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1A1 English
• William Wordsworth
(1770-1850)
William Wordsworth
• An English romantic poet.
• He wrote Lyrical Ballads, a collection of
poems, with another man – Samuel Taylor
Coleridge.
• Many believe that the publication of this book
marks the beginning of the ROMANTIC
PERIOD – a time when some poets began to
draw inspiration from nature and celebrate it
in their work.
What is Romanticism?
• A style of literature.
• Emphasises passion, imagination and
inspiration.
• Supports expression of emotions.
What is Romanticism?
• Most of the writers who belonged to the
romantic movement disliked the world in
which they lived – commercial, mechanised
and standardised.
• Why? What was going on in England around
this time?
• Romantics wanted to escape from society and
focus on other things – including nature and
the lives of ordinary men.
William Wordsworth
• Nature is a central theme in “The Daffodils”.
• Wordsworth’s poems are often praised for
their description of nature.
• Sights and sounds of nature sometimes linked
to spirituality in his poems.
William Wordsworth
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1770: Born in Cumbria.
1778: Mother passes away.
1783: Father passes away.
Relatives supported his education.
William Wordsworth
• 1787-1791: Studied in Cambridge University.
• Witnessed the French Revolution first hand
while travelling in that country.
• 1795: Met Coleridge.
• 1798: Lyrical Ballads appears.
• Continued to write throughout the first half of
the 19th Century – “The Daffodils” is one of his
most famous poems. It was inspired by nature
and is a celebration of it.
William Wordsworth
• 1843: Queen Victoria appointed him poet
laureate.
• William Wordsworth “believed we learn more
by communicating with nature than by
reading books” (World Book Encyclopaedias).