Tag: Dorothy Wordsworth

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Elzey — Differences (2002)

Elzey, Susan Dean. “The Differences between Dorothy Wordsworth’s Journals and William Wordsworth’s Poetry: Applying the Principles of ‘Preface.’” M.A. thesis, Longwood College, May 2002.

Abstract: “The difference between the accounts of Dorothy Wordsworth and William Wordsworth of the events they experience together is studied. At times it almost seems like William contradicts himself in his dictums. However, that assumption is not the case. He takes from Dorothy’s journals a memory, an idea, a description and uses it as the foundation of deeper and more personal poetic revelations than Dorothy ever did. Together, through their writings, the brother and sister illustrate the basic definition of what it is to be a poet. Dorothy was not a poet, William was.”

Contents: Introduction — Chap. 1, “A Departure from ‘Poetic Diction’” — Chap. 2, “Emotions Recollected in Tranquility” — Chap. 3, “Colouring of the Imagination” — Chap. 4, “Spontaneous Overflow of Feelings” — Conclusion — Works Cited.

Available on the Web.
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Maclean — Born under Saturn (1943)

Maclean, Catherine Macdonald. Born under Saturn: A Biography of William Hazlitt. London: Collins, 1943.

See index.

“If, as De Quincey suggests, Hazlitt made an offer of marriage to Dorothy Wordsworth, it must have been in this year [1803], for he  would hardly have ventured to propose marriage to any woman in 1798 [when he had previously met her], when he was penniless and prospectless; and he saw nothing of Dorothy in later years. Yet there is no positive evidence to confirm the suggestion, and all of what we might call negative evidence seems to point to its falsity” (p. 592).

Digital copy: Internet Archive.
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Shammari — Recasting Dorothy Wordsworth (2019)

Shammari, Shahd Daham al-. “Recasting Dorothy Wordsworth: A Woman Writer’s Undiscovered Literary Voice.” Arab Journal for the Humanities 37 (Spring, 2019): 291–303.

Abstract: “Women writers are often neglected in the literary canon. More often than not, critically acclaimed Romantic writers were male. The most famous Romantic poet, known for his poetic genius is William Wordsworth. Not much scholarly attention has been given to his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, who wrote extensively but not publicly. This paper sheds light on Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals as worthy of further literary recognition. Many literary critics and scholars have underestimated the value of her writing as not poetic enough, but in her rigorous documentation of everyday life, readers are able to gain insight into the harsh effects of patriarchy on women writers. Unlike her brother, Dorothy’s sense of self was not egotistical and instead hesitant and unsure. This paper uncovers Dorothy’s divided sense of self as evident in her writings and claims that her literary genius has gone unnoticed and could be considered as experimental and life writing.”
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Pomeroy —  Little-known Sisters (1912)

Pomeroy, Sarah Gertrude. Little-known Sisters of Well-known Men. Boston: Dana Estes & Co. 1912.

See “Dorothy Wordsworth,” pp. 73–113. “For more than half a century, the name of Dorothy Wordsworth has been a symbol of ideal sisterhood and her life has furnished a standard by which those of other women placed in similar positions have been compared” (p. 75).

Copy: Library of Congress.

Digital copy: HathiTrust.
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Wordsworth, Dorothy — Grasmere Journals (1991)

Wordsworth, Dorothy. The Grasmere Journals. Ed. Pamela Woof. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Publisher’s description: “This is perhaps one of the best-loved journals in English literature. Dorothy Wordsworth began it in 1800 to give her poet-brother pleasure, and for three years she noted walks and weather, friends, and neighbors on the roads of Grasmere. The journals tell of Wordsworth’s marriage, the Wordworths’ concern for Coleridge, and of the composition of poetry. For this edition, the original manuscripts have been freshly edited, yielding new readings of previously misread or undeciphered words, and restoring Dorothy Wordsworth’s hasty punctuation. Woof supplies a rich commentary, illuminating every aspect of this marvellous personal record.”

Reviews: Douglas Hewitt, Notes and Queries 39.3 (1992): 400; Nicola Trott, Wordsworth Circle 23.4 (1992): 213–14.

Copy: Library of Congress.