22 pages • 44 minutes read
V. S. NaipaulB. Wordsworth
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1959A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Narrative Perspective
Perspective is often defined as the position, views, or personality of the narrator as it influences the story they tell. The perspective is often referred to as the point of view from which the story is told, in both a literal and figurative sense. The story is seen through the eyes of the narrator, but the narrator also shapes the world through their opinions and views. The narrative perspective of the boy in “B. Wordsworth,” for example, influences the story being told because the boy’s personality changes and evolves over the course of the story.
“B. Wordsworth” is written from the first-person perspective of a young boy as he begins to see the wonder of the world around him. In this way, the story can slowly reveal to the audience that the boy is beginning to internalize Wordsworth’s lessons. The narrator’s perspective at the beginning of the story, for example, focuses on the practicalities of life. By the end of the story, the narrator is dealing with more complex and abstract ideas such as Wordsworth’s legacy after his home is destroyed. The narrative perspective imbues the story with credibility, showing how one young boy’s world is changed by a chance encounter with a poet.
Symbolism
Symbolism is a literary technique in which certain things are used to represent other things. One object, person, or action can stand for or refer to another. Symbolism can invest ordinary objects or actions with more abstract ideas or emotions. For example, symbolism can use colors to express emotions, such as red for passion or violence.
In “B. Wordsworth,” symbolism is often associated with nature and the natural world. The bees in the boy’s garden, the fruit in Wordsworth’s garden, and the stars in the night sky all symbolize the depth and profundity of a world that is hidden in plain sight. Only by observing these things with a poet’s eye and attitude is the boy able to realize the beauty of the world. The commonplace nature of these objects adds to their symbolism; the stars, insects, and fruit are ever-present in life but have meaning only when they are closely observed.
Subtext
Subtext is a literary device that conveys themes and ideas through implication. The use of subtext hints at an underlying idea in a narrative that is not explicitly stated or referenced.
In “B. Wordsworth,” the poet and the boy are frank with one another. They are honest and they share their love of the world. At the end of the story, however, Wordsworth tells the boy that the stories about his past were lies or jokes. Wordsworth explicitly states that the story about his dead wife is not true, but the subtext suggests otherwise. The context in which Wordsworth delivers this revelation, and the fact that his voice breaks, suggest that he may not be speaking the truth. Instead, he is trying to protect the boy from suffering a similar fate to himself. Wordsworth wants to drive the boy away so that the boy is not overwhelmed by grief or the delusions of a dying poet. The subtext of the ending is that Wordsworth is lying for the benefit of the boy.
