William Wordsworth Updated Edition

Presents a collection of critical essays on English poet laureate William Wordsworth and his works.

In this second edition of William Wordsworth: A Life, Stephen Gill draws on knowledge of the poet's creative practices and his reputation and influence in his life-time and beyond. Refusing to treat the poet's later years as of little interest, this biography presents a narrative of the whole of Wordsworth's long life—1770 to 1850—tracing the development from the adventurous youth who alone of the great Romantic poets saw life in revolutionary France to the old man who became Queen Victoria's Poet Laureate. The various phases of Wordsworth's life are explored with a not uncritical sympathy; the narrative brings out the courage he and his wife and family were called upon to show as they crafted the life they wanted to lead. While the emphasis is on Wordsworth the writer, the personal relationships that nourished his creativity are fully treated, as are the historical circumstances that affected the production of his poetry. Wordsworth, it is widely believed, valued poetic spontaneity. He did, but he also took pains over every detail of the process of publication. The foundation of this second edition of the biography remains, as it was of the first, a conviction that Wordsworth's poetry, which has given pleasure and comfort to generations of readers in the past, will continue to do so in the years to come.

A delightful pocket-sized collection of William Wordsworth’s poetry on flowers. This volume brings Wordsworth’s vivid nature imagery to life, featuring much-loved poems such as ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ or ‘Daffodils’. This beautiful collection of Wordsworth’s poetry is drawn together by a common theme of flowers and plant life. The poems give inspiring descriptions of nature and are intertwined with the poet’s thoughts and experiences of life, including his friendships, relationships and religious beliefs. Included in this volume are poems such as: - ‘To the Daisy’ - ‘To the Small Celadine’ - ‘To the Waterfall and the Eglantine’ - ‘The Oak and the Broom. A Pastoral’ - ‘Not Love, Not War, Nor the Tumultuous Swell’ - ‘Though the Bold Wings of Poesy Affect’ From the specialist poetry imprint, Ragged Hand, Read & Co. has proudly republished Wordsworth’s Poetry on Flowers in this beautiful small edition, perfect for on-the-go reading. Complete with an introductory excerpt from Thomas Carlyle’s 1881 Reminiscences, this volume is not to be missed by nature lovers or collectors of Wordsworth’s work.