William Wordsworth

(1770-1850)

British poet of the Romantic period.


Author's life and works

"William Wordsworth: Overview" by J.R. Watson, From Reference Guide to English Literature, 1991

Long introduction to life and work from British Writers


"The Tables Turned" Lyrical Ballads (1798).
Full text of poem

"I wandered lonely as a cloud"
Full Text and short commentary From Wikipedia,

"My heart leaps up"

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; 4
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 8
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Study Questions from The Victorian Web

"Sonnet, Composed upon Westminster Bridge"

EARTH has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Study Questions from The Victorian Web

"The Solitairy Reaper" Memorials of a Tour In Scotland (1803)

Full text of poem from Project Bartley


Links