I returned to Wordsworth’s preface to Lyrical Ballads because he explains poetry in a unique way. He says, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” and though I understand what he means I don’t know if this is necessarily true (340). Wordsworth implies that the poet is trying to express an overwhelming amount of feeling within poetry. This idea seems to match his own poetry and the poetry of his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem “Michael” by Wordsworth describes the emotional heartbreak of losing a son, while Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” describes living with guilt from a young age until death. Both poems rely on the emotions brought forth while reading about someone else’s suffering.
With this in mind, is all poetry basically therapy for the writer? Do poets write only for this reason? I don’t agree with Wordsworth’s theory when thinking about modern poetry, but my experience with Romantic poetry is limited and emotion may be a trait of that genre. Poetry does seem to be an escape for the reader when thinking about poems that describe fantastical elements, so it would follow that it works as an escape for the poet. The relationship between the poet and the reader is interesting because the only feedback a poet receives is in total sales of their work. If this poetry is meant to be an overflow of emotions, does the poet deserve more than profit for opening their hearts to the world?
Romantic--with a Capitol 'R'--Poetry 
I totally agree with your suspicion of poetry as therapy/as spontaneous emotional overflow. People who think this tend to Romanticize the idea of mental illness as catalyst of art, as well. (Yuck.) I do think that poetry is meant to invoke deep feeling in the reader, but that does not mean it has to be an act of emotional exhaustion for the writer. I think Wordsworth is vastly simplifying and undermining his own attention to craft in this statement.
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He also states that poetry comes from recollecting that emotion in tranquility. The spontaneous overflow is necessary, but that shouldn’t be the moment of poetic composition. The reflection or recollection or remembrance is important. Poetic composition is the work of (at least) two moments separated by time. How does this fit in with some of your thinking?
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I’ve had a hard time thinking of a reply to this because I’m not sure. Recollecting the thoughts in tranquility seems like trying to relive that emotion again. It makes sense that the poet would need a break between living the emotion and writing about it. Poetry still acts like therapy when thinking that the poet wants to share this emotion with his or her audience. Wordsworth’s thought process is interesting and I’m intrigued by him.
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