HAPPY BIRTHDAY – William Wordsworth, 7 April
William Wordsworth By Benjamin Haydon
On my very first day in London, I stood on Westminster Bridge and recited to myself Wordsworth’s famous sonnet On Westminster Bridge which captured for me all the power and majesty of that great city and made me feel in full the excitement of having truly arrived in London. Yet Wordsworth is a great poet of the natural, not the urban world, and soon after that, when I first made my way to the Lake District which he turned into a tourist destination, I was able to revel in the sights and sounds which had so inspired him. As you walk by the lakes, how can you not think of the daffodils “beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze”? Visiting Dove Cottage is a high point for any literary traveller, but I also love Rydal Mount where he spent far more of his life, and where he also developed his passion for landscape gardening.
My favourite of all his poems is Ode on the Intimations of Immortality which I find one of the most spiritual and moving poems ever written. I also adore Tintern Abbey, and of course The Prelude must be the greatest study ever penned by a poet of his own mind and his poetic development. Celebrate Wordsworth’s birthday by reading some of his great poems, or plan a trip to Wordsworth country, which is one of the loveliest parts of England.
Do you enjoy William Wordsworth’s poetry? Please let me know in the comment area below.
William Wordsworth Selected Poems
Susannah Fullerton: Living Where The Poets Lived
Susannah Fullerton: William Wordsworth is appointed Poet Laureate
Susannah Fullerton: My 2019 Favourites
Susannah Fullerton: William Wordsworth & The Solitary Reaper
I only recommend books I have read and know. Some of these links are my affiliate links. If you buy a book by clicking on one of these links I receive a small commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but does help cover the cost of producing my free newsletter.
Comments are moderated, and will not appear until approved.
[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_PLUS]