Notes

-While touring Europe, Wordsworth came into contact with the French Revolution. This experience as well as a subsequent period living in France, brought about Wordsworth’s interest and sympathy for the life, troubles, and speech of the “common man.” These issues proved to be of the utmost importance to Wordsworth’s work.
-earliest poetry was published in 1793.
-Equally important in the poetic life of Wordsworth was his 1795 meeting with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
-During this period he also formed his early political opinions—especially his hatred of tyranny
-The invaluable works of our elder writers, I had almost said the works of Shakespear and Milton, are driven into neglect by frantic novels, sickly and stupid German Tragedies, and deluges of idle and extravagent stories in verse.
-Wordsworth blamed not social institutions but people themselves for the ills of society ( shift from society being everything wrong with the world to the people being the causes of this unjust treating.)1812
-In 1843 Wordsworth was named poet laureate of England, though by this time he had for the most part quit composing verse.