William Wordsworth, ARTSTOR
"The eye—it cannot choose but see;
we cannot bid the ear be still; our bodies feel, where'er they be,
against or with our will.“
—Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was an English poet who lived from 1770 to 1850. He had a deep appreciation for the act of walking and observing nature. Solitude in the outdoors was a major source of poetic inspiration for him—especially because it gave him space to mentally explore.
These spaces of solitude were so important to Wordsworth that after he became famous, the locations he wrote about became tourist attractions. Somewhat ironically, his desire for solitude in natural spaces became points of international attention due to his widespread poetry (which was able to happen because of printing technology). This individual writer was able to reach thousands of people and impact physical spaces all because his works and their ability to be spread via technology.
Now, what even is the connection between Wordsworth and The Medium is The Massage? In the text, McLuhan quotes the lines seen above this post. William Wordsworth’s quotation depicts humans as in a constant state of absorption of the world around them. And in turn, people internally churn and feel and then output that information via media. And when media is introduced, the fragment of that individual feeling becomes a piece of mass culture. For example, Wordsworth walks through the wilderness and takes in his surroundings while also venturing further into his memories. He perceives the world around him and internally feels because of that. Those bits of thought then get turned out and into a poem. That poem proliferates through the world via printing technology and becomes a piece of mass culture.
“Print technology created the public. Electric technology created the mass. The public consists of separate individuals walking around with separate, fixed points of view. The new technology demands that we abandon the luxury of this posture, this fragmentary outlook.” (McLuhan 68-69)
Sources used for original presentation:
SAEKO YOSHIKAWA. William Wordsworth and the Invention of Tourism, 1820–1900
English literature - The later Romantics: Shelley, Keats, and Byron
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William Wordsworth | Biography, Facts, & Poems "William Wordsworth | Biography, Facts, & Poems". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wordsworth. Accessed 9 Nov 2020.
"William Wordsworth was the supreme bard of nature and solitude; In pensive mood." The Economist, 6 Apr. 2020, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A624401163/AONE?u=waicu_lawrence&sid=AONE&xid=28e1a5bf. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
William Wordsworth | Poetry Foundation"William Wordsworth | Poetry Foundation". Poetry Foundation, 2020, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-wordsworth. Accessed 9 Nov 2020.
Max Beerbohm. William Wordsworth in the Lake District, at Cross-purposes. 1904. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/AACKLANDIG_10313663534
Landseer, Thomas (English printmaker and writer, 1795-1880) < Male > [500026690]. William Wordsworth portrait.. 1831. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/SS35197_35197_19454082
William Wordsworth. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/AACKLANDIG_10313871474
William Wordsworth, English, 1770-1850, (poet). Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, Wordsworth House, general view. mid-18th century, Image: September 2000. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/AROGERSIG_10313790734
William Wordsworth, how to know him, Winchester, Caleb Thomas, 1847-1920
No place, unknown, or undetermined: Bobbs-Merrill [c1916] OPEN ACCESS
Ode: Intimations of Immortality | work by Wordsworth
"Ode: Intimations Of Immortality | Work By Wordsworth". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ode-Intimations-of-Immortality. Accessed 9 Nov 2020.
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