What were the best poems of William Wordsworth?
‘Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey’, which is usually referred to simply as ‘Tintern Abbey’, is one of the best-known poems of Wordsworth. It contains elements of the ode, the dramatic monologue and the conversation poem. Tintern Abbey is situated in the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye.
Why is William Wordsworth called a romantic poet?
Wordsworth is considered as a poet of romance because His poetry was an elixir of life to a lover. Be it nature or love for beauty, Wordsworth Crafted his poems exquisitely. This pantheistic poet was an epitome of love and admiration towards nature and aesthetics.
What are William Wordsworth's best poems?
10 of the Best William Wordsworth Poems Everyone Should Read
- 1. ' Composed upon Westminster Bridge '. ...
- 2. ' I wandered lonely as a cloud '. ...
- From The Prelude. Wisdom and Spirit of the universe! ...
- 4. ' London, 1802 '. ...
- 5. ' Tintern Abbey '. ...
- 7. ' A slumber did my spirit seal '. ...
- 8. ' Ode: Intimations of Immortality '. ...
- 9. ' The Solitary Reaper '. ...
- 10. ' Surprised by joy - impatient as the Wind '. ...
Why is William Wordsworth called as a poet of nature?
Wordsworth was called by Shelly “Poet of nature”. He, too, called himself “A Worshiper of Nature”. He held a firm faith that nature could enlighten the kindheartedness and universal brotherhood of human being, and only existing in harmony with nature where man could get true happiness. Herein, why was William Wordsworth called a romantic poet?
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What kind of person was William Wordsworth?
As a perceptive, inventive Mediator personality, William Wordsworth was just the poet to shake things up with new subjects and styles. He shared with the world a new vision for how humans, nature, and art could coexist in harmony.
What are the characteristics of William Wordsworth poetry?
Some of the main features of Wordsworth's poetry are a spiritual veneration for nature, a dislike for modernity, an interest in the individual and the imagination, a fascination with childhood, and the employment of common language.
What are the main themes of Wordsworth's poetry?
ThemesThe Beneficial Influence of Nature. Throughout Wordsworth's work, nature provides the ultimate good influence on the human mind. ... The Power of the Human Mind. Wordsworth praised the power of the human mind. ... The Splendor of Childhood. In Wordsworth's poetry, childhood is a magical, magnificent time of innocence.
What are the characteristics of a poet?
A poet has different personality traits.”...I don't write much poetry, but I believe the personality traits of poets and writers are similar…if not exactly the same.Pattern-oriented and rhythmic. ... Protective of their time. ... Internally motivated. ... Creative and curious (absolutely a poet's personality trait!) ... Optimistic. ... Stubborn.More items...•
What are the defining characteristics of a poet?
5 Key Characteristics of PoetryFigures of Speech. Figures of speech, or figurative language, are ways of describing or explaining things in a non-literal or non-traditional way. ... Descriptive Imagery. Imagery is something concrete, like a sight, smell or taste. ... Punctuation and Format. ... Sound and Tone. ... Choice of Meter.
What are the characteristics of Romantic poetry?
Characteristics of English Romantic poetryThe Sublime.Reaction against Neoclassicism.Imagination.Nature poetry.Melancholy.Medievalism.Hellenism.Supernaturalism.More items...
What are the general characteristics of Coleridge's life?
Coleridge was one of the priests of the English Romantic Movement. He had a rich romantic imagination, and was the master of narrative verse, supernaturalism, witchery of language, and exquisite verbal melody. In his poems, he created a world of magic, mystery, and awe.
Why is William Wordsworth important?
William Wordsworth (1770–1850) produced some of the greatest English poems of the late 1700s and early 1800s. In contrast to the decorum of much 18...
What was William Wordsworth’s childhood like?
William Wordsworth grew up in the Lake District of northern England. There he spent much of his boyhood playing outdoors and exploring the mountain...
What did William Wordsworth write?
Stirred simultaneously by walks in the English countryside and by his relationships with his sister Dorothy and English poet-critic Samuel Taylor C...
Why was Wordsworth intoxicated?
Wordsworth was intoxicated by the combination of revolutionary fervor he found in France—he and Jones arrived on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille—and by the impressive natural beauty of the countryside and mountains.
What is William Wordsworth known for?
He is remembered as a poet of spiritual and epistemological speculation, a poet concerned with the human relationship to nature and a fierce advocate of using the vocabulary and speech patterns of common people in poetry. The son of John and Ann Cookson Wordsworth, William Wordworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, located in the Lake District of England: an area that would become closely associated with Wordsworth for over two centuries after his death. He began writing poetry as a young boy in grammar school, and before graduating from college he went on a walking tour of Europe, which deepened his love for nature and his sympathy for the common man: both major themes in his poetry. Wordsworth is best known for Lyrical Ballads, co-written with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and The Prelude, a Romantic epic poem chronicling the “growth of a poet’s mind.”
Why did Wordsworth go to Cambridge?
In 1787, despite poor finances caused by ongoing litigation over Lord Lowther's debt to John Wordsworth's estate, Wordsworth went up to Cambridge as a sizar in St. John’s College. As he himself later noted, Wordsworth’s undergraduate career was not distinguished by particular brilliance.
Where did Wordsworth live in 1795?
During this period Wordsworth met another radical young man with literary aspirations, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In 1794 and 1795 Wordsworth divided his time between London and the Lake Country. In September 1795 William and Dorothy Wordsworth settled at Racedown Lodge in Dorset, where they would live for two years.
What is the letter to the Bishop of Llandaff about?
“A Letter to the Bishop of Llandaff” is the youthful poet and democrat’s indignant reply to the forces of darkness, repression, and monarchy.
What was Wordsworth's passion for democracy?
Wordsworth’s passion for democracy, as is clear in his “Letter to the Bishop of Llandaff” (also called “Ap ology for the French Revolution”), is the result of his two youthful trips to France. In November 1791 Wordsworth returned to France, where he attended sessions of the National Assembly and the Jacobin Club.
What happened to John Wordsworth?
Though separated from their sister, all the boys eventually attended school together at Hawkshead, staying in the house of Ann Tyson. In 1787, despite poor finances caused by ongoing litigation over Lord Lowther's debt to John Wordsworth's estate, Wordsworth went up to Cambridge as a sizar in St. John’s College. As he himself later noted, Wordsworth’s undergraduate career was not distinguished by particular brilliance. In the third book of The Prelude Wordsworth recorded his reactions to life at Cambridge and his changing attitude toward his studies. During his last summer as an undergraduate, he and his college friend Robert Jones—much influenced by William Coxe’s Sketches of the Natural, Civil, and Political State of Swisserland (1779)—decided to make a tour of the Alps, departing from Dover on July 13, 1790.
What happened to Wordsworth in 1791?
In November 1791, Wordsworth visited Revolutionary France and became enchanted with the Republican movement. He fell in love with a French woman, Annette Vallon, who, in 1792, gave birth to their daughter Caroline. Financial problems and Britain 's tense relations with France forced him to return to England alone the following year. The circumstances of his return and his subsequent behaviour raised doubts as to his declared wish to marry Annette. However, he supported her and his daughter as best he could in later life. The Reign of Terror left Wordsworth thoroughly disillusioned with the French Revolution and the outbreak of armed hostilities between Britain and France prevented him from seeing Annette and his daughter for some years.
What is the name of the poem that Wordsworth wrote?
One of Wordsworth's most famous poems, " Tintern Abbey ", was published in this collection, along with Coleridge's " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ". The second edition, published in 1800, had only Wordsworth listed as the author, and included a preface to the poems.
What was the amount of money that Wordsworth settled on Caroline?
Mary was anxious that Wordsworth should do more for Caroline. Upon Caroline's marriage, in 1816, Wordsworth settled £30 a year on her (equivalent to £2,313 as of 2021), payments which continued until 1835, when they were replaced by a capital settlement.
Why did Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy visit Annette and Caroline?
The purpose of the visit was to prepare Annette for the fact of his forthcoming marriage to Mary Hutchinson.
When did Wordsworth start writing?
Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787 when he published a sonnet in The European Magazine. That same year he began attending St John's College, Cambridge. He received his BA degree in 1791. He returned to Hawkshead for the first two summers of his time at Cambridge, and often spent later holidays on walking tours, visiting places famous for the beauty of their landscape. In 1790 he went on a walking tour of Europe, during which he toured the Alps extensively, and visited nearby areas of France, Switzerland, and Italy.
What is the prelude of Wordsworth?
Wordsworth's magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semi-autobiographical poem of his early years that he revised and expanded a number of times. It was posthumously titled and published by his wife in the year of his death, before which it was generally known as "the poem to Coleridge".
Where did Wordsworth go to school?
Wordsworth was taught to read by his mother and attended, first, a tiny school of low quality in Cockermouth, then a school in Penrith for the children of upper-class families, where he was taught by Ann Birkett, who insisted on instilling in her students traditions that included pursuing both scholarly and local activities, especially the festivals around Easter, May Day and Shrove Tuesday. Wordsworth was taught both the Bible and the Spectator, but little else. It was at the school in Penrith that he met the Hutchinsons, including Mary, who later became his wife.
Who Was William Wordsworth?
Poet William Wordsworth worked with Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Lyrical Ballads (1798). The collection, which contained Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey," introduced Romanticism to English poetry. Wordsworth also showed his affinity for nature with the famous poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." He became England's poet laureate in 1843, a role he held until his death in 1850.
What was Wordsworth's prelude?
The same year that Lyrical Ballads was published, Wordsworth began writing The Prelude, an epic autobiographical poem that he would revise throughout his life (it was published posthumously in 1850). While working on The Prelud e, Wordsworth produced other poetry, such as "Lucy." He also wrote a preface for the second edition of Lyrical Ballads; it described his poetry as being inspired by powerful emotions and would come to be seen as a declaration of Romantic principles.
What was Wordsworth's preface for Lyrical Ballads?
He also wrote a preface for the second edition of Lyrical Ballads; it described his poetry as being inspired by powerful emotions and would come to be seen as a declaration of Romantic principles.
When did Wordsworth die?
In 1843, Wordsworth became England's poet laureate, a position he held for the rest of his life. At the age of 80, he died on April 23, 1850, at his home in Rydal Mount, Westmorland, England.
Was Wordsworth still writing poetry?
Wordsworth was also still writing poetry, including the famous "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and "Ode: Intimations of Immortality.". These pieces were published in another Wordsworth collection, Poems, in Two Volumes (1807).
When did Wordsworth reach his zenith?
Though Wordsworth continued to produce poetry — including moving work that mourned the deaths of two of his children in 1812 — he had reached a zenith of creativity between 1798 and 1808. It was this early work that cemented his reputation as an acclaimed literary figure.
Who did Wordsworth meet in 1795?
In 1795, Wordsworth received an inheritance that allowed him to live with his sister, Dorothy. That same year, Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The two became friends, and together worked on Lyrical Ballads (1798). The volume contained poems such as Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey," and helped Romanticism take hold in English poetry.
How many stanzas are in Wordsworth's poem?
This epigraph—which Wordsworth extracted from another of his poems, ‘My Heart Leaps Up’—was added to the later, longer version of the poem (written 1804, published 1807), which is of 11 substantial stanzas in length.
How many poems are in the little sequence of Lucy?
The little sequence of Lucy poems—five short stanzaic poems on the mysterious Lucy figure—are exceptional in the works of Wordsworth. Never did he so successfully unite the compression demanded by the short lyric with the powerful impression of word and image.
How many poems does Lucy have?
The little sequence of Lucy poems—five short stanzaic poems on the mysterious Lucy figure—are exceptional in the works of Wordsworth. Never did he so successfully unite the compression demanded by the short lyric with the powerful impression of word and image. Although he is at his absolute greatest in the huge expatiations which we come to later in our list, in these latter he never attained the still, haunting atmosphere of the present eerie verses. The cycle, which is so interlinked as fairly to be considered a unit, consists of five short poems:
What is the apex of Lyrical Ballads?
Although full of great moments, Lyrical Ballads’ apex (in both editions) is Wordsworth’s great ode in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter), ‘Tintern Abbey’ (or, to give it its full original title, ‘Lines, written a few miles above Tintern Abbey’). The Abbey—that is, the place itself—is on the Welsh border.
Where did Wordsworth live during the Revolution?
This vast and beautiful poem then ranges over Wordsworth’s childhood, school, university, his intellectual life, travels, life in London, France in the time of the Revolution, and concludes on a note of exaltation as Wordsworth addresses, one-by-one, his closest relatives and friends.
Where was William Wordsworth born?
William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in 1770—the same year as gave us Beethoven, Hegel, and Hölderlin—and died at the age of eighty, rich in the knowledge of his huge accomplishments, in Rydal Mount, Westmorland, in 1850. In those eighty years, Wordsworth brought a unique poetry to English letters and to the world; it had never before been seen, nor has it since. He spent his last couple of decades, after many years of less genial reception (see, for example, Byron’s, Shelley’s, and Keats’ responses to Wordsworth), enjoying his well-earned popularity amongst the early Victorians. He had many friends in high places, including Queen Victoria herself, and he was awarded honorary degrees by both Durham and Oxford—honours which Wordsworth responded to with dry wit in a letter to Henry Crabb Robinson (28 July 1838): ‘I forgot to mention that the University of Durham the other day by especial convocation conferred upon me the honorary degree of L.L.D. Therefore, you will not scruple when a difficult point of Law occurs, to consult me.’
Did Wordsworth rewrite his writings?
Though many editors prefer Wordsworth’s earliest versions, thinking them ‘better’ (hardly a rigorous criterion for such an important decision!), I go with Wordsworth’s own opinion, which he expressed in a letter to the scholar and editor Alexander Dyce, ‘you know what importance I attach to following strictly the last Copy of the text of an Author’ (19 April 1830). Wordsworth re-wrote and, more importantly, re-thought throughout his life. Of course we need every version he ever made to be on record. But, for reading, I would err towards his latest version first. Taken with these, we are then free to explore the earlier versions if it pleases us to do so.
Overview
Religious beliefs
Wordsworth's youthful political radicalism, unlike Coleridge's, never led him to rebel against his religious upbringing. He remarked in 1812 that he was willing to shed his blood for the established Church of England, reflected in his Ecclesiastical Sketches of 1822. This religious conservatism also colours The Excursion (1814), a long poem that became extremely popular during the nineteenth century. It features three central characters: the Wanderer; the Solitary, who has expe…
Early life
The second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson, William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in what is now named Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, Cumberland, (now in Cumbria), part of the scenic region in northwestern England known as the Lake District. William's sister, the poet and diarist Dorothy Wordsworth, to whom he was close all his life, was born the following year, and the two were baptised together. They had three other siblings: Richa…
Early career
The year 1793 saw the first publication of poems by Wordsworth, in the collections An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. In 1795 he received a legacy of £900 from Raisley Calvert and became able to pursue a career as a poet.
It was also in 1795 that he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Somerset. The two p…
Germany and move to the Lake District
Wordsworth, Dorothy, and Coleridge travelled to Germany in the autumn of 1798. While Coleridge was intellectually stimulated by the journey, its main effect on Wordsworth was to produce homesickness. During the harsh winter of 1798–99 Wordsworth lived with Dorothy in Goslar, and, despite extreme stress and loneliness, began work on the autobiographical piece that was later titled The Prelude. He wrote a number of other famous poems in Goslar, including "The Lucy poe…
Marriage and children
In 1802, Lowther's heir, William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, paid the £4,000 owed to Wordsworth's father through Lowther's failure to pay his aide. It was this repayment that afforded Wordsworth the financial means to marry. On 4 October, following his visit with Dorothy to France to arrange matters with Annette, Wordsworth married his childhood friend Mary Hutchinson. Dorothy c…
Later career
Wordsworth had for years been making plans to write a long philosophical poem in three parts, which he intended to call The Recluse. In 1798–99 he started an autobiographical poem, which he referred to as the "poem to Coleridge" and which he planned would serve as an appendix to a larger work called The Recluse. In 1804 he began expanding this autobiographical work, h…
Death
William Wordsworth died at home at Rydal Mount from an aggravated case of pleurisy on 23 April 1850, and was buried at St Oswald's Church, Grasmere. His widow, Mary, published his lengthy autobiographical "Poem to Coleridge" as The Prelude several months after his death. Though it failed to interest people at the time, it has since come to be widely recognised as his masterpiece.