William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. He was the second of five children of John Wordsworth, a legal agent of James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, and Ann Cookson, a descendant of a wealthy merchant family. He grew up in a rural and scenic environment, which influenced his love of nature and poetry. He was educated at Hawkshead Grammar School in Lancashire, where he developed his interest in literature and classical languages. He also met the Hutchinsons, a family that included Mary Hutchinson, who later became his wife. In 1787, he enrolled at St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied classics and mathematics. He did not excel academically, but he enjoyed the social and cultural life of the university. He also travelled extensively during his vacations, visiting France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. He was influenced by the revolutionary ideas and events that were sweeping across Europe at the time. He became sympathetic to the cause of the French Revolution and fell in love with a French woman named Annette Vallon, who bore him a daughter named Caroline in 1792. However, he had to return to England due to the outbreak of war between France and Britain. He was unable to see Annette and Caroline for many years. ¹ In 1793, he published his first poems in two collections: An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. These poems were conventional and imitative of the neoclassical style that dominated the poetry of the 18th century. They did not attract much attention or praise from the critics or the public. Wordsworth was struggling financially and emotionally during this period. He was depressed by the failure of the French Revolution and his separation from Annette and Caroline. He also suffered from the deaths of his father in 1783, his mother in 1778, and two of his brothers in 1790 and 1791. He found solace and support in his sister Dorothy Wordsworth, who became his lifelong companion and confidante. She encouraged him to write poetry that expressed his personal feelings and experiences. ¹ In 1795, he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a young poet who shared his radical views and poetic aspirations. They became close friends and collaborated on a joint project that would change the course of English poetry: Lyrical Ballads. This collection of poems was published anonymously in 1798 and contained some of the most famous poems by both poets, such as Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey. The poems were innovative and original in their use of simple language, common subjects, and imaginative power. They also reflected the poets' interest in nature, emotion, imagination, and the supernatural. The collection was a landmark in the history of English literature and marked the beginning of the Romantic movement. ¹ Wordsworth and Coleridge travelled together to Germany in 1798-1799, where they continued to write poetry and study philosophy. Wordsworth also began to work on a long autobiographical poem that would later become The Prelude. This poem traced his development as a poet from his childhood to his adulthood. It also explored his relationship with nature, his spiritual quest, and his poetic vision. He revised and expanded this poem throughout his life but never published it during his lifetime. It was only after his death that his widow Mary Wordsworth published it in 1850. The Prelude is considered to be Wordsworth's masterpiece and one of the greatest poems in English literature. ¹ In 1802, Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson, his childhood friend and cousin of his sister-in-law Sara Hutchinson. They had five children: John, Dora, Thomas, Catherine, and William. They also adopted Caroline, his daughter with Annette Vallon, who came to live with them in 1814. Wordsworth settled with his family in the Lake District, where he had spent most of his childhood and youth. He bought a house called Dove Cottage in Grasmere, where he lived from 1799 to 1808. He then moved to a larger house called Allan Bank, also in Grasmere, where he lived from 1808 to 1811. He then moved to another house called The Rectory, also in Grasmere, where he lived from 1811 to 1813. He finally moved to a house called Rydal Mount, near Ambleside, where he lived from 1813 until his death in 1850. He wrote most of his poetry in these houses and was inspired by the natural beauty and rural life of the Lake District. He also became friends with other poets and writers who lived or visited the area, such as Robert Southey, Walter Scott, Thomas De Quincey, Charles Lamb, and William Hazlitt. ¹ Wordsworth continued to write poetry throughout his life, but his later works were not as well received as his earlier ones. He became more conservative and orthodox in his views and less innovative and original in his style. He also became more involved in public affairs and social issues. He supported the Tory party and opposed the radical movements of the time. He also accepted several honors and positions that increased his fame and status. He was appointed as the Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland in 1813, a lucrative post that secured his financial security. He was also awarded a Doctor of Civil Law degree by Durham University in 1838 and by Oxford University in 1839. He was also offered the Poet Laureateship in 1843, after the death of Robert Southey, which he accepted reluctantly. He was the first poet laureate to write no official verses for the crown or the government. He died on 23 April 1850 at Rydal Mount, after a short illness. He was buried at St Oswald's Church in Grasmere, next to his daughter Dora and other members of his family. ¹