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William Wordsworth


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William Wordsworth (1770-1850), British poet, credited with ushering in the English Romantic Movement with the publication of Lyrical Ballads(1798) in collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the Lake District. His father was John Wordsworth, Sir James Lowther's attorney. The magnificent landscape deeply affected Wordsworth's imagination and gave him a love of nature. He lost his mother when he was eight and five years later his father. The domestic problems separated Wordsworth from his beloved and neurotic sister Dorothy, who was a very important person in his life.

With the help of his two uncles, Wordsworth entered a local school and continued his studies at Cambridge University. Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787, when he published a sonnet in The European Magazine . In that same year he entered St. John's College, Cambridge, from where he took his B.A. in 1791.

During a summer vacation in 1790 Wordsworth went on a walking tour through revolutionary France and also traveled in Switzerland. On his second journey in France, Wordsworth had an affair with a French girl, Annette Vallon, a daughter of a barber-surgeon, by whom he had a illegitimate daughter Anne Caroline. The affair was basis of the poem "Vaudracour and Julia", but otherwise Wordsworth did his best to hide the affair from posterity.

In 1795 he met Coleridge. Wordsworth's financial situation became better in 1795 when he received a legacy and was able to settle at Racedown, Dorset, with his sister Dorothy.
Encouraged by Coleridge and stimulated by the close contact with nature, Wordsworth composed his first masterwork, Lyrical Ballads, which opened with Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner." About 1798 he started to write a large and philosophical autobiographical poem, completed in 1805, and published posthumously in 1850 under the title The Prelude.

Wordsworth spent the winter of 1798-99 with his sister and Coleridge in Germany, where he wrote several poems, including the enigmatic 'Lucy' poems. After return he moved Dove Cottage, Grasmere, and in 1802 married Mary Hutchinson. They cared for Wordsworth's sister Dorothy for the last 20 years of her life.

Wordsworth's second verse collection, Poems, In Two Volumes, appeared in 1807. Wordsworth's central works were produced between 1797 and 1808. His poems written during middle and late years have not gained similar critical approval. Wordsworth's Grasmere period ended in 1813. He was appointed official distributor of stamps for Westmoreland. He moved to Rydal Mount, Ambleside, where he spent the rest of his life. In later life Wordsworth abandoned his radical ideas and became a patriotic, conservative public man.

In 1843 he succeeded Robert Southey (1774-1843) as England's poet laureate. Wordsworth died on April 23, 1850.

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Recent Forum Posts on William Wordsworth

wordsworth and his poetry

Hi all:) i was just wondering if you were able to give me some tips on how William Wordsworth's context has influenced his choice of poetic devices in his works, mainly tintern abbey, daffodils and early spring cheers :)

Posted By caitlin123 at Tue 14 Apr 2009, 3:44 AM in Wordsworth, William || 2 Replies

Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey

"Once again/ Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs/... The day is come when I again repose/ Here, under this dark sycamore" (890). In Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth revisits the bucolic setting of his childhood, and in doing so mirrors the passing of his childhood into manhood with the changing of his dwelling from country to city. While he once loved the freedom of living in the country, in the city he must grapple with the "heavy and the weary weight/ Of all this unintelligible world" (891). But the one reassuring thing about this poem is that Wordsworth doesn't leave the country behind. Indeed, while he is living in the city and trying to succeed in man's own making, society, he says that he "...oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din/ Of towns and cities, I have owed to them (the forms and aspects of his nature setting)/ In hours of weariness, sensations sweet" (891). Wordsworth returns to Tintern Abey older and with "life and food/ For future years." He is an established and accomplished member of society, who in being so has succeeded in maneuvering his way through social obstacles to secure some measure of wealth and fame, who is returning to his roots and remembering a time when he was free as a roe "bounding o'er the mountains, by the sides/ Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams" (892). Wordsworth, in his youth, was free to roam, explore, and be creative among the wild, untamed country. While he thinks back on how he used to be he realizes that "that time is past/ And all its aching joys are now no more" (892). He accepts his present situation as an older, less free man, but he doesn't mourn the passing of his childhood. Wordsworth doesn't mourn the loss of nature, or his childhood, because he realizes that the beauty of nature is present in everything around him. He realizes there is a spirit "hose dwelling is the light of setting/ And the round ocean and the living air/ And the blue sky, and in the mind of man...Therefore am I still/ A lover of the meadows and the woods/ And mountains..." (892). Because he sees in the mind of man, which relates to the city, the greatness that forms valleys and mountains and oceans, he is able to keep within him an aspect of his childhood innocence, relating to the country, while he is progressing further and further into manhood. He says that the innocence from his childhood inspires him to realize that "all which we behold/ Is full of blessings" (893). While Wordsworth is very aware of the fact that he is no longer the roe that once went bounding over the country landscape he is also not lamenting the loss of his childhood. He comments on this by saying "Not for this/ Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur" (892). The beautiful thing about this poem is that Wordsworth was wise enough to be able to take his reverence of nature into society and even to apply it to the mind of man. By doing so, he is able to return to the setting of his childhood and not feel the stinging pang of loss, simply because he didn't so much loose his childhood as he moved on into manhood where aspects of his childhood still exist.

Posted By Mike West at Mon 23 Mar 2009, 5:55 PM in Wordsworth, William || 2 Replies

The world is too much with us; late and soon

William Wordsworth’s sonnet “The World Is Too Much with Us; Late and Soon” addresses the loss of nature in a consumerist society. Nature is a common theme in Wordsworth’s work and in his sonnet he addresses the diminishing connection to nature he experiences due to consumerism. Wordsworth’s sonnet is introduced with a juxtaposition of consumerism and nature. “Getting and spending, we lay waste to our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours” (1-2) Wordsworth compares obtaining and spending to nature because nature cannot be owned regardless of the price. The juxtaposition illustrates the purity of nature in its inability to be owned and the greed of consumerism in its drive to own all. The word “power” in first line is a reference to the connection through nature that is lost by acquiring and spending. Wordsworth specifically capitalizes the word nature in the middle of the sentence to illustrate its importance in a consumerist society. Though things in nature might be obtained or even used by man, they will always belong to nature. Upset by the loss of his connection to nature, Wordsworth exclaims, “We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (3) This exclamation shows that through excessive consumerism man has given away its heart, the life sustaining force within, which Wordsworth says is a filthy blessing. Wordsworth uses the word sordid which means dirty or filthy, next to the word boon which means a blessing, to illustrate the dirtiness of consumerism in comparison to the blessing purity of nature. Wordsworth continues by demonstrating that through mankind’s growing greed, both nature and men have been thrown out of sync, “The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything we are out of tune; It moves us not.” (5-8) Wordsworth clearly states that man is out of tune with nature and that the beauty of nature can no longer move the human soul. When the celestial light of nature is doused by the greed of consumerism, nature fails to move mankind emotionally. This severely upsets Wordsworth and the poet cries out, “Great God! I’d rather be a Pagan suckled in a creed outworn, So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn” (9-11) To say such an audacious statement in 1888 evokes shock and Wordsworth uses this shock to illustrate the severity of his plight. The creed outworn referred to by Wordsworth is the Christian tradition that has failed to provide a solution to his problem. Wordsworth would do anything to reconnect to nature, even if that meant the certain persecution of becoming a Pagan in the late 1800’s. The final two lines of Wordsworth’s sonnet conclude with the final warning, “Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn” (12-13) Wordsworth makes an allusion to the Greek God Proteus to symbolize the transforming power of nature while referring to Triton, the messenger of the deep, to symbolize the sound of his warning. Wordsworth illustrates through his sonnet that while man is consistently surrounded by material goods and possessions, it is nature in its purity and inability to be owned that the soul is truly inspired.

Posted By Jeffersonair69 at Mon 23 Mar 2009, 3:32 PM in Wordsworth, William || 1 Reply

Ode: Intimations of Immortality

In “The Gospel According To Thomas,” Jesus is asked where the kingdom of Heaven is and he replies that the kingdom of Heaven is here on earth but man does not see it. In reading “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” I was reminded of this in particular with stanza five: “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life’s star, hath elsewhere its setting, and cometh from afar: not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home: Heaven lies about us in our infancy!” We are born complete and whole; our knowledge of this fact becomes a fading memory as we age. Woodsworth can remember having the experience, but not the experience itself. If “Heaven lies about us in our infancy” and later in life, as Woodsworth says in the last half of stanza one: “Turn whereoe’er I may, by night or day, the things I have seen I now can see no more”, what happened? Should we be so presumptuous to assume that it is Heaven that changes and becomes invisible to our senses? Or could it be that it is man’s perception of immortality dims, leaving a vague unease in its place? I believe this was Woodsworth’s lament, like lying awake with an answer to a question tickling the edges of consciousness, so close to grasping yet forever out of reach.

Posted By michaelonlyson at Sat 21 Mar 2009, 8:12 PM in Wordsworth, William || 1 Reply

New member

hi i am new. i have to write an essay about wordsworth and if he was a rural visionist. Anybody any idea on that:idea:

Posted By Baerbel at Thu 19 Mar 2009, 5:29 PM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

Ode: Intimations of Immortality

In Ode: Intimations of Immortality, Wordsworth is describing how he has changed his perception based on how his own view of nature has changed. In the first stanza, he starts off by saying, "There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, / The earth, and every common sight, / To me did seem / Apparelled in celestial light, / The glory and the freshness of a dream." By describing nature in the first part, and then following with the "freshness of a dream," he is describing a reawakening of his inner element of himself in nature. He also describes a release of ones domesticated self, into nature. For instance, in stanza 6 he describes, "Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own; / Yearnings she hath in her own natural kind, / And, even with something of a Mother's mind...Forget the glories he hath known , / And that imperial palace whence he came . These are all seen throughout the poem, but there is one more that may be broader than expected. In stanza 4 near the end he states "Whither is fled the visionary gleam? / Where is it now, the glory and the dream?" Could Wordsworth be referring to the French Revolution? The glory and the dream could describe the new face of France after the Estates-General and the rest of the war broke out, and the way he states the "visionary gleam" may carry more concrete detail than expected. Wordsworth had a daughter in France during that time, and changed his opinion on the war near the end as it became a bloodbath. Nevertheless, the poem in its entirety focuses on man's interaction and change through nature, because nature carries a revealing and fresh effect on the human soul. What do you think?

Posted By Kylekyrou at Thu 19 Mar 2009, 1:52 AM in Wordsworth, William || 2 Replies

Prelude, Book 10 Help!

Hi, guys. I have to take a poetry class at my college, and I have never taken one before, so I'm having a lot of difficulty in this class. Anyway, I have to give a full class discussion/presentation on Book X of The Prelude tomorrow, and I am just lost. Can someone help me out with the overall argument, or some key passages/analyzations? I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot!

Posted By Foob at Mon 2 Mar 2009, 3:47 PM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

Wordsworth's religion

Hello, I am studying the poem "Tintern Abbey" of Wordsworth I don't understand the last passage. I think it has a link with the poet's religion... If somebody can explain me the meaning. Thank you. Here is the passage Therefore am I still A lover of the meadows and the woods, And mountains; and of all that we behold From this green earth; of all the mighty world Of eye, and ear both what they half create, And what perceive; well pleased to recognize In nature and the language of the sense The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul Of all my moral being.

Posted By chinoma at Sat 28 Feb 2009, 9:37 AM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

Metaphor in Wordsworth

I'm writing an essay about this poem and I've so far managd to get hold of a lot of technical features, but one thing I haven't been able to figure out is the use of metaphor. I think that in a way, the whole sonnett is a metaphor, but the only true method of comparison i can find is a simile, not metaphor, in line 7. I'd like your opinions on whether the poem has metaphors or not, and if so what they are. I think I might be confusing some things in my head. Thanks :) (PS: If anyone is really interested, I can send you my essay when I'm done ^^) 1 The world is too much with us; late and soon, a 2 Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: b 3 Little we see in Nature that is ours; b 4 We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! a 5 This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; a 6 The winds that will be howling at all hours, b 7 And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; b 8 For this, for everything, we are out of tune; a 9 It moves us not. -Great God! I'd rather be c 10 A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn d 11 So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, c 12 Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; d 13 Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; c 14 Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. d (just in case it wasn't clear, the poem was written by william wordsworth)

Posted By raindrops4u at Sun 8 Feb 2009, 11:55 AM in Wordsworth, William || 3 Replies

Tintern Abbey

Hello, I am a french student and I am studiing a poem of Wordsworth : "Tintern Abbey" and more precisely the relation between the poet and the nature. I would like to have some informations on this relation and some analysis of the poem... Thank you Here is the text : Five years have passed; five summers, with the length Of five long winters! and again I hear These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs With a soft inland murmur.Once again Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, That on a wild secluded scene impress Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect The landscape with the quiet of the sky. The day is come when I again repose Here, under this dark sycamore, and view These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts, Which at this season, with their unripe fruits, Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves These beauteous forms, Through a long absence, have not been to me As is a landscape to a blind man's eye; But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them, In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; And passing even into my purer mind With tranquil restoration feelings too Of unremembered pleasure; such, perhaps, As have no slight or trivial influence On that best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered, acts Of kindness and of love.Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, In which the burthen of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world, Is lightened that serene and blessed mood, In which the affections gently lead us on Until, the breath of this corporeal frame And even the motion of our human blood Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul; While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into the life of things. For nature then To me was all in all. I cannot paint What then I was. The sounding cataract Haunted me like a passion; the tall rock, The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood, Their colors and their forms, were then to me An appetite; a feeling and a love, That had no need of a remoter charm, By thought supplied, not any interest Unborrowed from the eye. That time is past, And all its aching joys are now no more, And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur; other gifts Have followed; for such loss, I would believe, Abundant recompense.For I have learned To look on nature, not as in the hour Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes The still sad music of humanity, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue.And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man: A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of all thought, And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still A lover of the meadows and the woods, And mountains; and of all that we behold From this green earth; of all the mighty world Of eye, and ear both what they half create, And what perceive; well pleased to recognize In nature and the language of the sense The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul Of all my moral being.

Posted By chinoma at Thu 18 Dec 2008, 7:13 AM in Wordsworth, William || 5 Replies

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