Authors & Poets Codexery

William Wordsworth

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William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, the second of five children.[1][2] From 1843 until his death on 23 April 1850, Wordsworth held the position of Poet Laureate.[2][3]

Life and work

His mother taught him reading, and his early education included a poor-quality small school in Cockermouth, followed by a Penrith school for upper-class children.[4] Mary Hutchinson, whom he would eventually marry, was among the Hutchinsons he encountered at the Penrith school.[4] A sonnet published in The European Magazine in 1787 marked Wordsworth's first appearance as a writer.[1] Because of financial difficulties, he was compelled to go back to England by himself in the subsequent year.[5]

A close friendship quickly formed after Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Somerset in 1795.[6] The 1798 publication Lyrical Ballads, a joint effort by the two poets, became a significant piece within the English Romantic movement.[7]

What the cited sources add

Wordsworth's inspiration gradually failed him for his long philosophical project, and he spent much of his later life revising The Prelude.[2] The Religious Influence of the Romantic Poets describes how John Stuart Mill credited Wordsworth's poetry with lifting him from severe depression, acting like "medicine" to his soul.[8] Wordsworth played a marked role on the Oxford movement through his influence on John Keble.[8] Baillie added that he "does occasionally converse cheerfully & well" and that knowing his benevolence disposes one to be pleased with him.[9][10]

The Victorian Web's article on Wordsworth's faith states that in 1812 he declared himself ready to sacrifice his life for the established Church of England.[11][12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Everett, Glenn, "William Wordsworth: Biography" at The Victorian Web, accessed 7 January 2007.. facts only, no text reused. victorianweb.org
  3. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Poet Laureate", The British Monarchy official website.; Stephen Gill, William Wordsworth: A Life, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 422–23. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Moorman 1968:15–18. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Everett, Glenn, "William Wordsworth: Biography" at The Victorian Web, accessed 7 January 2007. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roland Gant, "Dorset Villages", Robert Hale Ltd, 1980, p. 111–112 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lyricall Ballads: With a Few Other Poems", J. & A. Arch, 1798 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "The Religious Influence of the Romantic Poets". facts only, no text reused. victorianweb.org
  9. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baillie, "Further Letters of Joanna Baillie", Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2010, p. 181 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Open Library record, ISBN 9780838641491 ("Further letters of Joanna Baillie"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  11. "Wordsworth's Religion", www.victorianweb.org. facts only, no text reused. victorianweb.org
  12. Wikipedia, "William Wordsworth" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Wordsworth's Religion", www.victorianweb.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article William Wordsworth (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Also in the Codexery

William Wordsworth · Literary Giants

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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