Homeless Near a Thousand Homes: Wordsworth and the Language of Vagrancy

研究问题：华兹华斯对流浪的介绍如何帮助我们理解今天无家可归的犯罪化？在格鲁吉亚时期，对无家可归和流浪立法的态度如何变化？这些变化在华兹华斯的主要文学作品中是如何解释的？华兹华斯对流浪的描述如何帮助我们反思今天用来描述和立法无家可归的语言？背景：在威廉·华兹华斯的《索尔兹伯里平原》诗歌中探讨的犯罪和无家可归之间的关系为我的硕士论文提供了基础。我的博士研究将提供华兹华斯的写作无家可归作为理解的道德和立法对流浪在格鲁吉亚时期的态度变化之间的平行，和无家可归的刑事化在过去十年中，通过专注于语言的使用。例如，《2022年平整和再生法案》使用了1824年《流浪法》中出现的“流氓和流浪汉”等古老的描述，但在当代语境中有着截然不同的含义。认识到围绕犯罪和无家可归的辩论的循环性质的重要性为这项研究提供了动力。世纪后期对华兹华斯诗歌的批评包括杰罗姆·麦甘的“位移”理论，该理论认为，华兹华斯的诗歌试图“封闭和掩饰自己在某种历史关系中的参与”。（McGann，1983）。虽然这在挑战哈罗德·布鲁姆和杰弗里·哈特曼（Bate，1991）的“澄清-澄清”立场方面很有用，但它对华兹华斯不断变化的政治视角的关注往往导致在评估诗人参与道德和社会问题的真实的潜力时出现盲点。仍然有一个非常有限的奖学金的基础，专注于华兹华斯的流动穷人的参与，据我所知，没有旨在将此与现代的无家可归的看法。方法：历史和当代研究-在道德和社会背景和立法变化周围流浪在十八世纪后期。这将包括绘制当时无家可归的含义和今天无家可归的含义之间的差异。批评话语分析-现有的文学批评浪漫主义，重点是那些探讨工作有关无家可归和短暂性。文本分析-华兹华斯的写作流动穷人，重点是使用的语言，以确保适当的文本选择进行分析。影响：该研究有助于现有的奖学金，通过提高对华兹华斯的写作无家可归的历史和文化的角度来理解。在学术领域之外，它力求通过强调如何使用语言，特别是通过立法，加强对无家可归者的负面定型观念，来激发公众辩论和挑战对无家可归者的看法。通过诗歌的透镜来处理这些问题是有用的，因为它有助于我们关注个人经验，而不是对立法的笼统概括。除了传统的论文，我的研究成果也将通过音频剧/播客，探讨关键主题，使我能够接触到更广泛的受众传播。

Research Question(s):How can Wordsworth's presentations of vagrancy inform our understanding of the criminalisation of homelessness today?- How did attitudes towards homelessness and vagrancy legislation change during the Georgian period?- How were these changes interpreted in Wordsworth's major literary works?- How can Wordsworth's presentations of vagrancy help us reflect on the language used to describe and legislate homelessness today?Context:The relationship between criminality and homelessness explored in William Wordsworth's Salisbury Plain poems provided the basis for my MA dissertation. My doctoral research will offer Wordsworth's writing on homelessness as a way of understanding the parallel between changes in moral and legislative attitudes towards vagrancy in the Georgian period, and the criminalisation of homelessness during the last decade, by focusing on the use of language. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2022, for example, uses archaic descriptions such as 'rogues and vagabonds' which appeared in the Vagrancy Act of 1824, but have a decidedly different meaning in a contemporary context. The importance of recognising the circular nature of debates around criminality and homelessness provides the impetus for this study. Criticism of Wordsworth's poems during the late twentieth century included Jerome McGann's'displacement' theory, which argued that they seek to 'occlude and disguise their own involvement in a certain nexus of historical relations.' (McGann, 1983). While this was useful in challenging the 'imagination-privileging' stance of Harold Bloom and Geoffrey Hartman (Bate, 1991), its focus on Wordsworth's shifting political perspective often results in a blind spot when assessing the poet's real potential to engage with moral and social issues. There remains a very limited base of scholarship which focuses on Wordsworth's engagement with the itinerant poor, and to my knowledge, none which aims to link this to modern perceptions of homelessness.Methodology:Historical and contemporary research- on the moral and social context and legislative changes around vagrancy in the late eighteenth century. This will include mapping the difference between what it meant to be homeless then and what it means today. Critical discourse analysis- of existing literary criticism on Romanticism, with a focus on those which explore the work in relation to homelessness and transience.Textual analysis- of Wordsworth's writing on the itinerant poor, with a focus on the language used in order to ensure an appropriate selection of texts for analysis.Impact:The research contributes to existing scholarship by enhancing understanding of Wordsworth's writing on homelessness from a historical and cultural perspective. Beyond the academic sphere, it seeks to stimulate public debate and challenge perceptions of homelessness by highlighting how language can be used, particularly through legislation, to reinforce negative stereotypes of those experiencing homelessness. Approaching these issues through the lens of poetry is useful because it helps us focus on individual experience rather than the sweeping generalisation of legislation. In addition to a traditional thesis, my research output will also be disseminated through an audio drama/podcast which explores the key themes to enable me to reach a wider audience.