Selected Poetry

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is one of the most significant poets of English Romanticism. Wordsworth's declaration was a belief in the power of poetry to teach ... Show synopsis William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is one of the most significant poets of English Romanticism. Wordsworth's declaration was a belief in the power of poetry to teach by appealing to the imagination and to the `grand elementary principle of pleasure, by which man knows, and feels, and lives, and moves'. His unique relationship with the poet and political activist, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, founded in the political and social ferment of 1795, produced a revolution in literature, and the annus mirabilis of 1797-8 was one of intense creativity resulting in the joint volume, Lyrical Ballads (1798-1805) - a landmark in the history of English Romanticism. Wordsworth's radical innovations in poetic diction embodied the convictions by which he was struggling to live, and his thought through lyrical utterance and dramatic narrative everywhere asserts the vital significance of feeling both as a bond between men and as a means of discovering the unity of the individual consciousness with the divine, in a coherent and unified vision.This selection, chosen from the Oxford Authors critical edition, includes Wordsworth's finest verse, and a large sample of The Prelude and his autobiographical poem in blank verse. This collection is aimed at lovers of English poetry and literature, English A-level students and English literature undergraduates.