Team Dorothy or Team William? Thoughts on the Wordsworth Sibling Duo

In my Literary Analysis class this past spring, we briefly discussed Dorothy and William Wordsworth before moving onto Mary and Percy Shelly and Frankenstein. So I knew a little going into this trip, but since I've arrived in the Lake District, I have a whole new appreciation and understanding of these two fascinating people.

While William was attending Hawkshead, Dorothy was being passed from relative to relative. The two did not know each other until they were much older. It has been said that the poem, Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey was the place where both siblings vowed to take care of each other. William would house, cloth, and feed Dorothy and Dorothy helped William become a famous poet and author of the 18th century. Some scholars will go as far as to say without Dorothy, William would have not been successful as he was. Which is pretty incredible if you ask me.

Because the period of literature before William was based on the thoughts of Alexander Pope. He believed in an elite, exclusive, male literature society. Women at the time not only had no place in society but also had no opportunity to be authors, unless they wanted to be considered a prostitute. William, along with other authors of his time, bring in a new way of looking at literature. William focuses on Nature impressing sublime experiences upon us. This idea along with other changes in society (such as changing viewpoints of authorship, the role of women, and publishing) brings about the Romantic period of literature. This will help authors like Mary Shelley be able to publish. But I'm getting off topic.

So Dorothy comes to live with William and based on her journals, she really does help him with his writing. The point of her journals were to record what she did, saw and heard so that William would have notes to write poetry. She reads to him from famous authors such as Milton and Ben Jonson and records the poetry he composed in his head during the day. She wasn't afraid of telling him a piece needed more work and he really did take her suggestions to heart. This really surprised me since I couldn't help but compare Percy Shelley's assumption that his wife was an inferior author and needed his help to create her "hideous creature" that is Frankenstein. But there was definitely a more mutual relationship between the Wordsworths.

What shines through in Dorothy's journals is that she deeply loved her brother. She was willing to do whatever was needed to make sure William became a successful poet. I only wish Dorothy could have published something. Her journals are sprinkled with gems of description, so vividly capturing the moment. Who knows what she could have written if given the chance.

Although I will always be in support of Dorothy, this class has helped me to foster an appreciation for William. Reading the poem above Tintern Abbey will continue to move me; William finds a way to so brilliantly capture what I've been feeling when I've reached the summit or a tarn. William was a genius in his own right, but in my opinion, Dorothy was also a genius. Together, they became an somewhat unstoppable, although rather sickly, sibling duel of the Romantic period.