Resolution and Independence
Resolution and Independence is a lyric poem by the English romantic poet William Wordsworth, composed in 1802 and published in Poems, in Two Volumes (1807). The poem contains twenty stanzas written in rhyme royal, and describes Wordworth’s encounter with an old leech-gatherer upon Barton Fell, near Ullswater in the Lake District.
Synopsis
The first three stanzas of the poem describe
In stanzas IV-VII, Wordsworth is suddenly beset by anxious thoughts and fears about his own future, as well as the future of all poets, saying "We Poets in our youth begin in gladness; / But thereof come in the end despondency and madness."
The poem concludes in stanzas VIII-XX with Wordsworth meeting an old, poor leech-gatherer who endures the hardships of his life with patience and acceptance. Wordsworth recovers from his dejection, and views the man as having been sent "To give me human strength, by apt admonishment".
History and Background
The poem is based on Wordsworth’s actual encounter with a leech-gatherer on October 3, 1800, near his home at Dove Cottage in Grasmere.[1] However, the poem was not written until May 1802, when Wordsworth experienced the “despondency” described in the poem while walking on Barton Fell. It was during this walk that he “[recollected] the emotion in tranquility" and associated the leech-gatherer he had met two years earlier with his current state. [2] The first version of the poem was written between May 3-9, 1802 under the title of "The Leech-Gatherer", but Wordsworth considerably revised the poem in June 1802 after it was reviewed by his fiancée, Mary Hutchinson, and her sister Sara.[3]
Reference
In Stanza VII, Wordsworth recounts past poets who died young. In line 43, he "thought of Chatterton, the marvellous Boy / The sleepless Soul that perished in his pride", referring to Thomas Chatterton, a forger of medieval poetry who committed suicide at the age of 17. In line 45, Wordsworth writes "of Him who walked in glory and in joy / Following his plough, along the mountain-side", a reference to Robert Burns, who died at the age of 37 after an extended illness.