William Wordsworth (1770-1850) Beowulf
Benjamin Robert Haydon, William Wordsworth, 1842, London, National Portrait Gallery. William Wordsworth ( ) Performer - Culture & Literature Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton 2012 Wordsworths House in Cockermouth, Cumberland
1. Life Born in Cockermouth in Cumberland in 1770. His father, a lawyer, taught him poetry and allowed him access to his library. In 1791 he got a B. A. Degree at St Johns College, Cambridge. In 1791 he travelled to Revolutionary France and was fascinated by the Republican movement. Wordsworths House in Cockermouth, Cumberland Performer - Culture & Literature Wordsworths House in Cockermouth, Cumberland
1. Life In 1792 he had adaughter, Caroline, froma French aristocratic woman, Annette Vallon. The Reign of Terror ledhim to become estrangedto the Republic, and thewar between England andFrance caused him toreturn to England. Wordsworths House in Cockermouth, Cumberland Performer - Culture & Literature Wordsworths House in Cockermouth, Cumberland
1. Life In 1795 he developed a close friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, with whom he collaborated in the period to write Lyrical Ballads. In 1843 he became the Poet Laureate. He died in 1850. Wordsworths House in Cockermouth, Cumberland Performer - Culture & Literature 2. Main works Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems (1798).
Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems (1800). This edition contains the famous Preface, the Manifesto of English Romanticism. Poems, in Two Volumes (1807). The Excursion (1814). The Prelude (1850). William Wordsworth, Shreveport, James Smith Noel Collection Performer - Culture & Literature 3. The object of poetry From the Preface to Lyrical Ballads
The principal object [] was tochoose incidents and situations fromcommon life [] to make theseincidents and situations interestingby tracing in them [] the primarylaws of our nature Performer - Culture & Literature 4. The language of poetry From the Preface to Lyrical Ballads
The language [] of these men (low andrustic people) is adopted [] because suchmen hourly communicate with the best objectsfrom which the best part of language isoriginally derived [] and because, being less under theinfluence of social vanity, they convey theirfeelings and notions in simple andunelaborated expressions Performer - Culture & Literature 5. Who is the poet? From the Preface to Lyrical Ballads
What is a poet? [] He is a man speaking to men: a man [] endued with more lively sensibility who has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposedto be common among mankind Performer - Culture & Literature 6. What is poetry? From the Preface to Lyrical Ballads
Poetry is the spontaneous overflow ofpowerful feelings: it takes its origins fromemotion recollected in tranquillity: the emotionis contemplated till by a species of reaction the tranquillity gradually disappears, and an emotion, kindred to that which wasbefore the subject of contemplation, is gradually produced, and does itself actuallyexist in the mind Performer - Culture & Literature 7. Poetic composition From the Preface to Lyrical Ballads
In this mood successful composition generallybegins, and in a mood similar to this it iscarried on; but the emotion [] from variouscauses is qualified by various pleasures, sothat in describing any passions whatsoever,which are voluntarily described, the mind willupon the whole be in a state of enjoyment Performer - Culture & Literature 8. The poetic process Sensory experience Poet Emotion Object Memory =
Recollection In tranquillity Emotion Kindred emotion Reader Poem Performer - Culture & Literature John Constable, The White Horse, 1819, New York, The Frick Collection
9. Man and nature Man and nature areinseparable. Pantheistic view ofnature: nature is theseat of the spirit ofthe universe. Nature comfortsman in sorrow, it isa source of joyand pleasure, itteaches man tolove, to act in amoral way. John Constable, The White Horse, 1819, New York, The Frick Collection Performer - Culture & Literature 10. The senses and memory Wordsworth exploited thesensibility of the eye andear to perceive the beauty ofnature. He believed that the moralcharacter develops duringchildhood influence ofDavid Hartley ( ). The sensations caused byphysical experience leadto simple thoughts. William Hawell, Waterfall at Ambleside seen through a window, 1807, Wordsworth Trust Performer - Culture & Literature 10. The senses and memory These simple thoughtslater combine intocomplex and organisedideas. Memory is a major forcein the process of growth. The Chancel and Crossing of Tintern Abbey, Looking towards the East Window by J. M. V. Turner, 1794 Performer - Culture & Literature 11. The poets task The poet = a teacher
Shows men how tounderstand theirfeelings andimprove their moralbeing. Draws attention tothe ordinary thingsof life where thedeepest emotionsare to be found. Performer - Culture & Literature 12. Wordsworths style Abandoned 18th-century poetic diction.
Almost always used blankverse. Proved skilful at verse formssuch as sonnets, odes,ballads and lyrics. View of Buttermere, Crummock Water and the surrounding Fells from Fleetwith Pike in the English Lake District Performer - Culture & Literature