“She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways” is one of
Wordsworth’s “Lucy poems.” There is a debate about who Lucy was or who “Lucy”
represented. Fittingly (since we don’t really know who she was), the speaker describes
her as “A violet by a mossy stone/Half hidden from the eye!” With the exception of the
speaker (presumably Wordsworth), she lived, and died, unnoticed and loved by
few.
The poem begins with “She dwelt,” so we know right
away that Lucy is dead. She is described as physically isolated from the world and
generally unknown. This physical isolation and mystery could imply that Lucy is not
real. She is just an Ideal person from whom Wordsworth gets inspiration. For example,
the speaker also says she is as fair as one star shining in the sky. One star in the sky
is bound to be noticed by everyone. But I think the speaker is making a comparison that
she was not noticed by most people, but that he noticed her as if she were the only
thing noticeable.
The Lucy poems are written as if the
speaker has admired her from afar. Even if Lucy represented a real person, she also
represented an Ideal for Wordsworth. If she represented this Ideal concept of
inspiration and she died, then the speaker is lamenting the loss of his source of
inspiration. This could be general despair, nostalgia or even just a creative slump. The
consolation is that he has the memory of Lucy: the person or the source of inspiration
(Imagination).
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