Critical analysis of the fidelity of Wordsworth’s poem
The tropes used in the poem Fidelity are: “Sometimes a leaping fish sends lonely joy across the pond.” Wordsworth is personifying the language of poetry. Again it goes: ‘the crags represent the crow’s caw in an austere symphony is also an example of personification. The rays of the sun and the sound explosion are an example of synesthesia where color and sound are used as comparisons.
Next I would like to comment on the legend of the poem. The fable tells of a shepherd who meets a dog. At first he thinks that he is a wolf. Then, later in the poem, the poet leads the Shepherd to discover the skeletal remains of a man lying at the bottom of the cliff. The poet wants us to imagine that the dead man was a traveler who traveled this place and the dog was his faithful companion.
There is a haunting sense of mystery inherent in the poem. The poet uses the language of suspense and legend to create the story of a traveler who has fallen off the cliff. Is the symbol of the Shepherd an alter-ego of the poet? The Shepherd is an archetype of a person who leads a flock. The Shepherd is a famous icon of pastoral poetry. Wordsworth’s poetry conveys a pastoral nature. Nature manifests itself as a philosophy that causes astonishment and shudder. The dog’s fidelity elevates our sense of pity to the sublime. Wordsworth has developed a dynamic catharsis.
Next I would like to reflect on the mentality of the poet. Is the poem real or imaginary? Death is a symbolic theme that manifests itself in the skeletal remains of man. Why is the poet interested in portraying or divulging or taking the Pastor to the subject of death? In Greek mythology the Shepherd symbolizes a cornucopia of fertility and abundance of vegetation. Wordsworth stuns the reader by leading the Shepherd to discover death. The shepherd’s staff that has the magical realism of touching life is yielding here to death. Does Wordsworth want to convey that there is a shepherd archetype in all of us? From fertility and lush vegetation and wine, the Shepherd is led to the discovery of death. The fidelity of the dog can be symbolically transformed into an identification that we must be faithful to our visions, ideals and aspirations.
Next I would like to comment on the images of nature used in the poem. The poet identifies the dog among the scattered rocks that stir in a thicket of ferns. Nature flows in poetic language. He then portrays the dog’s resistance to whistling or shouting. The dog is a symbol of fidelity being faithful to his dead master. Nature is portrayed in the language of lament. Wordsworth talks about the cove, the cliff ahead and the lake below. Nature is as vivid as a movie screen. The poet also mentions remoteness. The only sound of joy is that of the fish jumping in the tarn. The other sounds are the cawing of the crow that the poet personifies as an austere symphony. The poet sees the rainbow and the cloud and mist gathering together like a shroud. El Pastor makes his way between rocks and stones to discover the tragic destiny. The Pastor discovers that a man has fallen off the cliff. The poet at the end concludes the fidelity of the dog that watches over his master.
