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WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (1770-1850), text bank p. 71 - Coggle Diagram
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
(1770-1850)
LIFE
born in Cumberland - Lake District in 1770
Graduated from St John's College in 1791
1791 he married Annett Vallon in France and later they had a daughter, Caroline
initially enthusiast for the democratic ideas of French Revolution, he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown after the declaration of war between England and France in 1793
1795 he moved to Dorset with his sister Dorothy, who copied down his poems and recounted their life in her
journals
1795 he met
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
and they published anonymously the
Lyrical Ballads
in 1798
1799 William and Dorothy settled in the Lake District
1802 he married the childhood friend Mary Hutchinson and they had 5 children
1843 he was made
Poet Laureate
He died in 1850
WORKS
Lyrical Ballads
(1798)
published anonymously with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lucy Poems
(1798-1801)
a series of 5 poems about the celebration of the dead girl (not clear who she was) written while he was in Germany with his sister
The Prelude. Growth of a Poet's mind
(1805)
published posthumous
14 books
an autobiographical poem
Poems, in two Volumes
(1807)
his best poems written after the marriage
THE MANIFESTO OF ENGLISH ROMANTICISM
He wrote the
Preface
to the second edition of the
Lyrical Ballads
published in 1800
He dealt with
man, nature and everyday things
to make them interesting for the reader
Coleridge dealt with
supernatural and mystery
trying to make them seem real
18th century: English poetry was composed at the highest level of diction
but for Wordsworth poetry was a
SOLITARY ACT
originating in the
ORDINARY
Poetry should deal with
EVERYDAY SITUATIONS
of
ORDINARY PEOPLE
SIMPLE LANGUAGE
, not poetic diction
objects called by their
ORDINARY NAMES
in
HUMBLE RURAL LIFE
man is nearer to his own purer passions
The poet is a
MAN AMONG MEN
poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, taking its origin from emotions recollected in tranquillity
MAN AND NATURE
in his poetry, he describes the
interaction between man and nature
and the emotions arising from this contact
Pantheistic view:
Man and nature are
inseparable
Nature includes both
inanimate and human nature
Nature as source of
pleasure and joy
and the
seat of the mighty spirit of the universe
Wordsworth shared Rousseau's faith in the goodness of nature and the excellence of the child
nature is a world of
sense perceptions
that, as experiences, lead to thoughts, that later combine into organised ideas
according to the philosopher David Hartley
memory
is therefore a major force in the process of growth of the poet's mind
LANGUAGE
he abandoned the 18th century heroic couplet
he used
blank verse
in several forms
ballads
odes
sonnets
lyrics
simple rhymes
POEMS
Composed upon Westminster Bridge
(Poems, in two Volumes)
Earth has not anything to show more fair: /
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by /
A sight so touching in its majesty: /
The city now doth, like a garment, wear /
the beauty of the morning...
composed on a coach on his way to France, he vividly compares London to a lady who is wearing the beauty of the morning. He gives a dynamic description of the city, including St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London
Daffodils
(Poems, in two Volumes)
I wandered lonely as a cloud/
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, /
when all at once I saw a crowd, /
a host, of golden daffodils... /
Continuous as the stars that shine/
And twinkle on the milky way/...
The waves beside them danced; but they /
outdid the sparkling waves in glee; /
a poet could not be gay.../
For oft, when on my couch lie...
the description of a walk with his sister near the Lake District which he vividly conveys his love for nature
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
(The Lucy Poems)
She dwelt among the untrodden ways /
Beside the springs of Dove , /
A maid whom there were none to praise /
and very few to love
celebration of the girl by associating her with the beauties of nature
text bank p. 71