Wordsworth is hating on critics, and I like it.

In this poem by Wordsworth, I have seen a beautiful attempt to defend the glory of the sonnet. I have been amazed by the fluidity, and steadfast defense of the sonnet by him. His passion for the sonnet truly shines through and it makes his argument very effective, further the musicality of it is just beautiful and these two aspects contribute to this poem as it scorns the critics.

This poem reminds me of the saying “Hater’s going to hate” Wordsworth goes through all the major poets from Petrarch to Spenser creating a feeling of universal beauty within the sonnet. These allusions also serve to dismiss the haters. By creating a deeply historical nature he makes it seem like these complaints are basically only superficial and with time they will disappear. This direction towards the critics is also important because it is direct. This empowering outcry against a group of people who hate for the sake of hating (critics) is something that adds a cutting nature to this poem.

The other aspect of this poem that proves that sonnets are beautiful and not at all deserving of the contempt that the critics place on them is the musicality. This musicality is expressed in every line either through rhyme or through the mellow sounds that this poem has. There are no hard sounds in “The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf” it sounds smooth, it sounds perfect. This use of how the poems’ literal sound proves the critics wrong.

Overall Wordsworth is a wordsmith in this poem and attacks critics in a full frontal nature that does not back down, nor apologize. It is a breath of fresh air to see the directness of this poem in a genre where indirectness can arguably be considered king.