William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Poets Biography
William Wordsworth (1770-1850), British poet, credited with ushering in the English Romantic Movement with the publication of Lyrical Ballads(1798) in collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the Lake District. His father was John Wordsworth, Sir James Lowther's attorney. He lost his mother when he was eight and five years later his father. The domestic problems separated Wordsworth from his beloved and neurotic sister Dorothy, who was a very important person in his life.
William was sent to Cambridge, and upon graduation he graveled in Europe for a time, but when the money ran out Wordsworth returned home. He published two poems, Descriptive Sketches, and An Evening Walk, which were not well received. However, friends arranged for money to allow him to concentrate on his writing.
In this time Wordsworth met poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the two became friends. They collaborated on a volume of Romantic verse called Lyrical Ballads (1798), which was notable for its attempt to use ordinary language in a poetic fashion. Later, Coleridge's drug addiction and erratic behavior put an end to their friendship.
In 1802 Wordsworth received money owed to his father, and he was financially secure enough to marry Mary Hutchinson, an old childhood friend. Mary, William, and his sister Dorothy lived together in the Lake District village of Grasmere.
William published a two-volume set of his poetry in 1807, and once more it was met by public indifference and scathing reviews (by Lord Byron among others).
Wordsworth's happy home life turned to tragedy when two of his four children died within a year. Shortly thereafter Wordsworth got himself appointed Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland, which brought him enough money to continue writing. Although his poems were critically panned, they were gaining a wide popular readership.
In the absence of success for his poems, Wordsworth turned to travel writing. He published a travel guide to the Lake District which proved very popular.
When Robert Southey, the Poet Laureate, died in 1843, Wordswotrh was asked to take his place. He initially refused, pleading his advancing age, but was induced by Sir Robert Peel to take the post. He was still Poet Laureate when he died of pleurisy in 1850.
