William Wordsworth's Poetry

Support for studying English GCSE and A Level

William Wordsworth - Biography

William Wordsworth was born (Cockermouth, Cumberland, England) on 7 April 1770 and died on 23 April 1850 (Rydal, Westmorland, England). From 1843 until his death, Wordsworth was Britain's poet laureate.

William Wordsworth’s parents were John and Ann. He was the second of five children. He grew up on the Lake District (northern England). He was especially close to his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. Their father, a legal representative, was away from home frequently and paid little attention to his children. However, his father did encourage William to commit famous writing (Shakespeare, Milton and Spencer) to memory and allowed him to use his library. His mother taught him to read. In 1791, he received his BA degree from St John's College, Cambridge.

In 1792, a French woman, Annette Vallon, gave birth to their daughter Caroline. However, in 1793 Wordsworth returned to England because of Britain's tense relations with France. He continued to support Annette and Caroline though. In 1802, Wordsworth married his childhood friend Mary Hutchinson and they had five children. Dorothy, his sister, lived with them up until her death.

In 1795, Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Somerset and the pair quickly forged a strong friendship. Wordsworth, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature, because of their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).

Arguably Wordsworth’s greatest work is the semi-autobiographical, personal poem The Prelude, which concentrates on his early years. The Prelude was not completed, but Wordsworth worked on it from the age of twenty-eight (1798) until his death of pleurisy in 1850. It never had a title, other than ‘Poem (title not yet fixed upon) to Coleridge’, but his widow Mary eventually named it The Prelude.

William Wordsworth Cartoon - High Resolution

William Wordsworth - References

William Wordsworth - 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge' - Annotation

Annotation prompts for William Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 116'.

'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge' is about someone observing events from the famous London landmark. Evidence shows that the moment recorded in this poem occurred when Wordsworth was en route to Calais.

William Wordsworth (07.04.1770 – 23.04.1850) was a Romantic poet and Poet Laureate in England (from 1843-1850). Born in Cumberland (in the Lake District), he was a keen admirer of natural landscapes. He is well known for his work The Prelude. He published Lyrical Ballads with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which contributed to the start of literature’s Romantic Age.

Wordsworth captures a moment before the day’s business. Does the speaker feel privileged? What is his / her attitude towards this landscape? Do you think the attitude might change if he / she arrived during the busy day? What does the speaker seem to value?

The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further analysis and interpretation.

William Wordsworth - 'Extract from, The Prelude' - Annotation

Annotation prompts for William Wordsworth’s ‘Extract from, The Prelude’.

‘Extract from, The Prelude’ is about the spiritual and moral development of man growing up. William Wordsworth (07.04.1770 – 23.04.1850) was a Romantic poet and Poet Laureate in England (from 1843-1850). Born in Cumberland (in the Lake District), he was a keen admirer of natural landscapes. He is well-known for his work The Prelude. He published Lyrical Ballads with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which contributed to the start of literature’s Romantic Age.

As a Romantic poet, Wordsworth challenged the way people thought about / saw the world. Fourteen books make up the epic autobiographical poem The Prelude (something Wordsworth worked on from aged 28 till his death, aged 80.) Was published 3 months after he died (1850) / it was named by his widow, Mary. Writing to his sister (Dorothy) he referred to it as "the poem on the growth of my own mind". This extract comes from Book 1: Introduction – Childhood and School-Time.

The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further analysis and interpretation.

Exemplar English Literature Essays

Poetry Essay helps you write essays about English Literature more confidently - providing you with a variety of helpful hints. With Poetry Essay, you should find all the help you need - from analysing a text in detail to writing coherently about it. Please visit the links below for exemplar student-style essays.