Wordsworth.pptVIP

I. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) 1. Life and Career Born in the “Lake Region,” Educated at Cambridge His genius was formed chiefly by the influence of Nature He lived through the storm and stress of the French Revolution for over a year. Later gradually changed into a conservative in politics Made a trip to Germany with Coleridge in 1798 and 1799 Settled at Dove Cottage in Grasmere, Westmoreland Married Mary Hutchinson in 1802 Named Poet Laureate in 1843 Dove Cottage William Wordsworth 2. Points of View A radical democrat in the early days, attracted to the slogans of liberty, equality and fraternity. A conservative in politics and religion in his later years. Holding a critical attitude towards government and the upper class. Being strong against the industrialization, thinking it caused miseries and destroyed country life. Having great sympathy for the poor and regarding them as victims of the fortune-hunting capitalists. He was strongly against the neo-classical poetry. According to him, good poetry is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” arising from “emotion recollected in tranquility.” He changed the course of English poetry by using ordinary speech of the language and by advocating a return to nature. William Wordsworth 3. Major works Descriptive Sketches, an Evening Walk (1793) Lyrical Ballads (1798) Poems in Two Volumes (1807) The Excursion (1814) Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind (1850) The House of the Wordsworths 4. Special features A poet of nature Sensitive to every subtle change in the world around him Best at the truthful presentation of nature Finding abundant beauty in the common world, by penetrating to the heart of things The common life is the only subject of his literary interest. The joys and sorrows of the common people are his themes. City life tends to weaken and pervert humanity; a return to nature and its simple way of life is the only remedy for human wretchedness. He advocates a return to nature. He uses simple,