The Global Wordsworth: Romanticism Out of Place (Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture, 1650-1850)

__The Global Wordsworth__ charts the travels of William Wordsworth’s poetry around the English-speaking world. But, as Katherine Bergren shows, Wordsworth’s afterlives reveal more than his influence on other writers; his appearances in novels and essays from the antebellum U.S. to post-Apartheid South Africa change how we understand a poet we think we know. Bergren analyzes writers like Jamaica Kincaid, J. M. Coetzee, and Lydia Maria Child who plant Wordsworth in their own writing and bring him to life in places and times far from his own—and then record what happens. By working beyond narratives of British influence, Bergren highlights a more complex dynamic of international response, in which later writers engage Wordsworth in conversations about slavery and gardening, education and daffodils, landscapes and national belonging. His global reception—critical, appreciative, and ambivalent—inspires us to see that Wordsworth was concerned not just with local, English landscapes and people, but also with their changing place in a rapidly globalizing world. This study demonstrates that Wordsworth is not tangential but rather crucial to our understanding of Global Romanticism. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press. The Global Wordsworth Examines Anglophone Writers Who Repurposed William Wordsworth's Poetry. By Reading Wordsworth In Dialog With South African Novelist J.m. Coetzee, American Abolitionist Lydia Maria Child, And Antiguan Essayist Jamaica Kincaid, The Book Revitalizes Our Understanding Of Wordsworth's Career And Its Place In The Canon. Wordsworth Lived At A Time When It Was Becoming Possible For An English Writer To Be Read Around The World, And More Than Any Of His Contemporaries In The Romantic Era, He Came To Be A Widely Read And Global Figure. Yet He Has Always Seemed The Most Provincial Of The Great Romantics, Even As The Period's Nascent Globalism Has Become A Focus Of Romantic Scholarship Since The 1990s. This Study Argues That Wordsworth's Afterlives In Former British Colonies Reveal A Poet Whose Entire Career, From Youth To Old Age, Has A Legible And Meaningful Shape; A Poet Who, As He Aged, Came To See And Represent The Local, The National, And The Global Not As Separate Spheres, But As Entangled By Forces Of British Imperialism And Colonial Expansion-- The Global Routes Of Daffodils -- Landscape Pedagogy In J.m. Coetzee, The Prelude, And The Lucy Poems -- Globalizing England : Lydia Maria Child And The Excursion -- Localism Unrooted : Jamaica Kincaid And The Guide To The Lakes. Katherine Bergren. Revision Of Author's Thesis (doctoral)--university Of California, Los Angeles, 2013, Titled After Wordsworth : Global Revisions Of The English Poet. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The Global Wordsworth examines Anglophone writers who repurposed William Wordsworth's poetry. By reading Wordsworth in dialog with South African novelist J.M. Coetzee, American abolitionist Lydia Maria Child, and Antiguan essayist Jamaica Kincaid, the book revitalizes our understanding of Wordsworth's career and its place in the canon. Wordsworth lived at a time when it was becoming possible for an English writer to be read around the world, and more than any of his contemporaries in the Romantic era, he came to be a widely read and global figure. Yet he has always seemed the most provincial of the great Romantics, even as the period's nascent globalism has become a focus of Romantic scholarship since the 1990s. This study argues that Wordsworth's afterlives in former British colonies reveal a poet whose entire career, from youth to old age, has a legible and meaningful shape; a poet who, as he aged, came to see and represent the local, the national, and the global not as separate spheres, but as entangled by forces of British imperialism and colonial expansion"-- Provided by publisher Cover Page Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. The Global Routes of Daffodils Chapter 2. Landscape Pedagogy in J. M. Coetzee, The Prelude, and the Lucy Poems Chapter 3. Globalizing England: Lydia Maria Child and The Excursion Chapter 4. Localism Unrooted: Jamaica Kincaid and the Guide to the Lakes Conclusion Acknowledgments Bibliography Index About the Author Examines Anglophone writers who repurposed William Wordsworth's poetry. By reading Wordsworth in dialogue with J. M. Coetzee, Lydia Maria Child, and Jamaica Kincaid, Katherine Bergren revitalizes our understanding of Wordsworth's career and its place in the canon.