The first volume of William Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads (1798) was published, as Wordsworth states in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1802), "... as an experiment. " (482). The introduction to Lyrical Ballads by William Richey and Daniel Robinson suggests that the experiment challenged the esteemed literature of the day in such a way as to seek to "strive away the pleasant illusions of late 18th-century art to reveal things as I am". were)." (1). Thus the lyrical ballads became one of the first examples of literature of the Romantic era, with William Wordsworth leading the way as one of the authentic Romantic poets. Concern for the poor and marginalized, written in the true "language of men", characterized the literature of the Romantic era, which contrasted with the literature of the neoclassical era. This literature placed emphasis on the life of the aristocracy and was written in a sophisticated manner (2). Although the lyrical ballads did not attempt to provide a strong reaction against neoclassicism, evidence of such a movement is evident in the content of his poems, namely "Reply and Answer". original essay The poem provides an interesting conflict within itself regarding the transition from neoclassical ideas to romantic ideas and therefore it would be best to approach such criticisms The final message of the poem favors romanticism, however a romantic criticism approach alone will not fully provide a reasonably good judgment on the strengths and weaknesses of the work; a secondary analysis of the poem regarding neoclassicism is also necessary. The basis of this judgment is based on the comparison between the Preface to the second edition of William Wordsworth's lyrical ballads and Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism. William Wordsworth's essay represents the medium for romantic criticism and Pope's essay represents neoclassical criticism. "Expostulation and Reply" was written in the style of a poetic dialogue taking place between two gentlemen, on the topic of scholarship. The poem consists of 4-line stanzas with an abab rhyme scheme. The first gentleman, Matthew, asks his companion William why he sits idly: "Why William sitt thou so alone, / And dream thy time?" Then Matthew rebukes him for not spending his time among the books and knowledge of the scholars of the past: "Up! Up! And drink the spirit breathed / From men dead to their kind." William responds that his actions are not of an idle nature, that he perceives nature without even attempting to do so: "Our bodies feel, wherever they are, / Against or with our will." He says that the mind can be fed passively and can therefore be used to teach itself, "...we can feed this mind of ours, / With wise passivity." He asks his companion why one should seek knowledge when it comes automatically through nature: “Do you think… that nothing will come of itself, / but we must still seek?” William eventually responds that man can learn all he needs to know from nature and that is why he sits and dreams: "I sit on this old gray stone, / And dream my leisure." (103-4). The poem contains the neoclassical values ​​of Matteo, who reasons with Guglielmo in order to dissuade him from his romantic values. William responds, as the title suggests, with solid support for his values, thus creating the sense of persuading the reader. In just 8 stanzas, the poem presents the logical transition between neoclassicism and romanticism that probably took place on a social level. It is likely that the poem reflects a conversation that may have occurred in William Wordsworth's life and thatwas therefore the inspiration for such a poem. Elements of neoclassicism are indeed present in the poem, despite its debut as a romantic piece. Matthew presents an argument to his partner, William, who is supported by neoclassical beliefs. Matthew suggests that William get a book and learn from the spirit of the dead through their rhetoric. The idea of ​​learning from old truths is an element of Neoclassicism found specifically in Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism, who followed in the tradition of Horace and provided advice to literary critics and poets (297): "Thou therefore whose judgment is right the course should guide,/ know well the proper character of each ancient;/ his fable, the subject, the purpose in every page;/ religion, country, genius of his age" (301). Pope suggests in this passage, lines 118-121 of his essay, that in order to follow the best path, one should select the well-trodden path. To proclaim general truths, the writer must learn from the thinkers of the past. This truth, therefore, should be communicated to others and other scholars will recognize the truth, because they have already heard it. "Some with old words for fame have feigned, / Ancient in praise, simple modern in their sense; / Such nothing laborious, in so strange a style, / Amaze the uneducated and make the learned smile." (301). Matthew would like William to understand that there is no other way to learn than from the knowledge and wisdom of books. Make it original! We will create a custom essay on “The Exposition and Response of William Wordsworth: A Neoclassical and Romantic Analysis” written to your specifications.Order a Custom EssayIn the poem, Matthew proposes that without books, the common man would be nothing: “ Where are your books? That light bequeathed / To other desperate and blind beings!" (103). This reflects the neoclassical notion that without knowledge of the great thinkers of the past, the common man is blind; it is hopeless and purposeless without it. This also presents the neoclassical distinction of classes within society, predicting that the common man would lack the intellect and ability to construct knowledge on his own. Matthew also accuses William of having no common sense or rationality because he reflects on nature as if it had no purpose and as if he were the first man to grasp nature: "You look around on your mother earth, / as if she without purpose brought you forth ; / as if you were his firstborn, / and no one had lived before you!" (103). To the neoclassicist, the scenario of William sitting idly on a stone would make him look like a fool, and his rationale for doing so would seem nonsensical. The voice of Neoclassicism is heard strongly in the poem as Matthew echoes the beliefs of Alexander Pope and other neoclassicists. Having thus revealed the presence of Neoclassicism in the poem, it is important to discover the fundamental romantic message of Wordsworth's work. His message appears not only through the content of the poem, but also through its style. William's response to Matthew states that he is perceiving and learning from nature without even trying to do so. This reflects Wordsworth's assertion that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, which come only to a man who possesses organic sensibility (484). In the poem, William is writing a poem, but perhaps gaining the emotional experience needed to do so. William suggests that man can nourish his mind through passivity. This passivity that Wordsworth describes reflects his statement "For the human mind is capable of being excited without the application of gross and violent stimulants." (484). Ultimately, William suggests that things come by themselves. Wordsworth hereimplies that poetry comes from the emotions that man draws from his personal experiences in nature (490). Therefore, the romantic logic behind William's actions is complemented by his self-response and defense. The experimental value of lyrical ballads, as well as the romantic style in which they were written, contradict the neoclassical style. The Pope condemns writing with such experimental intentions in his essay stating "True ease in writing comes from art, not from chance." (302). Although Wordsworth's ideas were experimental in the field of literature, he was not a writer simply by accident. His ideas were new and his way of transmitting them was a kind of experiment. Wordsworth believed that poetry should be adopted by the language of men, he thought that poets who used the more philosophical language "separated themselves from the sympathies of men" and therefore "indulged in arbitrary and capricious habits of expression, in order to furnish food to fickle tastes and fickle appetites, or of their own making” (483). Wordsworth would suggest that because he wrote this poem in the common man's language, it could be read and enjoyed by the common man as well as the aristocracy, thus creating pleasure for all. And pleasure, Wordsworth states, is the end of poetry, its ultimate goal (489). The poem resembles a work of Romanticism through its style. As mentioned above, the work was written in the language of Romanticism. common man. The choice of word in the poem, besides being in the language of the common man, refers to the experiences of the common man. For example, the poem is probably set in a rural setting because William sits on an old gray stone and then converses with his friend near Esthwaite Lake. This use of the rural environment is a predominant characteristic of Romanticism: "The humble and rustic life was generally chosen, because in that condition the essential passions of the heart find better ground in which they can reach their maturity, are less restrained, and speak simpler and more emphatic language" (483). The action that takes place in the poem also resembles the experience of common men and can therefore be perceived by them. Wordsworth states that it is necessary for the poet to give immediate pleasure to the reader: "The end of poetry is to produce excitement in conjunction with an imbalance of pleasure..." (487-9). The poem gives the reader a sense of pleasure as they learn that they can create things with their own abilities, without the help of the intellectuals of the past. Wordsworth also refers to the distinct purpose that a poem has: "(a) description of objects which strongly arouse those feelings will carry with it a purpose2E" (484). The purpose of "Expostulation and Reply" is clear: to enlighten readers about the value of nature for knowledge and to dissuade them from relying solely on books; put simply, to move readers towards romantic values ​​and ideas and away from neoclassicism. To perceive these strengths in poetry, it is necessary to use romantic criticism. While it is useful to use this criticism to analyze the poem's weaknesses, it is difficult to do so because the piece was written according to the values ​​of Romanticism. A weakness of the poem is, however, Wordsworth's assertion of the importance of feeling in his preface, "that the feeling there developed gives importance to action and situation". Meanwhile, the poem struggles to show much importance of feeling and manages to convey the perception of nature (484). It is not obvious to the reader what strong feelings the poem conveys, nor what actions and situations it gives importance to. However, if the work were to be analyzed through neoclassical criticism, the work would have fewer strengths and many more weaknesses. A., 2005: (481-492).