ‘ceased to be’ means ‘died’. Lucy was dear
to the poet. Her death made the poet shocking. As Lucy was unseen, unsung and
unheard, her death did not affect people. Since Lucy was no more, life seemed
to have lost all its meaning for the poet.
BROUT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1.She dwelt among the untrodden ways/ Beside the
springs of Dove,/ A Maid whom there were none to praise/ And very few to love:
--Explain (1st Stanza: line 1-4)
Ans. These lines occur in the Poem “She Dwelt among
the Untrodden Ways” by Wordsworth. Here the poet expresses his unparalleled
love for his beloved Lucy and presented the growth of Lucy’s life in these
lines. Lucy dwelt in place where no body goes casually. The poet intentionally
uses the ‘dwelt’ instead of ‘lived’ in order to show the transience of her
living place. Later, the poet marked her living place that was beside the
spring of Dove. Dove is considered the Holy Spirit and so the poet positioned
Lucy’s dwelling place there in order to show that Lucy was pure and virgin.
Lucy was very beautiful but the poet bemoaned that there was no body to praise
his beloved’s beauty because she lived solitary life out of everyone’s sight.
The poet concludes the first stanza by saying that very few people loved Lucy.
Thus, poet Wordsworth introduced her beloved Lucy to the world.
2. A violet by a mossy stone/ Half hidden from the
eye!/ —Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky.— Explain (2nd
Stanza: line 5-8)
OR
A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
—Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.— Explain
(2nd Stanza: line 5-8)
Ans. These
lines occur in the Poem “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways” by Wordsworth.
Here the poet establishes the beauty of his beloved Lucy who lives in a
solitary land beside the spring of Dove. He compares Lucy with a violet flower.
Violet blooms on mossy stone where no body looks at. Likewise, the poet
considers that his beloved lives and grow at a certain place where nobody goes
or looks at. So, the poet thinks that his beloved’s beauty remains unseen and
unsung like the beauty of a violet flower. Besides violets holds an important
role in many myths like it may be associated with love, death, mourning,
virginity. Later, the poet compares his ladylove to the Venus star. Venus is
considered as the Goddess of Love. Venus seems very lonely in the sky like his
ladylove who spends a solitary life. Also, the poet considers that his beloved
is as fair and radiant as the Venus. It may be also interpreted in this way
that nothing is like Lucy in the world.
3.She lived unknown, and few could know/ When Lucy
ceased to be;/ But she is in her grave, and, oh,/ The difference to me! —
Explain (3rd Stanza: line 9-12)
OR
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me! — Explain
(3rd Stanza: line 9-12)
Ans. These lines occur in the Poem “She Dwelt among
the Untrodden Ways” by Wordsworth. This concluding stanza of the poem reveals
the death of poet’s beloved. The poet, also in these lines, has mentioned that
his beloved lives in a place unknown to everyone. She leads her life in
solitary state. So, no body knows when Lucy died and was buried in the grave.
Poet very well knows that her death is not so much important to the rest of the
world. But to him, Lucy’s death makes a huge difference to the poet and it is
displayed through the poet’s expression ‘oh’. It shows poet’s immense love for
her.
4. Summary
Ans. Lucy lived unknown in the country-side of
England, like a violet half-hidden by a moss-covered stone, but fair as a star
when only one is shinning in the sky. There was no one to praise her and very
few to love her. She had been brought up in the midst of nature. Nature had
been her teacher, stimulating her to good actions and restraining her from her
evil ones. She has absorbed the gaiety of living creature, vital feeling of
delight as well as the calm peacefulness of lifeless things. Unfortunately,
Lucy died young.
5.Theme
Ans. This poem is one of the noted Lucy Poems. The
poem eulogizes Lucy, reared in the bliss of solitude, Her grand beauty is
brought to light by the similes-‘a violet by a mossy stone and a fair star’
bright in the sky. Nature doubly glorifies her- in her life as well as in her
death. A melancholy sadness runs into the poem and the deep sad feeling for
mortal departure of Lucy has been revealed in these line, under:
6.Critical Analysis
Ans. Lucy’s birth and natural growth, perfection and
death have been broadly manifested in this poem. The poet doubly expresses his
feelings-one the admiration for Lucy and the other is the lamentation for
Lucy’s departure from this world.
Lucy was a child
of nature, lived a secluded life by the springs of ‘love’. She liver far away
from the human habitation. She was simple, modest and lovely like a violet
flower that blooms by a moss-covered stone and as bright as stars shinning in
the sky. The Lucy had all the superb, finer grandeurs to be supreme value of
uniqueness, was eulogized by very few.
To the critics,
the death of Lucy is nothing and simply ceased to be. But to the poet her death
is full of lamentation and a great loss. Unassuming Lucy who has not disturbed
the universe is precious to him. Though death is common to all, it is different
to him. His mourn is so hard that it is not shared.
7.What is the significance of the poem's title?
Ans. The poem is written by William Wordsworth. He is a founding member of the Romantic
movement. One of the most important
things about Romantic authors is that they loved nature. According to them,
nature is good and virtuous; cities are evil and full of vice.
Knowing that
little bit about Romanticism helps to break down the title's second half --
"among the untrodden ways." Untrodden means less traveled or less
used. Where is something less traveled? Out in the country. Wordsworth and
Robert Frost would both agree that the road less traveled is way better. Before
even reading the poem, a reader can assume that the poem's speaker is already
biased toward liking this "she" because she lives in and among the
country where things are more untrodden.
The other significant part of
the title is the subject and connected verb. "She dwelt."
Translation: she lived. Notice how the verb is in past tense. Why doesn't she
dwell there anymore? Did she move away? Was she kidnapped? Is she dead? Those two words, "she dwelt," foreshadow
the end of the poem when it is revealed to the reader that in fact she (Lucy)
is dead.
8.What is theme of William Wordsworth's "She
Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways?"
Ans. The poem's theme or point is that the lives of
ordinary people in remote places have value and are worth remembering. This is
a prominent theme in Wordsworth's poems and in Romantic poems in general.
Wordsworth wanted to break away from eighteenth century Neoclassic poetry that
focused solely on the lives of the great and the wealthy.
A precursor to this
poem is Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," which also
celebrates the lives of simple people who will never be remembered in history
books. Gray likens them to flowers born to "blush unseen." In
Wordsworth's poem, Lucy is likewise compared to:
A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
While we in our times are used to poems that show ordinary people in a
positive light, this idea did not become widespread until the Romantics took
hold of it. While a few precursors, poets of sentiment such as Gray, Crabbe,
and Cowper, wrote in this vein, it was Wordsworth who truly brought it to the
fore. He ends this poem by asserting Lucy's worth, saying of her death:
9.In William Wordsworth's poem "She Dwelt Among
the Untrodden Ways," what are the phrases that show Lucy's loneliness?
Ans. William Wordsworth's “She Dwelt Among the
Untrodden Ways” is one of several poems that Wordsworth wrote about an unknown
subject named Lucy. Lucy is something of a mysterious figure in that historians
aren’t certain if she was real or imaginary.
In this poem
Wordsworth is expressing the idea that Lucy lives alone, or at least very
nearly alone. But, although she may be lonely, this solitary setting it makes
her all the more beautiful.
Wordsworth, like a
good Romantic poet, uses imagery from nature to show Lucy’s loneliness and
beauty: Untrodden ways: these words imply that she lives in a place that is not
often traveled.
None to praise
and very few to love: there are not many around who can appreciate and love
Lucy. Half hidden from the eye: in her solitary setting, few see her or know
her.
When only one is shining in the sky: the poet
imagines that Lucy is as beautiful as a star that is alone in the night sky.
How much would we appreciate a star if there were only one in the entire sky?
Few can know
when Lucy ceased to be: when Lucy passes away, she does so in obscurity; not
many people know about it.
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