William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth entered the world on the 7th of April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland. He was the second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson. His father served as a legal representative for James Lowther, the first Earl of Lonsdale. This connection allowed the family to live in a large mansion within their small town. The young William spent much time at his mother's parents' house in Penrith. There he encountered the moors but clashed with his grandparents and uncle. These hostile interactions distressed him so deeply that he once contemplated suicide. His sister Dorothy followed him into the world just one year later. They were baptised together and remained close throughout their lives.
In November 1791, Wordsworth visited Revolutionary France and became enchanted by the Republican movement. He fell in love with Annette Vallon, the daughter of a French Royalist. She gave birth to their daughter Caroline in 1792. Financial problems and Britain's tense relations with France forced him to return to England alone the following year. The Reign of Terror left Wordsworth thoroughly disillusioned with the French Revolution. In December 1792 or January 1793, his family discontinued the allowance he had been living on. They recalled him back to England. With the Peace of Amiens allowing travel again, he visited Annette and Caroline in Calais in 1802. The purpose was to prepare Annette for his forthcoming marriage to Mary Hutchinson. He wrote the sonnet It is a beauteous evening calm and free recalling a seaside walk with nine-year-old Caroline. Upon Caroline's marriage in 1816, Wordsworth settled £30 a year on her until 1835.
The year 1795 marked when Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Somerset. The two poets quickly developed a close friendship. For two years from 1795, William and his sister Dorothy lived at Racedown House in Dorset. They walked in the area for about two hours daily. In 1797, the pair moved to Alfoxton House, Somerset, just a few miles away from Coleridge's home. Together they produced Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This volume gave neither poet's name as author. One of Wordsworth's most famous poems Tintern Abbey appeared in this collection alongside Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The second edition published in 1800 listed only Wordsworth as the author. It included a preface that some scholars consider a central work of Romantic literary theory. Wordsworth discussed elements of a new type of verse based on ordinary language really used by men. He defined poetry as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings taking origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.
Wordsworth had been making plans for years to write a long philosophical poem called The Recluse. In 1798, 99 he started an autobiographical poem which he referred to as the poem to Coleridge. He planned it would serve as an appendix to The Recluse. In 1804, he began expanding this work into a prologue instead. He completed the first version of The Prelude in 1805 but refused to publish such a personal work until finishing The Recluse. The death of his brother John also in 1805 affected him strongly and may have influenced these decisions. His widow Mary published the lengthy autobiographical Poem to Coleridge as The Prelude several months after his death in 1850. Though it failed to interest people at the time, it has since come to be widely recognised as his masterpiece.
In the autumn of 1799, Wordsworth and his sister returned to England and visited the Hutchinson family at Sockburn. When Coleridge arrived back in England, he travelled north with their publisher Joseph Cottle. This was the immediate cause of the brother and sister settling at Dove Cottage in Grasmere. They lived there from 1799 to 1808. Another poet Robert Southey resided nearby. Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey came to be known as the Lake Poets. Throughout this period many poems revolved around themes of death endurance separation and grief. In 1813, he moved with his family including Dorothy to Rydal Mount Ambleside where he spent the rest of his life. Hundreds of visitors came here over the years to see him. Dorothy suffered from a severe illness in 1829 and remained ill for the remainder of her life.
Wordsworth wanted to invoke the basic feeling that a human heart possesses and expresses. He reversed the philosophical standpoint expressed by his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge regarding creating characters in distant environments. This realisation allowed him to choose language and structural patterning that a common person used every day. The poem Farewell exposes the identical emotion that the poet and his sister nourish. We leave you here in solitude to dwell With these our latest gifts of tender thought Thou like the morning in thy saffron coat Bright gowan and marsh-marigold farewell. This conversational tone persists throughout the poet's journey positioning him as a man speaking to communion with the very common mass of society. His Preface to Lyrical Ballads serves as evidence where he explains why he writes and what purpose it will serve humanity.
In 1843, following the death of Robert Southey, Wordsworth became Poet Laureate. He initially refused the honour saying he was too old but accepted when Prime Minister Robert Peel assured him that nothing would be required of him. Thus he became the only poet laureate to write no official verses. The sudden death of his daughter Dora in 1847 at age 42 was difficult for the ageing poet to take. In his depression, he ultimately gave up writing new material. William Wordsworth died from an aggravated case of pleurisy on the 23rd of April 1850 at home at Rydal Mount. He was buried at St Oswald's Church Grasmere. He remains one of the most recognizable names in English poetry and was a key figure of the Romantic poets. In April 2020, the Royal Mail issued stamps marking the 250th anniversary of his birth featuring all major British poets of the era.
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Common questions
When and where was William Wordsworth born?
William Wordsworth entered the world on the 7th of April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland. He was the second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson.
Who did William Wordsworth fall in love with during his time in Revolutionary France?
In November 1791, William Wordsworth visited Revolutionary France and fell in love with Annette Vallon, the daughter of a French Royalist. She gave birth to their daughter Caroline in 1792 before he returned to England alone the following year.
What major literary work did William Wordsworth co-create with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798?
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge produced Lyrical Ballads in 1798 while living near each other in Somerset. This volume included Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge without listing either poet's name as author initially.
Where did William Wordsworth live from 1799 until 1808?
William Wordsworth lived at Dove Cottage in Grasmere from 1799 to 1808 after settling there with his sister Dorothy. Another poet Robert Southey resided nearby and they became known collectively as the Lake Poets.
When did William Wordsworth become Poet Laureate and what was unique about his tenure?
William Wordsworth became Poet Laureate in 1843 following the death of Robert Southey but wrote no official verses during his term. He accepted the position only when Prime Minister Robert Peel assured him that nothing would be required of him.