The Poetic Image

Do not pick the daffodils! Property of W. Wordsworth.’

the poet enters a very curious country. At first it may seem familiar enough, a duplicate of the world he has left.

Not only that. The poet turned critic is faced with the novel danger of contradicting himself.

every attempt

Is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure

Did I write that? Yes, so I did. How odd!

perhaps contributed a few ideas to the major work of criticism which has yet to be written on it.

ordinary reader an introduction to some of its many aspects, and

whether it springs from mental indolence or is a subtle form of egotism

who, discussing the matter of these lectures with me, made valuable contributions to the book as it now stands;

the friends at Cambridge and elsewhere