The Darkest Pit:1 The Shadow in Wordsworth’s Poetry

Abstract

This paper reads Wordsworth’s poetry from a Jungian point of view, and asserts that Wordsworth’s poetry focuses on the unconscious and its contents. Turning one’s back on the unconscious leads to the development of the shadow. We also contend that Wordsworth seems to urge his reader to turn to the unconscious in order to integrate the shadow into the conscious—something which helps us have a more productive, empathic, and healthy life on individual level and more tolerant, understanding, and peaceful life on collective level.