More about Wordsworth

Wordsworth is a gold mine for those who regard poetry as a continuation of philosophy by other means. From the pantheistic One Life thought to the Christian idea of redemption, from Plato's world soul to Kant's transcendental idealism: in many fragments of Wordsworth's work, the core thoughts of currents from the history of Western thought shine through. In addition, his poetry is in many places related to fundamental ideas of Eastern philosophy.

The previous pages deal mainly with one theme: the unity of life in an all-encompassing, infinite reality, and the comfort (the 'redemption' of meaninglessness) that lies in the awareness of that reality. An awareness, according to Wordsworth, that not only consists in intellectual knowing, but also lies in emotional experience.

Later additional chapters will be published that place the poet's thinking in further context and provide insight into the richness of this poetry. They will elaborate on Wordsworth's philosophical sources, his view on the foundations of our knowledge and his insights into poetry.