William Wordsworth, 1770 - 1850
Author of this webpage: Renée Goodvin
William Wordsworth was a notable poet who, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the English Romantic Movement.Born in Cockermouth, West Cumberland in 1770, William was the second of five children. After his mother's death, eight year old William was sent to school at Hawkshead, near Esthwaite Lake. During this time, William and his three brothers lived in the cottage of Ann Tyson. It was this period of his life that gave the young Wordsworth an appreciation of the natural sights and sounds of his environment and encouraged his inclination toward poetry.
In 1787, Wordsworth began attending St. John's College in Cambridge. However, Wordsworth found the curriculum less than satisfying and graduated without distinction in 1791.
From 1790 to 1792, Wordsworth did extensive traveling by foot. It was during this time that he visited France and became caught up in the fervor of the French Revolution. However, at the same time he had a love affair with the daughter of a family who had strong Royalist sympathies. Financial constraints made it necessary for Wordsworth to return to England in 1792 and by the time Wordsworth could have returned to France to marry his love, their sympathies had grown so far apart that it was impossible.
Soon after he returned to England, a friend died and left Wordsworth a small sum of money that was just enough to allow him to "live by his poetry" with his sister, Dorothy, in a rent-free cottage. It was during this time that he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and together they began to change the face of English literature.
For over a decade, Wordsworth and Coleridge met daily to discuss poetry and compose prolifically. The fruits of their efforts came in 1798 with the anonymous publication of Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems. In 1810, Wordsworth and Coleridge became estranged after a bitter quarrel.
While Wordsworth continued to write and receive recognition throughout his life, most of his greatest works were written by 1807. It was only after Wordsworth died in 1850, that the executors of his estate discovered and published his masterpiece, The Prelude, which had been written between 1799 and 1805.
Notable Dates in William Wordsworth's Life:
- 1770 - Wordsworth is born in Cockermouth, West Cumberland
- 1778 - Wordsworth's mother dies; Wordsworth is sent to school at Hawkshead, near Esthwaite Lake
- 1783 - Wordsworth's father dies
- 1787-1791 - Wordsworth attends St. John's College, Cambridge
- Summer 1790 - Wordsworth and his friend, Robert Jones, journey on foot through France and the Alps
- 1791 - After receiving his degree, Wordsworth and Jones travel on foot to London and Wales
- November 1791 Wordsworth returns to France
- December 1792 - Wordsworth returns to England
- 1792-1797
- 1778 - Wordsworth's mother dies; Wordsworth is sent to school at Hawkshead, near Esthwaite Lake
- Wordsworth receives a sum of money, allowing him to "live by his poetry"
- Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, settle in Racedown, Dorsetshire
- Wordsworth meets Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Wordsworth and Dorothy move to Alfoxden House, Somersetshire to be near Coleridge
- At 27, Wordsworth enters "the springtime of his poetic career"
- Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, settle in Racedown, Dorsetshire
- 1798 - The first edition of Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems is published anonymously
- 1798-99 - Wordsworth and Dorothy spend the winter in Goslar, Germany
- Late 1799 - Wordsworth and Dorothy settle permanently in Grasmere in a little house named Dove Cottage
- 1800 - Wordsworth publishes a new edition of Lyrical Ballads under his own name
- 1802 - Wordsworth comes into his father's inheritance and marries Mary Hutchinson
- 1805 - William and Dorothy's brother, John, drowns at sea
- 1807 - Poems in Two Volumes is published
- 1810 - Wordsworth and Coleridge become estranged after a quarrel
- 1812 - Two of Wordsworth's five children die
- 1814 - The Excursion is published
- 1815 - The first collected edition of Wordsworth's poems is published
- 1830s - Dorothy's physical and mental health begin to deteriorate
- 1843 - Wordsworth is appointed poet laureate
- 1850 - Wordsworth dies
- 1798-99 - Wordsworth and Dorothy spend the winter in Goslar, Germany
William Wordsworth Links:
- Wordsworth - Criticism
- William Wordsworth Criticism from the Internet Public Library.
- The Complete Poetical Works
- The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth from bartleby.com.
- William Wordsworth: An Overview
- An overview of William Wordsworth from the "Pre-Victorian" section of The Victorian Web.
© 1998 - 2004 blondelibrarian.net
Last updated January 28, 2005