Question

In what way does "She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways" best exemplify Wordsworth's choice to take his subjects from "Low and rustic life"? Click here to read the poem. Lucy was quite dear to the speaker. Lucy was quite young when she passed away. Lucy was "Fair as a star, when only one / Is shining." Lucy was little known because she frequented "the untrodden ways / Beside the springs."

Answer 1

The correct answer is the final one: Lucy was little known because she frequented "the untrodden ways / Beside the springs."

Rustic means "relating to the countryside; rural." The poem describes a young country girl. We know that she is from the country because Wordsworth describes a country scene -- he mentions a spring, a flower, a mossy stone. Also, the fact that she frequents the "untrodden ways" is another indication that she is not from a city. She "lived unknown," meaning she lived a simple, rustic life.