Book excerpt: First published in 1981, this study sees Wordsworth’s work as part of the continuous European struggle to come to terms with consciousness. The author pays particular attention to Wordsworth’s style and investigates the unstated and unconscious assumptions of that style. He discusses the conflicting feelings that shaped Wordsworth’s changing conception of The Recluse, offers a new interpretation of his classification of his poems and examines the meaning of one of his favourite images — the panoramic view of a valley filled with mist. While the emphasis is on Wordsworth’s greatness as a poet, the book stresses the importance of significance of his relation to European literature and poetry.