What does it mean to be a poet? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a poet as "a maker of verses" and one "of great imaginative and expressive capabilities". While the first phrase is clearly an objective statement, the second phrase requires further examination than what a mere dictionary definition can provide. The character B. Wordsworth, in the short story B. Wordsworth by V.S. Naipaul, raises questions on the intrinsic meaning of being a poet.
             B. Wordsworth makes his first appearance in the short story by asking a young boy, whom is the narrator, if he can watch bees in his backyard. The author describes B. Wordsworth as being "tidily dressed" and also one who "spoke very slowly and very correctly". That intimidates the young boy because that gives him the impression that the man is intellectual, worldly and foreign. When the young boy asks what the yet-unnamed man's name is, the man responds, "Black Wordsworth. White Wordsworth was my brother. We share one heart."
             The "White Wordsworth" that the man spoke of is William Wordsworth. This famous poet has written many works of poetry, and is considered a defining poet in English Romanticism. W. Wordsworth is characterized by having a tempered personality possessed with a love for nature and simplicity.
             These same traits can also be applied to the fictional character B. Wordsworth – minus the published works. B. Wordsworth is a vagabond that lived in a simple, one room hut surrounded by overgrown weeds, bushes and trees. He is shown to have an appreciation for all things natural, showing a thoughtful insight toward the world and its surroundings. Working for money merely to get by, the author eludes that he never published a single work of poetry and is only remembered by the boy narrator.
             Does being a poet consist of dreaming while staring up at stars and possessing the ability to "cry for ...