William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

1. Basic Information

• Full Name: William Wordsworth
• Born–Died: 1770 – 1850
• Region: England
• Literary Period: Romanticism

2. Short Biography

William Wordsworth is one of the founding figures of English Romanticism and a poet who fundamentally reshaped the direction of modern poetry. Rejecting the formal rigidity of Neoclassical poetry, Wordsworth emphasized emotion, imagination, and the individual’s relationship with nature. His work sought to present poetry as the spontaneous expression of powerful feelings, grounded in personal experience and everyday life.

3. Major Works

• Lyrical Ballads (with Samuel Taylor Coleridge) – A foundational text of English Romantic poetry that introduced new poetic principles and themes.
• The Prelude – An autobiographical epic exploring the growth of the poet’s mind.
• Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey – A reflective poem on memory, nature, and spiritual renewal.
• I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud – A lyric poem celebrating nature’s emotional and imaginative power.

4. Stylistic Features

• Simple, natural language
• Focus on everyday subjects and ordinary people
• Emphasis on memory, imagination, and emotion
• Nature as a moral and spiritual force

5. Major Themes

• Nature and its spiritual influence
• Emotion and individual experience
• Memory and the passage of time
• Childhood, innocence, and growth
• The inner life of the poet

Comparative Note: Nalî & William Wordsworth

Nalî and William Wordsworth both mark a shift toward emotional expression and poetic subjectivity in their respective literary traditions. Wordsworth emphasizes nature, memory, and imagination as sources of poetic insight, while Nalî focuses on inner emotion, romantic longing, and personal experience within classical poetic forms. Despite cultural differences, both poets elevate individual feeling as a central element of poetic truth, illustrating how Romantic sensibilities emerge across distinct literary traditions.