In the world of art and culture, there is a continuous discussion on what art, beauty and taste really are. The positions people take are divisive and create true polarizations among art critics, artists and art enthusiasts.
English Romantic poet William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770–April 23, 1850), who, together with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, greatly contributed to the launch of the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication of the book “Lyrical Ballads” (1798), examines in a prefatory essay from the 1815 edition of the two-volume set “Poems” by William Wordsworth the definition of the concept of “genius” and how it can be applied in aesthetics.
Wordsworth was of the opinion that genius, whether in art or science, has the same root, expressed his views on artistic genius, saying “Of genius the only proof is, the act of doing well what is worthy to be done, and what was never done before: Of genius, in the fine arts, the only infallible sign is the widening the sphere of human sensibility, for the delight, honor, and benefit of human nature. Genius is the introduction of a new element into the intellectual universe: or, if that be not allowed, it is the application of powers to objects on which they had not before been exercised, or the employment of them in such a manner as to produce effects hitherto unknown.”
For Wordsworth, a brilliant work of art is active in nature, it does not just create a passive experience, but it transforms the consumer and the audience. In other words, a genius artist is someone who has the power to move the world, to change minds and hearts and to expand people’s horizons.
In this sense, he added:
“What is all this but an advance, or a conquest, made by the soul of the Poet? Is it to be supposed that the Reader can make progress of this kind, like an Indian Prince or General — stretched on his Palanquin, and borne by his Slaves? No, he is invigorated and inspirited by his Leader, in order that he may exert himself, for he cannot proceed in quiescence, he cannot be carried like a dead weight. Therefore to create taste is to call forth and bestow power, of which knowledge is the effect; and there lies the true difficulty.”