Intimations

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a father of modern poetry, for his works reflected the growing "inner self. The outer world moved more outward as the inner self grew more inward. Wordsworth added self-consciousness into his poetry. Wordsworth's poetry often observes nature, describes the joy found in nature. His "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" reflects Wordsworth's conflicted feelings of aging and losing the child-like awe of nature. The poem consists of eleven stanzas that are structured into three sections. Stanzas I through IV express a sense of loss, stanzas V through VIII address his resistance to aging, and stanzas IX through XI admire the strength of memory and move towards acceptance of aging and dying. The thesis, titled "Intimations," uses three stanzas from the ode (I, V, and IX). It will be approximately eighteen minutes in duration and will reflect the myriad of emotions expressed through the ode and highlight the inherent connections between the stanzas (created by repeated words and themes) through orchestration.