Spotlight on a Visually-Impaired Poet: William Wordsworth

Note: Like many of our lessons, this lesson is discussion-based. As such, its complexity can be differentiated for different age groups, depending on where the teacher takes the discussion. 

Ages: 14-18

Time: 1 lesson

Learning Objectives: 

• Read and analyze the poetry of William Wordsworth through the lens of visual impairment

• Write or adapt a poem using the other sense (beyond sight)

Materials: 

• “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” for each student (audio)

Steps:

Whole group: 

1. First reading: students underline anything that strikes them (words they don’t know/ questions they have/ things that stand out)

   1. Field questions: define any unfamiliar words

2. Second reading: Again, students underline anything that strikes them in a different color

3. Third reading: Repeat. 

Discuss: For the following questions, we recommend giving students time to share with a partner before opening it to the whole group discussion. Encourage free discussion and sharing. 

1. What do you make of this poem? 

2. What senses does Wordsworth employ in evoking the scene in the poem? Give concrete examples.

3. At the end of the poem, how does Wordsworth “see”? What is the difference between seeing with the eyes and seeing with the mind? Does Wordsworth’s tone change when he shifts to seeing with the mind?

Inform: In Wordsworth’s life, he struggled with chronic visual impairment. While not blind, he struggled with inflammation of the lids and eyes which at times prevented him from seeing anything at all. He wore strongly magnified lenses throughout his life, which amounted to wearing magnifying glasses on his eyes. He was also said to have cataracts and corneal disease, which caused clouding, distortion, partial blindness, and scarring. (These diagnoses are of course speculations--eye disease was not well understood in his day.)

Discussion Continued: 

1. Does this information change how you perceive the poem? Should it? 

2. Despite the challenges Wordsworth faced with his site, his poetry is intensely visual. How might you rewrite this poem using other senses? 

Activity: 15 minutes (alternatively, assign for homework)

In pairs or individually, try rewriting the poem using other senses. Focus on creating the same mood or tone. Focus on the shift in mood which starts I gazed and gazed. 

Share (10 minutes) 

Ask several pairs to share out. Ask other students to share noticings after each reading. 

Ask: What was difficult? Was anything impossible? 

Closing thought: 

Does a poem need imagery? Can restricting yourself to the other senses inspire creativity? 

Extension: 

Ask students to choose another poem by Wordsworth and try to rewrite using senses other than sight. 

Further Resources:

• General information about Wordsworth

• Background of Wordsworth’s struggles with visual impairment

• “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” 

• “The Prelude” (an autobiographical poem)

• “London, 1802” (a sonnet for Milton)

• “The Rainbow”