William Wordsworth
Honors English 4
Anticipatory Activity
Biographical
Background/Early Life
Childhood-spent hours upon hours exploring the Lake
District in northwestern England’s countryside.
Mother died when he was at the age of 7.
His father was unable to raise all 5 of his children, so he
sent his son William to schooling at Hawkshead.
Here, he formed an extreme attachment to the countryside.
Biographical
Background/Writings
Wordsworth along with his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge
began to launch the Romantic Movement.
Formed a writers community.
Strongly against the use of formal diction and complex
subjects.
Instead used simple language to demonstrate subjects
mostly taken from nature.
Biographical
Background/Sadness and
Finding
Peace
Sad and hopeless at times
"
Death was a large part of Wordsworth’s life.
Not only did he lose his mother and father at young
ages, he also lost two of his children to early
deaths.
He found peace and love in nature to help him cope
with these losses.
Biographical
Background/Death
Wordsworth died on April 23, 1850 of pleurisy,an inflammation
of the pleura which surrounds the lungs.
He was buried at St. Oswald’s Church.
His widow Mary published his work, “Poem to Coleridge”,
which although failed to generate high interest in 1850,
became regarded as a masterpiece later on.
Memorable Quotes
"Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher."
"For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of
thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes the still, sad music
of humanity."
Composed upon Westminster
Bridge
Turn to page 790
Composed upon Westminster
Bridge
"Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" is an
Italian sonnet, written in iambic pentameter with ten syllables per
line.
Although most scholars agree that the poem was actually written on
July 31, 1802 despite the poem’s title.
The poem was written about an experience that took place during a
trip to France with Wordsworth's sister, Dorothy Wordsworth. He
was going to France to visit a former lover with whom he'd had an
illegitimate child. The two had woken up early to catch a coach to
the port of Dover, where they will cross over to Calais, France.
The poem took place around 5 or 6 in the morning.
Composed upon Westminster
Bridge
While reading....
Keep an eye out for personification, tone,
and theme of the poem.
The poem is also divided into three distinct
sections, try to identify them.
Composed Upon Westminster
Bridge
Find three examples of personification in the
poem.
What is Wordsworth's tone toward the
scene? Cite specific words and phrases.
The poem can be divided into three phases
of thought, identify them. And give each a
title.
Composed Upon Westminster
Bridge
Describe Wordsworth's view of London
How is his view of the city different from
many other Romantic poets?
Can the theme of the poem apply to a
person? In other words, does a person
change as a result of his or her
environment or in relation to time of day
or another factor?
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
- Inspired by an event in April 15, 1802, in which
Wordsworth and his sister encountered a long
belt of daffodils
- Glencoyne Bay, Ullswater, in Lake District
- Written on 1804 and published in 1807
- Generally regarded as Wordsworth's most
famous work
- Classic of English romanticism within poetry
Understanding of the Poem
1st Stanza
- What type of view would you have as a lonely
cloud?
- What parts of nature are portrayed?
- What are the daffodils doing?
2nd Stanza
- The daffodils are conveyed as _____.
- Where are the daffodils located?
Understanding of the Poem
3rd Stanza
- Relationship with the waves?
- How does Wordsworth (poets in general) feel with
such scenery
- What has Wordsworth realized?
4th Stanza
- What mood is Wordsworth in?
- How do the memories of the daffodils affect him?
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
- Praising nature for its beauty and bliss
- "golden daffodils"
- "stars that shine and twinkle"
- "sprightly dance"
- "sparkling waves in glee"
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
- Expressing gratitude
- "jocund company"
- "wealth the show to me had brought"
- "bliss of solitude"
- "heart with pleasure fills"
Evaluation
Ending Activity