William Wordsworth.docx

William Wordsworth.docx

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WilliamWordsworth

WilliamWordsworth

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

"Wordsworth"redirectshere.Forotheruses,seeWordsworth（disambiguation）.

FortheScottishcomposer,seeWilliamWordsworth（composer）.

WilliamWordsworth

PortraitofWilliamWordsworthbyBenjaminRobertHaydon（NationalPortraitGallery）.

Born7April1770

WordsworthHouse,Cockermouth,England

Died23April1850（aged80）

Cumberland,England

OccupationPoet

LiterarymovementRomanticism

Notablework（s）LyricalBallads,PoemsinTwoVolumes,TheExcursion

WilliamWordsworth（7April1770–23April1850）wasamajorEnglishRomanticpoetwho,withSamuelTaylorColeridge,helpedtolaunchtheRomanticAgeinEnglishliteraturewiththe1798jointpublicationLyricalBallads.

Wordsworth'smagnumopusisgenerallyconsideredtobeThePrelude,asemiautobiographicalpoemofhisearlyyearswhichherevisedandexpandedanumberoftimes.Itwasposthumouslytitledandpublished,priortowhichitwasgenerallyknownasthepoem"toColeridge".WordsworthwasBritain'sPoetLaureatefrom1843untilhisdeathin1850.

Contents[hide]

1Earlylife

2RelationshipwithAnnetteVallon

3FirstpublicationandLyricalBallads

4TheBorderers

5GermanyandmovetotheLakeDistrict

6Marriageandchildren

7AutobiographicalworkandPoemsinTwoVolumes

8TheProspectus

9ThePoetLaureateandotherhonours

10Death

11Majorworks

12Furtherreading

13Seealso

14References

15Externallinks

[edit]Earlylife

Mainarticle:

EarlylifeofWilliamWordsworth

ThesecondoffivechildrenborntoJohnWordsworthandAnnCookson,WilliamWordsworthwasbornon7April1770inWordsworthHouseinCockermouth,Cumberland[1]—partofthescenicregioninnorthwestEngland,theLakeDistrict.Hissister,thepoetanddiaristDorothyWordsworth,towhomhewascloseallhislife,wasbornthefollowingyear,andthetwowerebaptisedtogether.Theyhadthreeothersiblings:

Richard,theeldest,whobecamealawyer;John,bornafterDorothy,whowenttoseaanddiedin1805whentheshipofwhichhewasMaster,EarlofAbergavennywaswreckedoffthesouthcoastofEngland;andChristopher,theyoungest,whoenteredtheChurchandrosetobeMasterofTrinityCollege,Cambridge.[2]TheirfatherwasalegalrepresentativeofJamesLowther,1stEarlofLonsdaleand,throughhisconnections,livedinalargemansioninthesmalltown.Wordsworth,aswithhissiblings,hadlittleinvolvementwiththeirfather,andtheywouldbedistantfromhimuntilhisdeathin1783.[3]

Wordsworth'sfather,althoughrarelypresent,didteachhimpoetry,includingthatofMilton,ShakespeareandSpenser,inadditiontoallowinghissontorelyonhisownfather'slibrary.AlongwithspendingtimereadinginCockermouth,Wordsworthwouldalsostayathismother'sparentshouseinPenrith,Cumberland.AtPenrith,Wordsworthwasexposedtothemoors.Wordsworthcouldnotgetalongwithhisgrandparentsandhisuncle,andhishostileinteractionswiththemdistressedhimtothepointofcontemplatingsuicide.[4]

Afterthedeathoftheirmother,in1778,JohnWordsworthsentWilliamtoHawksheadGrammarSchoolinLancashireandDorothytolivewithrelativesinYorkshire;sheandWilliamwouldnotmeetagainforanothernineyears.AlthoughHawksheadwasWordsworth'sfirstseriousexperiencewitheducation,hehadbeentaughttoreadbyhismotherandhadattendedatinyschooloflowqualityinCockermouth.AftertheCockermouthschool,hewassenttoaschoolinPenrithforthechildrenofupper-classfamiliesandtaughtbyAnnBirkett,awomanwhoinsistedoninstillinginherstudentstraditionsthatincludedpursuingbothscholarlyandlocalactivities,especiallythefestivalsaroundEaster,MayDay,andShroveTuesday.WordsworthwastaughtboththeBibleandtheSpectator,butlittleelse.ItwasattheschoolthatWordsworthwastomeettheHutchinsons,includingMary,whowouldbehisfuturewife.[5]

Wordsworthmadehisdebutasawriterin1787whenhepublishedasonnetinTheEuropeanMagazine.ThatsameyearhebeganattendingStJohn'sCollege,Cambridge,andreceivedhisB.A.degreein1791.[6]HereturnedtoHawksheadforhisfirsttwosummerholidays,andoftenspentlaterholidaysonwalkingtours,visitingplacesfamousforthebeautyoftheirlandscape.In1790,hetookawalkingtourofEurope,duringwhichhetouredtheAlpsextensively,andvisitednearbyareasofFrance,Switzerland,andItaly.

[edit]RelationshipwithAnnetteVallon

InNovember1791,WordsworthvisitedRevolutionaryFranceandbecameenthralledwiththeRepublicanmovement.HefellinlovewithaFrenchwoman,AnnetteVallon,whoin1792gavebirthtotheirchild,Caroline.BecauseoflackofmoneyandBritain'stensionswithFrance,hereturnedalonetoEnglandthenextyear.[7]ThecircumstancesofhisreturnandhissubsequentbehaviourraisedoubtsastohisdeclaredwishtomarryAnnette,buthesupportedherandhisdaughterasbesthecouldinlaterlife.TheReignofTerrorestrangedhimfromtheRepublicanmovement,andwarbetweenFranceandBritainpreventedhimfromseeingAnnetteandCarolineagainforseveralyears.TherearestrongsuggestionsthatWordsworthmayhavebeendepressedandemotionallyunsettledinthemid-1790s.[citationneeded]

WiththePeaceofAmiensagainallowingtraveltoFrance,in1802Wordsworthandhissister,Dorothy,visitedAnnetteandCarolineinCalais.ThepurposeofthevisitwastopavethewayforhisforthcomingmarriagetoMaryHutchinson,andamutuallyagreeablesettlementwasreachedregardingWordsworth'sobligations.[7]Afterwardshewrotethepoem"Itisabeauteousevening,calmandfree,"recallinghisseasidewalkwithhisdaughter,whomhehadnotseenfortenyears.Attheconceptionofthispoem,hehadneverseenhisdaughterbefore.Theoccurringlinesrevealhisdeeploveforbothchildandmother.

[edit]FirstpublicationandLyricalBallads

Wordsworthin1798,aboutthetimehebeganThePrelude.[8]

Inhis"PrefacetoLyricalBallads",whichiscalledthe"manifesto"ofEnglishRomanticcriticism,Wordsworthcallshispoems"experimental."Theyear1793sawWordsworth'sfirstpublishedpoetrywiththecollectionsAnEveningWalkandDescriptiveSketches.Hereceivedalegacyof£900fromRaisleyCalvertin1795sothathecouldpursuewritingpoetry.Thatyear,hemetSamuelTaylorColeridgeinSomerset.Thetwopoetsquicklydevelopedaclosefriendship.In1797,WordsworthandhissisterDorothymovedtoAlfoxtonHouse,Somerset,justafewmilesawayfromColeridge'shomeinNetherStowey.Together,WordsworthandColeridge（withinsightsfromDorothy）producedLyricalBallads（1798）,animportantworkintheEnglishRomanticmovement.ThevolumegaveneitherWordsworth'snorColeridge'snameasauthor.OneofWordsworth'smostfamouspoems,"TinternAbbey",waspublishedinthework,alongwithColeridge's"TheRimeoftheAncientMariner".Thesecondedition,publishedin1800,hadonlyWordsworthlistedastheauthor,andincludedaprefacetothepoems,whichwasaugmentedsignificantlyinthe1802edition.ThisPrefacetoLyricalBalladsisconsideredacentralworkofRomanticliterarytheory.Init,Wordsworthdiscusseswhatheseesastheelementsofanewtypeofpoetry,onebasedonthe"reallanguageofmen"andwhichavoidsthepoeticdictionofmuch18th-centurypoetry.Here,Wordsworthgiveshisfamousdefinitionofpoetryas"thespontaneousoverflowofpowerfulfeelings:

ittakesitsoriginfromemotionrecollectedintranquility."AfourthandfinaleditionofLyricalBalladswaspublishedin1805.

[edit]TheBorderers

From1795to1797,hewrotehisonlyplay,TheBorderers,aversetragedyduringthereignofKingHenryIIIofEnglandwhenEnglishmenofthenorthcountrywereinconflictwithScottishrovers.WordsworthattemptedtogettheplaystagedinNovember1797,butitwasrejectedbyThomasHarris,theatremanagerofCoventGarden,whoproclaimedit"impossiblethattheplayshouldsucceedintherepresentation".TherebuffwasnotreceivedlightlybyWordsworth,andtheplaywasnotpublisheduntil1842,aftersubstantialrevision.[9]

[edit]GermanyandmovetotheLakeDistrict

Wordsworth,DorothyandColeridgetravelledtoGermanyintheautumnof1798.WhileColeridgewasintellectuallystimulatedbythetrip,itsmaineffectonWordsworthwastoproducehomesickness.[7]Duringtheharshwinterof1798–99,WordsworthlivedwithDorothyinGoslar,and,despiteextremestressandloneliness,hebeganworkonanautobiographicalpiecelatertitledThePrelude.Hewroteanumberoffamouspoems,including"TheLucypoems".HeandhissistermovedbacktoEngland,nowtoDoveCottageinGrasmereintheLakeDistrict,andthistimewithfellowpoetRobertSoutheynearby.Wordsworth,ColeridgeandSoutheycametobeknownasthe"LakePoets".[10]Throughthisperiod,manyofhispoemsrevolvearoundthemesofdeath,endurance,separationandgrief.

[edit]Marriageandchildren

In1802,afterWordsworth'sreturnfromhistriptoFrancewithDorothytovisitAnnetteandCaroline,Lowther'sheir,WilliamLowther,1stEarlofLonsdale,paidthe₤4,000debtowedtoWordsworth'sfatherincurredthroughLowther'sfailuretopayhisaide.[11]Laterthatyear,Wordsworthmarriedachildhoodfriend,MaryHutchinson.[7]DorothycontinuedtolivewiththecoupleandgrewclosetoMary.Thefollowingyear,Marygavebirthtothefirstoffivechildren,twoofwhompredeceasedWilliamandMary:

JohnWordsworth（18June1803–1875）.Marriedfourtimes:

IsabellaCurwen（d.1848）hadsixchildren:

Jane,Henry,William,John,CharlesandEdward.

HelenRoss（d.1854）.Nochildren

MaryAnnDolan（d.after1858）hadonedaughterDora（b.1858）.

MaryGamble.Nochild