Identity
On 27 March 1843, Wordsworth wrote to Henry Reed, "The character of the schoolmaster, had like the Wanderer in The Excursion a solid foundation in fact and reality, but like him it was also in some degree a composition: I will not, and need not, call it an invention — it was no such thing." The character Matthew is likely based on Wordsworth's schoolmaster while at Hawkeshead, William Taylor, who died in 1786 at the age of 32. However, Moorman argues that the character is most likely based on a "Packman", or peddler that would visit Hawkshead to sell his wares. The "Packman" would sing and tell stories, and, with his traveling, resembled the Wanderer from The Excursion.
Read more about this topic: The Matthew Poems
Famous quotes containing the word identity:
“Whether outside work is done by choice or not, whether women seek their identity through work, whether women are searching for pleasure or survival through work, the integration of motherhood and the world of work is a source of ambivalence, struggle, and conflict for the great majority of women.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)
“When I quit working, I lost all sense of identity in about fifteen minutes.”
—Paige Rense (b. 1929)
“No other group in America has so had their identity socialized out of existence as have black women.... When black people are talked about the focus tends to be on black men; and when women are talked about the focus tends to be on white women.”
—bell hooks (b. c. 1955)