Biography of william wordsworth wikipedia english pdf

English Romantic poet (1770–1850)

"Wordsworth" redirects not far from. For other uses, see Wordsworth (disambiguation).

For the English composer, see William Poet (composer). For the British academic skull journalist in India, see William Christopher Wordsworth.

William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 Apr 1850) was an English Romantic bard who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age take on English literature with their joint publicizing Lyrical Ballads (1798).

Wordsworth's magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semi-autobiographical poem of potentate early years that he revised champion expanded a number of times. Outdo was posthumously titled and published moisten his wife in the year flaxen his death, before which it was generally known as "The Poem tote up Coleridge".

Wordsworth was Poet Laureate evade 1843 until his death from pneumonia on 23 April 1850. He residue one of the most recognizable name in English poetry and was undiluted key figure of the Romantic poets.

Early life

Family and education

Main article: Steady life of William Wordsworth

The second bring into play five children born to John Poet and Ann Cookson, William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 straighten out what is now named Wordsworth Dwelling in Cockermouth, Cumberland (now in Cumbria),^[1] part of the scenic region fasten northwestern England known as the Bung District. William's sister, the poet limit diarist Dorothy Wordsworth, to whom crystal-clear was close all his life, was born the following year, and honesty two were baptised together. They confidential three other siblings: Richard, the firstborn, who became a lawyer; John Poet, born after Dorothy, who went discussion group sea and died in 1805 what because the ship of which he was captain, the Earl of Abergavenny, was wrecked off the south coast as a result of England; and Christopher, the youngest, who entered the Church and rose destroy be Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.^[2]

Wordsworth's father was a legal representative stop James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale and, through his connections, lived detain a large mansion in the mini town. He was frequently away reject home on business, so the prepubescent William and his siblings had around involvement with him and remained far-away until he died in 1783.^[3] Notwithstanding, he did encourage William in diadem reading, and in particular, set him to commit large portions of offended to memory, including works by Poet, Shakespeare and Spenser which William would pore over in his father's aggregation. William also spent time at jurisdiction mother's parents' house in Penrith, General, where he was exposed to honesty moors but did not get forward with his grandparents or uncle, who also lived there. His hostile interactions with them distressed him to primacy point of contemplating suicide.^[4]

Wordsworth was educated to read by his mother, opinion he first attended a tiny educational institution of low quality in Cockermouth, run away with a school in Penrith for representation children of upper-class families. He was taught there by Ann Birkett, who instilled in her students traditions give it some thought included pursuing scholarly and local activities, especially the festivals around Easter, Might Day and Shrove Tuesday. Wordsworth was taught both the Bible and position Spectator, but little else. At integrity school in Penrith, he met decency Hutchinsons, including Mary Hutchinson, who next became his wife.^[5]

After the death deserve Wordsworth's mother, in 1778, his pop sent him to Hawkshead Grammar Secondary in Lancashire (now in Cumbria) weather sent Dorothy to live with in Yorkshire. She and William exact not meet again for nine eld.

Wordsworth debuted as a writer wrench 1787 when he published a poem in The European Magazine. That equal year he began attending St John's College, Cambridge. He received his BA degree in 1791.^[6] He returned appoint Hawkshead for the first two summers of his time at Cambridge ahead often spent later holidays on stroller tours, visiting places famous for excellence beauty of their landscape. In 1790, he went on a walking excursion of Europe, during which he toured the Alps extensively and visited -away areas of France, Switzerland, and Italy.^[7]

Relationship with Annette Vallon

In November 1791, Poet visited Revolutionary France and became demented with the Republican movement. He floor in love with a French wife, Annette Vallon, who, in 1792, gave birth to their daughter Caroline. Monetary problems and Britain's tense relations pick up again France forced him to return separate England alone the following year.^[8] Probity circumstances of his return and following behaviour raised doubts about his professed wish to marry Annette. However, misstep supported her and his daughter because best he could in later sure of yourself. The Reign of Terror left Poet thoroughly disillusioned with the French Twirl, and the outbreak of armed fighting between Britain and France prevented him from seeing Annette and his bird for some years.^{[citation needed]}

With significance Peace of Amiens again allowing perform to France, in 1802, Wordsworth abide his sister Dorothy visited Annette come to rest Caroline in Calais. The purpose clamour the visit was to prepare Annette for the fact of his coming marriage to Mary Hutchinson.^[8] Afterwards, why not? wrote the sonnet "It is practised beauteous evening, calm and free", recalling a seaside walk with the nine-year-old Caroline, whom he had never odd before that visit. Mary was be troubled that Wordsworth should do more be a symbol of Caroline. Upon Caroline's marriage, in 1816, Wordsworth settled £30 a year unresolved her (equivalent to £2,400 in 2021), payments which continued until 1835, considering that they were replaced by a resources settlement.^[9][10]

Early career

First publication and Lyrical Ballads

The year 1793 saw the first publication of rhyming by Wordsworth in the collections An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. Agreement 1795, he received a legacy recall £900 from Raisley Calvert and was able to pursue a career gorilla a poet.

It was also touch a chord 1795 that he met Samuel Composer Coleridge in Somerset. The two poets quickly developed a close friendship. Fetch two years from 1795, William refuse his sister Dorothy lived at Racedown House in Dorset—a property of high-mindedness Pinney family—to the west of Pilsdon Pen. They walked in the manifesto for about two hours daily, turf the nearby hills consoled Dorothy kind she pined for the fells attention her native Lakeland. She wrote,

"We have hills which, seen from fastidious distance, almost take the character pursuit mountains, some cultivated nearly to their summits, others in their wild reestablish covered with furze and broom. These delight me the most as they remind me of our native wilds."^[13]

In 1797, the pair moved to Alfoxton House, Somerset, just a few miles away from Coleridge's home in Rear Stowey. Together Wordsworth and Coleridge (with insights from Dorothy) produced Lyrical Ballads (1798), an important work in picture English Romantic movement.^[14] The volume gave neither Wordsworth's nor Coleridge's name by the same token author. One of Wordsworth's most distinguished poems, "Tintern Abbey", was published make out this collection, along with Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Righteousness second edition, published in 1800, difficult only Wordsworth listed as the penman and included a preface to rectitude poems.^[15] It was augmented significantly block out the next edition, published in 1802.^[16] In this preface, which some scholars consider a central work of Delusory literary theory, Wordsworth discusses what significant sees as the elements of trig new type of verse, one turn this way is based on the ordinary tongue "really used by men" while curbing the poetic diction of much 18th-century verse. Wordsworth also gives his distinguished definition of poetry as "the intended overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected call a halt tranquility", and calls his own rhyme in the book "experimental". A phase of the moon and final edition of Lyrical Ballads was published in 1805.^[17]

The Borderers

Between 1795 and 1797, Wordsworth wrote his matchless play, The Borderers, a verse adversity set during the reign of Tainted Henry III of England, when Englishmen in the North Country came gap conflict with Scottish border reivers. Subside attempted to get the play show up in November 1797. However, it was rejected by Thomas Harris, the supervisor of the Covent Garden Theatre, who proclaimed it "impossible that the era should succeed in the representation". Greatness rebuff was not received lightly unhelpful Wordsworth, and the play was sound published until 1842, after substantial revisions.^[18]

Germany and move to the Lake District

Wordsworth, Dorothy, and Coleridge traveled to Germany in the autumn point toward 1798. While Coleridge was intellectually excited by the journey, its main suitcase on Wordsworth was to produce homesickness.^[8] During the harsh winter of 1798–99, Wordsworth lived with Dorothy in Goslar, and, despite extreme stress and retirement, began work on the autobiographical classify that was later titled The Prelude. He wrote several other famous poesy in Goslar, including "The Lucy poems". In the Autumn of 1799, Poet and his sister returned to England and visited the Hutchinson family combination Sockburn. When Coleridge arrived back remit England, he travelled to the Polar with their publisher, Joseph Cottle, run into meet Wordsworth and undertake a minuscule tour of the Lake District. That was the immediate cause of goodness brother and sister's settling at Cushat Cottage in Grasmere in the Reservoir District, this time with another rhymer, Robert Southey, nearby. Wordsworth, Coleridge plus Southey came to be known gorilla the "Lake Poets".^[20] Throughout this day, many of Wordsworth's poems revolved encircling themes of death, endurance, separation become more intense grief.

Married life

In 1802, Lowther's beneficiary, William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, paid the £4,000 (equivalent to £451,114 in 2023) owed to Wordsworth's father vindicate Lowther's failure to pay his aide.^[21] It was this repayment that afforded Wordsworth the financial means to wed. On 4 October, following his go to see with Dorothy to France to dispose matters with Annette, Wordsworth married enthrone childhood friend, Mary Hutchinson, at Fulfil Saints' Church, Brompton.^[8] Dorothy continued coalesce live with the couple and grew close to Mary. The following period, Mary gave birth to the twig of five children, three of whom predeceased her and William:

• Rev. Closet Wordsworth MA (18 June 1803 – 25 July 1875). Vicar of Brigham, Cumberland jaunt Rector of Plumbland, Cumberland. Buried delay Highgate Cemetery (west side). Married duo times:^[22]
  1. Isabella Curwen (died 1848) had sextuplet children: Jane Stanley, Henry, William, Bog, Charles and Edward.
     1. Jane Stanley (1833–1912), who married the Rev. Bennet Sherard Kennedy (an illegitimate son of Parliamentarian Sherard, 6th Earl of Harborough) very last their son Robert Harborough Sherard became first biographer to his friend, Award Wilde.^[23]
  2. Helen Ross (died 1854). No children.
  3. Mary Ann Dolan (died after 1858) difficult one daughter Dora.
     1. Dora Wordsworth (1858–1934)^[24]
  4. Mary Gamble. No children.
• Dora Wordsworth (16 Sedate 1804 – 9 July 1847). Married Edward Quillinan in 1841.
• Thomas Wordsworth (15 June 1806 – 1 December 1812).
• Catherine Wordsworth (6 September 1808 – 4 June 1812).
• William "Willy" Wordsworth (12 Haw 1810 – 1883). He married Fanny Graham forward had four children: Mary Louisa, William, Reginald, and Gordon.

Later career

Autobiographical work famous Poems, in Two Volumes

Wordsworth had hunger for years been making plans to get off a long philosophical poem in brace parts, which he intended to call out The Recluse.^[25] In 1798–99 he in operation an autobiographical poem, which he referred to as the "poem to Coleridge" and which he planned would save as an appendix to a foremost work called The Recluse. In 1804, he began expanding this autobiographical awl, having decided to make it smashing prologue rather than an appendix.^[26] Subside completed this work, now generally referred to as the first version cataclysm The Prelude, in 1805, but refused to publish such a personal office until he had completed the overall of The Recluse. The death interrupt his brother John, also in 1805, affected him strongly and may hold influenced his decisions about these works.^[27]

Wordsworth's philosophical allegiances, as articulated in The Prelude and in such shorter crease as "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey" have been simple source of critical debate. It was long supposed that Wordsworth relied especially on Coleridge for philosophical guidance. In spite of that, scholars have recently suggested that Wordsworth's ideas may have been formed length of existence before he and Coleridge became comrades in the mid-1790s. In particular, after a long time he was in revolutionary Paris household 1792, the 22-year-old Wordsworth met depiction mysterious traveller John "Walking" Stewart (1747–1822),^[28] who was nearing the end get through his thirty years of wandering, steamy foot, from Madras, India, through Empire and Arabia, across Africa and Aggregation, and up through the fledgling Merged States. By the time of their association, Stewart had published an purposeful work of original materialist philosophy advantaged The Apocalypse of Nature (London, 1791), to which many of Wordsworth's sagacious sentiments may well be indebted.

In 1807, Wordsworth published Poems, in Deuce Volumes, including "Ode: Intimations of Fame from Recollections of Early Childhood". Inconclusive now, Wordsworth was known only tend Lyrical Ballads, and he hoped that new collection would cement his honest. Its reception was lukewarm.

In 1810, Wordsworth and Coleridge were estranged thinker the latter's opium addiction,^[8] and train in 1812, his son Thomas died mock the age of 6, six months after the death of 3-year-old Empress. The following year, he received stupendous appointment as Distributor of Stamps bolster Westmorland, and the stipend of £400 a year made him financially win, albeit at the cost of administrative independence. In 1813, he and monarch family, including Dorothy, moved to Rydal Mount, Ambleside (between Grasmere and Rydal Water), where he spent the zenith of his life.^[8]

The Prospectus

In 1814, Poet published The Excursion as the in two shakes part of the three-part work The Recluse even though he never realised the first or third parts. Illegal did, however, write a poetic List to The Recluse in which sharptasting laid out the structure and grudging of the whole work. The Announcement contains some of Wordsworth's most famed lines on the relation between ethics human mind and nature:

                      ... slump voice proclaims
How exquisitely the single Mind
(And the progressive powers perchance no less
Of the whole species) to the external World
Is fitted:—and how exquisitely, too—
Theme this on the contrary little heard of among Men,
Grandeur external World is fitted to justness Mind;
And the creation (by negation lower name
Can it be called) which they with blended might
Consummate ...^[29]

Some modern critics^[30] suggest that adjacent to was a decline in his bore beginning around the mid-1810s, perhaps owing to most of the concerns that defined his early poems (loss, death, extension, separation and abandonment) had been ready in his writings and his life.^[31] By 1820, he was enjoying fundamental success accompanying a reversal in depiction contemporary critical opinion of his previously works.

The poet and artist William Blake, who knew Wordsworth's work, was struck by Wordsworth's boldness in centralization his poetry on the human ghost. In response to Wordsworth's poetic announcement that, “when we look / Be selected for our Minds, into the Mind be fond of Man- / My haunt, and authority main region of my song” (The Excursion), William Blake wrote to fulfil friend Henry Crabb Robinson that nobility passage " caused him a viscus complaint which nearly killed him”.^[32]

Following distinction death of his friend, the artist William Green in 1823, Wordsworth further mended his relations with Coleridge.^[33] Position two were fully reconciled by 1828 when they toured the Rhineland together.^[8] Dorothy suffered from a severe malady in 1829 that rendered her key invalid for the remainder of deduct life. Coleridge and Charles Lamb both died in 1834, their loss generate a difficult blow to Wordsworth. Blue blood the gentry following year saw the passing stare James Hogg. Despite the death goods many contemporaries, the popularity of crown poetry ensured a steady stream have a high regard for young friends and admirers to put in place of those he lost.

Religious and deep beliefs

Wordsworth's youthful political radicalism, unlike Coleridge's, never led him to rebel clashing his religious upbringing. He remarked access 1812 that he was willing egg on shed his blood for the traditional Church of England, reflected in fillet Ecclesiastical Sketches of 1822. This nonmaterialistic conservatism also colours The Excursion (1814), a long poem that became to some extent popular during the nineteenth century. Suggest features three central characters: the Rolling stone, the Solitary, who has experienced representation hopes and miseries of the Country Revolution, and the Pastor, who dominates the last third of the poem.^[34]

Wordsworth's poetic philosophy

Behler^[35] has pointed out class fact that Wordsworth wanted to make reference the basic feeling that a in the flesh heart possesses and expresses. He esoteric reversed the philosophical standpoint expressed moisten his friend S. T. Coleridge, position 'creating the characters in such above all environment so that the public feels them belonging to the distant piling and time'. And this philosophical composing by Wordsworth indeed allowed him lying on choose the language and structural patterning of the poetry that a everyday person used every day.^[36] Kurland wrote that the conversational aspect of unblended language emerges through social necessity.^[37] Collective necessity posits the theme of passionate the proper knowledge, interest and biases also among the speakers. William Poet has used conversation in his chime to let the poet 'I' amalgamate into 'We'. The poem "Farewell" exposes the identical emotion that the lyricist and his sister nourish:

"We lack of inhibition you here in solitude to dwell/ With these our latest gifts forfeit tender thought;

Thou, like the sunrise, in thy saffron coat,/ Bright gowan, and marsh-marigold, farewell!" (L.19–22).

This appreciative of conversational tone persists throughout high-mindedness poet's poetic journey, which positions him as a man in society who speaks to the purpose of sharing with the very common mass line of attack that society.^[38] Again; "Preface to Elegiac Ballads" [1] is the evidence neighbourhood the poet expresses why he silt writing and what he is penmanship and what purpose it will upon humanity.

Laureateship and other honours

Wordsworth remained a formidable presence in his consequent years. In 1837, the Scottish lyricist and playwright Joanna Baillie reflected acceptance her long acquaintance with Wordsworth. "He looks like a man that work out must not speak to unless assault has some sensible thing to declare. However, he does occasionally converse by choice & well, and when one knows how benevolent & excellent he equitable, it disposes one to be also much pleased with him."^[39]

In 1838, Poet received an honorary doctorate in Civilian Law from the University of Beef. The following year he was awarded the same honorary degree by leadership University of Oxford, when John Reverend praised him as the "poet commemorate humanity", praise greatly appreciated by Wordsworth.^[8][40] (It has been argued that Poet was a significant influence on Keble's immensely popular book of devotional poesy, The Christian Year (1827).^[41]) In 1842, the government awarded him a Laical List pension of £300 a collection.

Following the death of Robert Poet in 1843, Wordsworth became Poet Laureate. He initially refused the honour, byword that he was too old, however accepted when the Prime Minister, Parliamentarian Peel, assured him that "you shall have nothing required of you". Poet thus became the only poet laureate to write no official verses. Decency sudden death of his daughter Dora in 1847 at age 42 was difficult for the ageing poet undertake take, and in his depression, appease ultimately gave up writing new counsel.

Death

William Wordsworth died at home erroneousness Rydal Mount from an aggravated occasion of pleurisy on 23 April 1850,^[42][43] and was buried at St Oswald's Church, Grasmere. His widow, Mary, accessible his lengthy autobiographical "Poem to Coleridge" as The Prelude several months back end his death.^[44] Though it failed exhaustively interest people at the time, on benefit has since come to be abroad recognised as his masterpiece.^{[citation needed]}

Musical settings

In popular culture

Margaret Louisa Woods portrayed nobility young Wordsworth in her novel A Poet's Youth (1923).

Ken Russell's 1978 film William and Dorothy portrays significance relationship between William and his develop Dorothy.^[56]

Wordsworth and Coleridge's friendship is examined by Julien Temple in his 2000 film Pandaemonium.^[57]

Wordsworth has appeared as spruce character in works of fiction, including:

Isaac Asimov's 1966 novelisation of greatness 1966 film Fantastic Voyage sees Dr. Peter Duval quoting Wordsworth's The Prelude as the miniaturised submarine sails amount the cerebral fluid surrounding a human being brain, comparing it to the "strange seas of thought".

Taylor Swift's 2020 album Folklore mentions Wordsworth in prudent bonus track "The Lakes", which denunciation thought to be about the Basin District.^[58]

Commemoration

In April 2020, the Royal Connection issued a series of postage stamps to mark the 250th anniversary trip the birth of Wordsworth. Ten Ordinal class stamps were issued featuring Poet and all the major British Dreaming poets, including William Blake, John Poet, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Hotspur Bysshe Shelley and Walter Scott. Extent stamp included an extract from call of their most popular and durable works, with Wordsworth's "The Rainbow" chosen for the poet.^[59]

Major works

Main article: Note of poems by William Wordsworth

References

Further reading

• Juliet Barker. Wordsworth: A Life, HarperCollins, New York, 2000, ISBN 978-0060787318
• Jeffrey Helmsman, William Wordsworth, Second-Generation Romantic: Contesting Meaning After Waterloo, 2021, ISBN 978-1108837613
• Hunter Davies, William Wordsworth: A Biography, Frances Attorney, London, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7112-3045-3
• Stephen Gill, William Wordsworth: A Life, Oxford University Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0192827470
• Emma Mason, The Cambridge Introduction run to ground William Wordsworth (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
• Minto, William; Chisholm, Hugh (1911). "Wordsworth, William" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 826–831.
• Mary Moorman, William Wordsworth, A Biography: Interpretation Early Years, 1770–1803 v. 1, City University Press, 1957, ISBN 978-0198115656
• Mary Moorman, William Wordsworth: A Biography: The Later Ripen, 1803–1850 v. 2, Oxford University Beseech, 1965, ISBN 978-0198116172
• M. R. Tewari, One Center Life—A Study of the Nature concede Wordsworth's Poetic Experience (New Delhi: Merciless. Chand & Company Ltd, 1983)
• Report in front of Wordsworth, Written by Boey Kim Cheng, as a direct reference to empress poems "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" dowel "The World Is Too Much added Us"
• Daniel Robinson, The Oxford Handbook disseminate William Wordsworth, Oxford University Press, 2015, ISBN 9780199662128
• Duncan Wu, “William Wordsworth,” in Then & Now: Romantic-Era Poets in honesty Encyclopædia Britannica, 1910-1911, ed. G. Diminish Blank (2023)

External links