William Wordsworth

English Romantic poet (1770–1850)

6 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

William Wordsworth, a major figure of English Romanticism, was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland. After studying at Cambridge, he lived in France during the early years of the Revolution. Returning to England, he collaborated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Lyrical Ballads (1798), which marked the beginning of English Romanticism. Settling in the Lake District, he composed his most famous works, including 'Ode: Intimations of Immortality' and 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'. His autobiographical poem The Prelude, completed in 1805, was published posthumously in 1850. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1843.

* 1770-04-07 — † 1850-04-23

Major works

Lyrical Ballads (1798)poetry collection
Poems in Two Volumes (1807)poetry collection
The Excursion (1814)poem
The Prelude (1850)autobiographical poem

Key milestones

1798Publication of Lyrical Ballads with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
1843Appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.
1850Posthumous publication of The Prelude.

Themes

NatureMemory and childhoodSpirituality and imaginationSolitude and contemplationThe role of the poet

Sources: poetryfoundation.org · oxforddnb.com

“I wandered lonely as a cloud.”

— William WordsworthTheme · Nature

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“The child is father of the man.”

— William WordsworthTheme · Philosophy

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“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”

— William WordsworthTheme · Creativity

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“There is a comfort in the strength of love: Twill make a thing endurable, which else would overset the brain, or break the heart.”

— William WordsworthTheme · Love

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“By all means sometimes be alone; salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear; dare to look in thy chest; and tumble up and down what thou findest there.”

— William WordsworthTheme · Personal Development

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“Turning, for them who pass, the common dust Of servile opportunity to gold.”

— William WordsworthTheme · Motivation

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