William Wordsworth 1770 - 1850

Wordsworth’s Life… Lived in the Lake District Traveled to France to learn French where he witnessed the beginning of the French Revolution He met Annette Vallon, but was not able to marry her and was forced to return to England

After witnessing the bloodshed of the French Revolution he changed his position and rejected revolution as a means of improving conditions in England for the common man He felt a great deal of guilt over abandoning Annette, with whom he had a child On the verge of a breakdown and disillusioned with the Revolution, Wordsworth inherited a sum of money

After attaining financial security, Wordsworth was able to write poetry; his sister lived with him and ran his household Married Mary Hutchinson in 1803 with whom he had five children In his later years he enjoyed the financial rewards of his work His sister, Dorothy, was a close companion to his wife Dorothy became severely ill in her later life and was an invalid for many years

Wordsworth died of pneumonia in 1850 His wife published his last poems several months after his death, now considered to be his masterpiece

Wordsworth’s Work… His collection of Lyrical Ballads, published with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is considered to be the beginning point of the Romantic Period in British literature

Met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and co-wrote “Lyrical Ballads” Was made Poet Laureate in 1843 Recognized by Coleridge as the “best poet of the age”

Wrote in a style that showed a “simple delight in the nature of experience itself and in the mind’s capacity to shape everyday experience into something lasting and poetic.”