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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

What do u think of?

Some critics say that the reflective part in Wordsworth's poetry is less controlled than the descriptive?:idea:

Posted By caddy_caddy at Thu 3 Jul 2008, 2:57 PM in Wordsworth, William || 1 Reply

Wordsworth - Daffodils

I need to prepare tyhis on my term which is saturday. Can anyone help?

Posted By Iza at Mon 16 Jun 2008, 5:39 AM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

balance between man and natur in wordsworth's poetry

Hi, I'm Viviana, from Italy. I'm prepearing my high-school graduation thesis and the central theme is Balance between man and nature. I had to choose an english argument to put in it and I thought to use the poem "my heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky"; But I have however to make a big and interesting introduction about the main theme (before explaing the poem). Do you have any information that could help me? Thank you so much for your time!

Posted By -ViViEn- at Sun 15 Jun 2008, 2:18 PM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

A complete overview??

Will someone plz tell me which of Wordsworth's works should one read if one wants to get as complete an overview as possible of his major works.

Posted By h1all at Tue 4 Mar 2008, 5:30 PM in Wordsworth, William || 1 Reply

Wordsworth's Theme: Nature as a Teacher/Moral Educator

I need help writing a paper on the common theme, Nature as a Teacher/Moral Educator in three of Wordsworth's poems. (The Tables Turned, Expostulation and Reply, Tintern Abbey) Any help with a thesis statement/main assertion for the paper, direct quotations from these poems to support thesis/main assertion, or any other thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Posted By blackjack8918 at Sun 24 Feb 2008, 3:53 PM in Wordsworth, William || 4 Replies

william wordsworth

hya everyone, new to this site so i do not know if i am in the right place for this question. I bought a book recently and wondered if anyone here had any imformation they could give me about it. Its title is," Poems By Wordsworth." There are no dates inside the cover, neither does it say what edition it is. Its a smallish book with a red cover and inside it is signed Margaret Myers. I know nothing about this book and wondered if anyone could help me. Thankyou for your time. Bill

Posted By william57 at Fri 22 Feb 2008, 8:17 AM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

Written in...

hello! i'm completly new here and this is my first post but i would really appreciate any replies. (even if it's just to say nope sorry i can't help you) I am writing a comparsion essay on Wordsworth's London and Blake's London, now what i need to know is when were they written? I have searched on the internet and can't find it answered anywhere :crash: so hopefully one of you clever people will know, thanks Tia_Pixie

Posted By Tia_Pixie at Wed 6 Feb 2008, 5:54 AM in Wordsworth, William || 1 Reply

Help with The Mother's Return

I was a bit confussed by my reading of the Poem, A Mothers Return In the first verses it says: A month, sweet Little-ones, is past Since your dear Mother went away, -- And she tomorrow will return; Tomorrow is the happy day. But to me the rest of the poem seems to suggest the mother had died, and I am unsure by what is meant by her "return" But then on further reading with the verses: We talked of change, of winter gone, Of green leaves on the hawthorn spray, Of birds that build their nests and sing And all "since Mother went away!" To her these tales they will repeat, To her our new-born tribes will show, The goslings green, the ***'s colt, The lambs that in the meadow go. I wondered if mother was ment in a broader sense, as in Mother Nature, and if perhaps the comming of spring was the mother's return? When life is restored to the once baren winter land? Am I way off?

Posted By Dark Muse at Fri 1 Feb 2008, 2:48 PM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

A Character

I found this poem quite charming A Character I marvel how Nature could ever find space For so many strange contrasts in one human face: There's thought and no thought, and there's paleness and bloom And bustle and sluggishness, pleasure and gloom. There's weakness, and strength both redundant and vain; Such strength as, if ever affliction and pain Could pierce through a temper that's soft to disease, Would be rational peace--a philosopher's ease. There's indifference, alike when he fails or succeeds, And attention full ten times as much as there needs; Pride where there's no envy, there's so much of joy; And mildness, and spirit both forward and coy. There's freedom, and sometimes a diffident stare Of shame scarcely seeming to know that she's there, There's virtue, the title it surely may claim, Yet wants heaven knows what to be worthy the name. This picture from nature may seem to depart, Yet the Man would at once run away with your heart; And I for five centuries right gladly would be Such an odd such a kind happy creature as he.

Posted By Dark Muse at Wed 9 Jan 2008, 3:19 PM in Wordsworth, William || 0 Replies

A Night Piece

I really loved this one, becasue I do have a long time fascination and admiration for the moon, and the moon does tend to hold special meaning for me, that I could not reset this poem, and I thought he expressed it beautifully. A Night Piece ----The sky is overcast With a continuous cloud of texture close, Heavy and wan, all whitened by the Moon, Which through that veil is indistinctly seen, A dull, contracted circle, yielding light So feebly spread, that not a shadow falls, Chequering the ground--from rock, plant, tree, or tower. At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam Startles the pensive traveller while he treads His lonesome path, with unobserving eye Bent earthwards; he looks up--the clouds are split Asunder,--and above his head he sees The clear Moon, and the glory of the heavens. There, in a black-blue vault she sails along, Followed by multitudes of stars, that, small And sharp, and bright, along the dark abyss Drive as she drives: how fast they wheel away, Yet vanish not!--the wind is in the tree, But they are silent;--still they roll along Immeasurably distant; and the vault, Built round by those white clouds, enormous clouds, Still deepens its unfathomable depth. At length the Vision closes; and the mind, Not undisturbed by the delight it feels, Which slowly settles into peaceful calm, Is left to muse upon the solemn scene.

Posted By Dark Muse at Mon 7 Jan 2008, 1:32 PM in Wordsworth, William || 3 Replies

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