The Making Of Wordsworthandapos;s Poetry, 1785-1798

Through a close reading of the early poems, Paul Sheats traces Wordsworth’s poetic development from his schooldays through the publication of the epoch-making Lyrical Ballads. During these years, the author shows, Wordsworth elaborated and disciplined the central premises of English romanticism. Relying on the authoritative chronology provided by recent scholarship and on the poet’s manuscripts, Sheats examines the changing relation in Wordsworth’s work between the natural world, the human mind, and poetic style, and offers a fresh context for the interpretation and assessment of the mature poetry. Contents Preface Short Forms of Citation I. Hawkshead: 1785–1787 II. Cambridge and France: 1787–1792 III. Salisbury Plain and Windy Brow: 1793–1794 IV. Racedown: 1795–1796 V. Racedown: 1797 VI. Alfoxden: 1798 VII. Return to the Wye: 1798 Epilogue Notes Index Notes Index [by] Paul D. Sheats. Includes Bibliographical References.