William Wordsworth (1770-1850) ‘She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways’ (1798) She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, [1] A Maid[2] whom there were none to praise And very few to love: A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye! —Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; But she is in her grave, and, oh The difference to me! Match the vocabulary word with its definition. 1. To dwell a. The point at which water flows from an aquifer to the Earth’s surface 2. Untrodden b. Beautiful 3. Springs c. To live or inhabit 4. Maid d. To stop; in this case, to stop living, i.e. die 5. Fair e. Not walked on, neglected, or unvisited 6. Cease f. A young, unmarried woman Summarise the poem in three sentences, one for each stanza. Match the quote with its literary device and what Wordsworth communicates through it. ‘violet by a mossy stone’ Allusion The repetition of words derived from the same root (‘unknown’ and ‘know’) in order to emphasize its various meanings ‘Fair as a star, when only one / Is shining in the sky’ Polyptoton A violet is a symbol of delicate beauty, juxtaposed with something rough (the stone) ‘She lived unknown, and few could know’ Metaphor Refers to Venus, the star, but also to the Roman goddess of love and beauty What Romantic themes can you identify in this poem? Choose a writing task: (1) write a poem in the style of ‘She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways’ or (2) write Lucy’s autobiography.