William Wordsworth Father of the Romantics 1770 1850

William Wordsworth Father of the Romantics 1770 -1850

Lake District

Younger Years • Grew up in Cockermouth, Lake District scenic mountain region • Attended Cambridge • Went on Walking Tour to France and Switzerland • Loved the French Revolution- gave it to man • Wanted to stay with Annette Valon- got her pregnant, but had to come home

Map of Lake District

Wordsworth at the Lake District

Lyrical Ballads • The Bible of Romantic lit! Gives formula for writing Romantic poetry • Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings • Everyday language • About everyday man • Feelings more important than the story • Contained 23 poems he wrote with Coleridge (WW wrote 19)

Marriage and Life • Married Mary Hutchinson, a childhood • • • schoolmate Had 5 kids 2 died in childhood Coleridge married Mary’s sis Sara 3 years before WW and Mary 18 YEAR RIFT with Coleridge, ended in 1795 Died at Rydal Mount April 23, 1850

WW in later years with LYRICAL BALLADS, the book that made him famous

Dorothy • Lucy poems • Dorothy and WW lived out their older years in the Lake District • Lived longer than the other Romantic poets • The Original NATURE poet was inspired by the SIGHTS and SOUNDS

Posters based off of his Life

My Heart Leaps Up when I behold a rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; so is it now I am a man: so be it when I shall grow old, or let me die! The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.

• Out of the mouth of babes • If a man is too “old” to enjoy nature- then he is LOST. • Paradox- (Opposite but true) • “The Child is the Father of the Man” • What do you think it means?

Explanations of the Paradox • Possible meanings: • Natural wisdom of the child often exceeds that of the man • JOY in nature is the best part of being alive and human. Lose the JOY and lose the life!

The World is too much with us • The world is too much with us; late and soon, • Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; • • • — Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

Analysis • Man has been so preoccupied with making money, he has become materialistic and has lost his enjoyment in nature. • Stop and smell the roses phrase • Pretty woman- she makes him take off his shoes on the grass and CONNECT with Nature! • Even the pagans who worshipped Greek gods like Proteus connected better with nature. • Our obsession with “getting and spending” has made it impossible to appreciate the simple beauty in the world around us

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Pagan society did not view nature as just a bunch of “resources”, rather as a manifestation of the gods. They respected nature and would not have abused it for economical gain. Proteus Rising from the Sea

QUIZ • 1. Where did he grow up that gave him inspiration? • 2. What was this nature poet inspired by? • 3. Explain the paradox “The Child is the Father of the Man”. • 4. What seems to be Wordsworth obsession in “The World is Too Much With Us”? • Romantic lyrics focus on the speaker’s personal development. What lessons from Wordsworth’s growth might readers adopt?

• 6. How did pagan society view nature? • 7. Why would Wordsworth want a return to such a society? • 8. Name the “Bible” of Lyric Poetry that Wordsworth wrote with Coleridge. • 9 -10. List 2 things found in the formula for good lyric poetry. • Extra Credit • Name the childhood friend that Wordsworth married.

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