Wordsworth, class & ambivalence

William Wordsworth's The Prelude includes instances of sympathy for and elevating of the underclass, demonstrating recognition and endorsement of a concept of class based on intrinsic values and in which the class hierarchy is unfixed. The poem also includes instances that undermine that sympathy and demonstrate recognition of a traditional concept of class in which the class hierarchy is fixed. In demonstrating this ambivalence, I want to address uncertainty over the poet's views and to refute a common misperception that the poet changed his approach to class from progressive to conservative over time. Also, demonstrating the reasons behind the ambivalence challenges misinterpretations of the poet, which portray him as only altruistically championing an internal concept of class and the underclass and as suffering from a psychological disorder. In addition, demonstrating the poet's ambivalence about class is aimed at increasing scholarly recognition of the work's cultural context.