POETRY VS SCIENCE

 Sajida Parveen 

• William Wordsworth, as a Romantic poet, in his Preface to lyrical Ballads, considers poetry to be superior to science. He shows that the scientist studies only the appearance of things while the poet investigates the inner reality of human soul.

• Wordsworth recognizes that objections can be raised against poetry as a source of edification on the grounds that it is merely a source of amusement, a vehicle for pleasure rather than knowledge. Wordsworth counteracts this criticism by arguing that pleasure is crucial to how we attain knowledge.

• He argues that pleasure is integral to science.The mention of "The Man of science, the Chemist and Mathematician" serves to illustrate that even those who study difficult or painful subjects ultimately find joy in their knowledge. For example, an anatomist might work with distressing material but still derive pleasure from the understanding and insights gained.He says:"However painful may be the objects with which the Anatomist's knowledge is connected, he feels that his knowledge is pleasure; and where he has no pleasure he has no knowledge "(Wordsworth, 605)

• While science focuses on analyzing and explaining the physical world, Wordsworth believed poetry transcends factual observation, connecting deeply with emotions and moral understanding

• .The critic argues that a scientist works hard over long periods in the search for truth. He finds pleasure in the discovery of truth. But the truth which he realises is particular and personal. It is realised through study and research in a particular field. It cannot be shared by mankind in general. The truths and pleasures of science are limited only to individual scientists. But poetic truth and pleasure can be shared by all. It results from the perception of the basic principles of life. It also results from the fact of the unity of nature and man as well as all other forms of life.

• Poetry in this respect is far superior to science.He sings a song which can please all.

• Wordsworth shows that the knowledge provided by science is superficial and entirely intellectual. A scientist studies only through the intellect. He murders to dissect and study only the appearance of the thing. A poet, on the other hand, goes down to the inner reality. He pierces surface appearance and reaches the soul that lies beneath. For this reason, he is a man of greater sensibility.

• The poet’s appeal, says Wordsworth, is to the intellect as well as to the heart of man, unlike the appeal of the scientist’s truth, which is to the intellect alone.

• That is why Wordsworth defines poetry as the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge.

• A poet, therefore, is a general benefactor but he remains a companion of man. The scientist also is a benefactor but he remains aloof enjoying his knowledge of truth in solitude.

• Wordsworth also reflects on the timeless and universal role of poetry. He argues that poetry is deeply connected to human emotions and experiences, something as enduring as the human heart itself. He suggests that even if science—through discoveries in fields like chemistry, botany, or mineralogy—were to drastically change human life, poetry would not lose its relevance. Instead, poets would integrate the new realities shaped by science into their work.Thus he says,"Poetry is the first and last of all knowledge — it is as immortal as the heart of man".

• The Victorian poet Mathew Arnold in his critical writing The Study of Poetry, echoes Wordsworth’s view that science would remain incomplete without poetry and quotes Wordsworth: poetry is “the breath and finer spirit of knowledge”.

• "He considers man and nature as essentially adapted to each other, and the mind of man as naturally the mirror of the fairest and most interesting properties of nature."