Wordsworth Day Two: Precious Poetry & Magical Hills
Maymester in England
This morning we made our way back to the Jerwood Center bright and early. The walk to the center from our hostel is about half an hour long and quite beautiful, taking us through Grasmere past various shops and establishments.
At the Trust, we had the opportunity to use the tips and tricks we had learned the day before about handling and interpreting manuscripts. Jeff led us through the process of analyzing one document in particular, allowing us to make discoveries for ourselves through our various observations and gently using our insights to prompt us in the correct direction. We eventually ascertained that the particular document we had in front of us was about 200 lines of a final draft of “Home at Grasmere,” a poem we studied in class back at PC this past Friday. In the poem, Wordsworth explores the nearly divine beauty of his home. Since it holds a subject so personal and dear to his heart, this poem more than others feels as though it has more of him in it, which made having the original manuscript before us even more precious.
Branan Durbin ’16
Just before lunch we went to our afternoon destination of Hawkshead. This trip was being taken so that we could view more of the locations referenced by Wordsworth in his poetry, specifically in his Prelude. We visited his elementary school (called primary school here in the UK) and his childhood parish. After the first few sites, we went for lunch in the village and then continued out to the rural areas of Hawkshead. We finished it with some cream tea and scones, and then hopped on our minibus to drive back to Grasmere and The Wordsworth Trust. Once back, we listened to a presentation by a philosopher introducing a new interpretation of Wordsworth as a poet. When this finished, we headed back to Thorney How for a lovely dinner, some drinks, and conversation. After dinner, some of us went off to read, others to write, and a few went for a hike.
In May and June, the sun does not set in the Lake District until around 10:15 p.m. This is an incredible asset for visitors. I was a part of the group that went for an evening hike. We went towards the Easedale Tarn, traversing pastures, rocky roads, and steep hills. The experience was incredible in the evening air. Though we had hiked as an entire group and experienced the magic that these hills can share a day prior, the feeling was just as incredible this second time. We each sat at a peek or near a lake and reflected on our day and the landscape. It is a truly fantastic way to end a busy day. We joined up again as the sun began to set and returned to the hostel. Again a whole group, we relaxed until bed, thankful for another terrific day.
Brendan Murphy ’16
