Dorothy Wordsworth: Hidden Life and Flowers

Dorothy Wordsworth first fell sick in 1829.  In 1832, she wrote, “Thoughts on My Sick-Bed”, in which the speaker described the joy she found in the flowers brought to her by friends.  The poem is set in spring, and the speaker, like Dorothy (arguably Dorothy) insists that sickness has not kept her from enjoying spring.  Actually, the flowers brought to the speaker invoke memories that reveal a far greater joy than what she had previously known in her youth. “No! Then I never felt a bliss/ That might with that compare/ Which, piercing to my couch of rest,/ Came on the vernal air,” (lines 29-32).    In the beginning, speaks of “The hidden life/ Couchant within my feeble frame,” (lines 5-6).  At first, this is easily interpreted as a sort of revival of the spirit brought about in response to the flowers.  However, this idea is echoed again later in the poem, when the speaker describes how memory has, “brought joy to my hidden life,/ To consciousness no longer hidden,” (lines 39-40).  So the speaker’s hidden life becomes more of an increased capacity to appreciate nature, to understand it.  The hidden life grants the speaker a deeper connection to nature.  In the speaker’s youth, though she was a, “Companion of Nature” (line 22), she never found the “splendid flower”.  In sickness, however, with the speaker’s hidden life awakened, “No need of motion or of strength,/ Or even the breathing air:/ - I thought of Nature’s loveliest scenes;/ And with Memory I was there,” (lines 49-52).  

Due to the circumstances in which the poem was written, it seems natural to assume that the speaker is Dorothy Wordsworth, or at least a representation of her.  That was, at least, my impression.  The podcast mentioned that Dorothy never meant to publish her work, so this work was primarily meant for her, and perhaps close family or friends.  This point is supported by the numerous allusions to her brother’s work, which only those close to the siblings would be familiar enough with to fully comprehend the poem.  In an attempt to better understand the poem, I looked up the works alluded to.  Specifically, I focussed on the four flowers directly mentioned.  The power of memory is an important theme, I thought that there may be some significance to the specific flowers.

The Celandine references the poem, “The Small Celandine”, in which, the footnote states, it becomes an emblem of inevitable old age.  Though the young flower can shelter itself and escape harm in it’s youth, weakness and stiffness prevent it from doing so at old age.  So the celandine must face the wind and the rain head on.  Dorothy relates to this flower.  In her youth, she too was lively, but now must suffer and face disease.  So her own resiliance is modeled off of the Celandine.  The Primrose is a reference to, “The Primrose of the Rock”, in which the speaker discusses the seasonal birth, death, and rebirth of nature in spring and winter.  Though the storms and cold tear the primroses down, they are rooted to the rock (a biblical allusion perhaps), and God’s love renews them year after year.  So the primrose becomes a symbol of rebirth, a reflection of Dorothy’s religious beliefs and hope for new life after her death.  The violet is a reference to, “She dwelt among th’ untrodden ways”.  The violet is personified as a young girl, who though fair, is mostly unknown.  However, because the speaker knew the flower, he has been influenced by it.  Dorothy could relate to the violet as someone fair, but mostly unknown.  It could also reflect her wish to influence the world around her.  The Daffodil is a reference to, “I wandered lonely as a cloud”.  The speaker describes a “never-ending” host of daffodils that dance in the wind, and “outdid the sparkling waves in glee,” (line14).  So the daffodil becomes a symbol of eternal joy that lives on in the speaker’s memory.  It is possible that this is a reflection of how Dorothy wants to be remembered after her death.