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William Wordsworth England (1770 - 1850) Timeline Secular or Eclectic Poems by William Wordsworth Books - Links |
Wordsworth was born in the scenic Lake District of northwest England. His father acted as a legal representative to the Earl of Lonsdale, a position which provided his family with a prosperous living and a mansion. His mother died while William was still a child, and he was sent away to grammar school. He went on to study at Cambridge, receiving his B.A. degree at the age of 21. Prior to graduation, Wordsworth took a walking tour of Europe, particularly reveling in the beauty of the Alps.
After graduation, in the early 1790s, Wordsworth spent time in Revolutionary France, imbibing the country's idealism.
He briefly moved to Germany with his sister, Dorothy, and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, eventually returning to England and settling once more in the Lake District.
William married and had five children.
Wordsworth began to publish poetry in the mid 1790s. Among his most loved poems are "Tintern Abbey," "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood," and "The Prelude."
Wordsworth received honorary doctorates from Durham and Oxford Universities. In 1843 he was named England's Poet Laureate.
He died of lung disease in 1850. His widow, Mary, published his long autobiographical poem The Prelude posthumously.
Poems by William Wordsworth
- Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
- The Daffodils
- O joy! that in our embers (from Ode. Intimations of Immortality)
- The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star (from Ode. Intimations of Immortality)
- Such was the Boy--but for the growing Youth (from The Excursion, Book 1)
- "If the dear faculty of sight should fail (from The Excursion, Book 4)
- "To every Form of being is assigned," (from The Excursion, Book 9)
- By one pervading spirit (from The Power of Sound)
- Dust as we are, the immortal spirit grows (from The Prelude, Book 1)
- Oh! yet a few short years of useful life (from The Prelude, Book 14)
- Thus while the days flew by, and years passed on (from The Prelude, Book 2)
- Visionary power (from The Prelude, Book 5)
- Imagination--here the Power so called (from The Prelude, Book 6)
- For I have learned (from Tintern Abbey)
Recommended Books: William Wordsworth
Related Links
Wordsworth, William. Complete Poetical Works
http://www.bartleby.com/145/
Yep - every poem composed by Wordsworth.
