Journal 9 - She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways

In the poem, “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways” by William Wordsworth, the author gives a voice to a young woman’s secret admirer. The first stanza of the poem focuses on where this young lady lives, the second about the girl’s beauty, and the third and final stanza centered on where the girl is buried. It is possible that the speaker in the poems is Wordsworth, given the information that this young woman lives near where our author lives, but it also may be that Wordsworth was thinking about how nice it could be if a woman of this caliber lived near him, or that he knew a woman that lived there a long time ago.

The first stanza tells us that this girl lives where no one travels, “among the untrodden ways/Beside the springs of Dove”, but also that there is a known waterway near her home (ll. 1-2, Wordsworth). The next two lines of the poem tell us that the woman lived either in solitude or near solitude. Perhaps the woman was unmarried, yet had a child, so the woman went into this secluded area to avoid the stares and thoughts of others. Another thought is that the woman chose a life of solitude and had a farm or pets.

The next stanza speaks of how beautiful the girl was, “A violet by a mossy stone/Half hidden from the eye!”(ll. 5-6). This tells us that the girl is a humble beauty, and even perhaps she cannot see her beauty because of where she lives. The next two lines, “-Fair as a star, when only one/Is shining in the sky” mentioning how when nothing else is to be seen her beauty comes through even then (ll. 7-8).

Finally, in the last stanza, the speaker tells that “She lived unknown, and few could know/When Lucy ceased to be;” and this tells us that after probably years of admiration the woman finally passed away (ll. 9-10). The speaker tells us next how upset and broken hearted they are by saying, “But she is in her grave, and, oh,/The difference to me!” exclaiming that this woman’s death has changed the speakers life forever (ll. 11-12).

After rereading the poem again and again, I’ve thought that perhaps the speaker is the child or grandchild of Lucy. Maybe the speaker was given up for adoption and when they finally found their long-lost mother or grandmother it was under a gravestone. I loved this poem, as well as most romantic poets, and cannot wait to read more.

Wordsworth, William. “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10^th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 887. Print.