Wordsworth : The Prelude and Indian Non-Dualism

Wordsworth’s poetry especially The Prelude famously engages with deep and difficult philosophical problems of time memory selfhood freedom and consciousness among others. Classical Indian metaphysics and epistemology specially of the variety of Advaita Vedanta aspoused by Sankaracharya not only has many profound things to say about these topics but can also interpret question and supplement Western notions. It would then seem natural and desirable to study canonical Western texts with significant philosophical orientations in the light of classical Indian philosophy. This book proposes to show how Vedantic notions of freedom and consciousness and of the relationship between the two may when applied to Wordsworth’s poetry enhance and enrich our understanding of it.According to Vedanta and Sankhya philosophies we are free in so far as we are conscious: however this applies to pure or non-intentional consciousness. In the case of intentional (object-directed) consciousness we are in bondage to our sense organs. So an approach to freedom would on this view involve a progression from intentional to pure consciousness.