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William Wordsworth. Adv. English 12 Poetry Study By: Sydney Hines. A Short Biography. Mr. William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth on the River Derwent in the United Kingdom. He had three siblings a sister Dorothy and two brothers John and Christopher.
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William Wordsworth Adv. English 12 Poetry Study By: Sydney Hines
A Short Biography • Mr. William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth on the River Derwent in the United Kingdom. • He had three siblings a sister Dorothy and two brothers John and Christopher. • When Mr. Wordsworth was eight years old his mother died and he and his brother John were sent to a boarding school called Hawkstead. • Hawkstead was an excellent grammar school known for teaching great basics in mathematics, science, and English.
A Short Biography • His father, a famous lawyer known for his employment by the Earl of Lonsdale became a large influence in his life. • It has been said that if his mothers death had impacted him he did not show it. • His father died in 1783. No money was left to the children as the Earl owed the family 4500 pounds at the time. • The average yearly payment for a writer at the time was 150 pounds.
A Short Biography • During the summer before his last term of college Mr. Wordsworth went on a walking tour of Europe with a long time friend Robert Jones. • Mr. Jones later encouraged Mr. Wordsworth to write poetry. • Mr. Wordsworth attended Cambridge for four years and graduated with average marks in Law and Political Science. • Mr. Wordsworth moved to France after graduating to tutor English students.
A Short Biography • Mr. Wordsworth became very close with the leader of the French Revolution Captain Michel Beaupuy. He began to support the French in their political views. • He also met and fell in love with Annette Vallon. He unknowingly impregnated her. • Shortly after their affair he moved back to England. Soon after war broke out between England and France and he was unable to return and visit his daughter Caroline. She was born on December 15, 1792.
A Short Biography • He felt that England had a closed mind towards Liberty. • During the war the English Government cracked down on Supporters and many of his close friends were arrested and incarcerated. • Mr. Wordsworth began publishing consistently in 1798 and had co-released three volumes of poems by 1802. • On May 24, 1802 the Earl died leaving the Wordsworth children their father’s inheritance.
A Short Biography • Mr. Wordsworth would have five other children. Only three of the six children would out live him. • In 1839 he became a Doctor of Civil Law at Oxford. • When he passed away on April 13, 1850 he was thought to be one of the great poets. He had met many influential people and other fantastic poets as well.
THE REVERIE OF POOR SUSAN AT the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears, Hangs a Thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years: Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard In the silence of morning the song of the Bird. Tis a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees A mountain ascending, a vision of trees; Bright volumes of vapor through Lothbury glide, And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside. Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale, Down which she so often has tripped with her pail; 10 And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's, The one only dwelling on earth that she loves. She looks, and her heart is in heaven: but they fade, The mist and the river, the hill and the shade: The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise, And the colors have all passed away from her eyes!
Wordsworth’s Words I find Mr. Wordsworth’s work to be appealing because of the way he views a human being. He does not believe that we are capable of living happily in a soot filled city. In the reverie of poor Susan he describes a poor woman and her hate of city life. She imagines herself in a beautiful utopia away from the hustle and bustle of life. Instead of viewing the city she sees a clean river washing away the shambles of Cheapside. I like the way he thinks. He was a very well rounded man and although for a good portion of his life he was poor he lived his life like a wealthy man. He developed a keen sense of writing his thoughts and making them roll off your tongue.
A False Heart The bag woman was sick as an old dog As she sat on her doorstep in the fog A reminder of her life as a girl The countryside was green with clouds like pearls The air was sweet and the water was blue It smelt of livestock, grass, and damp spring dew Memories returned as she fell asleep A quiet adieu from a deep slumber The woman’s neighbors knew not of her trance They continued their dismal masquerade
Similarities My poem imitates the Reverie of Poor Susan because of my projection of the old woman’s thoughts of her childhood in the countryside. I also used consistent Iambic Pentameter as Mr. Wordsworth often does. He did not use it in this poem. He used an interesting rhyme scheme and many of the last words rhymed. My imitation is successful because it not only portrays the anguish of the old woman but also her neighbors in Cheapside.
Bibliography Wordsworth,W.(1888). The reverie of poor Susan. New York, NY: The complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth. Retrieved December 11, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bartleby.com/145/wordchrono.html Wordsworth, W.(1798). Biography and poetical works. East Lansing, MI: The Literature Network: William Wordsworth. Retrieved December 11, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.online-literature.com/wordsworth/ Wordsworth, W.(2005). Wordsworth and the romantics. London, UK: The Wordsworth Trust. Retrieved December 11, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.wordsworth.org.uk/
