Уильям Вордсворт, биография и творчество которого are the subject of this review, was the largest representative of the direction of romanticism in English literature. His work largely determined the transition from classicism to romanticism. His landscape and philosophical lyrics are the best example of the world poetic heritage.
Wordsworth William was a prominent representative of histime, his works should be considered in the context of the era. In the 18th century, the dominant trend in English literature was classicism. However, by the end of the century, there was a tendency towards a transition to sentimental and romantic lyrics. In many respects, this was determined by the dominant trends of that era, namely, the fact that Rousseau's works played a great role in socio-political thought and literature. The cult of nature advanced by him and the image of human experiences, emotions, personality psychology had a great influence on the educated circles of that time. In addition, English literature has already had the experience of creating sonnets, images of nature and subtle lyrics. The works of William Shakespeare, D. Chaucer, D. Milton had a great influence on the work of the poet.
Wordsworth William was born in 1770 in the countyCumberland. He was the son of a property management agent. The boy was sent to school in North Lancashire, where he received a good education: he studied ancient and English literature, mathematics. However, the fact that the child grew up in nature, which had a great influence on the formation of the personality, was even more important. It was then that he fell in love with the landscapes, which later became mainly in his lyric works. Then Williams Wordsworth entered the University of Cambridge, which was dominated by an atmosphere of rivalry that did not please him.
However, it was during his student years thata very significant event: during the holidays, the young man and his friend went on a trip to France, where revolutionary upheavals were taking place. They made a great impression on the future poet. Together with his companion, he reached the lake region in Italy. This journey was of great importance for his work: under the impression of him, Wordsworth William wrote his first significant work (“The Walk”). It already identified the main creative principles of the poetic creativity of the author: a combination of the description of nature and philosophical reasoning. You can say that this poem has become one of his most significant works. He worked on him a lot and in the following, mature years, reworking, transferring and inserting new parts into it.
Wordsworth William after graduationdevoted himself to poetic creativity. However, the 1790s were a difficult time for him, since it was a period of disappointment in the French revolution. In addition, he was very sensitive to the fact that his country had launched a war against France. All these experiences led to depression, so his lyrics of this period are painted in gloomy tones. But, fortunately, this did not last long, because very soon William Wordsworth, whose poems still differed in melancholy and despondency, met Coleridge, who was also a poet. This acquaintance over the course of a year has grown into a strong friendship, which was very fruitful for their cooperation, and first of all for the creative growth of the author.
That is what is called the period from 1797.1808 in the biography of the poet. Wordsworth William, whose works now received a completely different sound, entered the creative ascent. Friends conceived to take a trip to Germany and before sending decided to release a collection of poetic works that were supposed to demonstrate their views on contemporary literature. Coleridge was supposed to write ballads in an exotic style, and his friend - sentimental and romantic lyrics. However, the first one included in the collection only about five essays, the rest part belonged to his co-author. The reason should be sought in the fact that Coleridge undertook to write ballads in the traditional English spirit, that is, on complex plots and in a serious syllable. While the poems in English of his friend were notable for their ease and simplicity. His characters spoke clear and accessible to every speech, which was a fundamental innovation for that time.
This collection is also interesting becausethe second edition in the preface Wordsworth made an introduction in which he outlined the rules that guided his poems. He stated that his lyrical ballads are based on plots and reality, which he perceived and described as he imagined. And life, nature and life were seen by the poet as a natural manifestation of the universe. Wordsworth declared that it was necessary to perceive and depict the surrounding reality in simple, clear and colloquial language. He believed that it was not necessary to complicate anything when creating a literary work, since the laws of nature are natural, they must be perceived directly, without much wisdom. This installation guesses the influence of the ideas of Rousseau, who also glorified human life in the lap of nature and emphasized the artificiality of urban life.
Стихи на английском языке Вордсворта отличаются an uncomplicated composition, but their characteristic feature is the combination of the image of nature, spiritual experiences with deep philosophical arguments. It was new to English literature of the time. In addition, the author made the hero of his works of a simple person: on the pages of his poems there are vagrants, wanderers, beggars, roving traders. This type of character was news for English literature, and not everyone immediately appreciated the find of the poet. For a while, literary critics even criticized him for such innovations.
Еще один характерный образ в его поэзии – это a person affected by social injustice. Wordsworth condemned the war very harshly and wrote the drama “Borderland Dwellers”, in which he depicted all the horrors of victims and violence. And, finally, an image of himself occupies a large place in his creative heritage. The poet wrote his autobiography in poetic form, which is called "Prelude". It is distinguished by an accurate depiction of human psychology and spiritual experiences of the character, who carefully analyzed the path of his creative development as a poet. The image of the author is important for understanding the entire creativity of the poet in general.
The best examples of the author's lyrics arepoems about the nature and spiritual experiences of man. He was especially sensitive to the image of nature. William Wordsworth, whose “Narcissus” is one of the best examples of his lyrical poetry, perfectly and beautifully felt the beauty of the world around him. In this poem, he praised the beauty of flowers, mountains in a very resonant melodious form. This work is distinguished by extraordinary melodiousness and penetration.
Another of his famous works is called"On Westminster Bridge." William Wordsworth recreated the panorama of London, but drew attention not so much to the urban landscape as to natural phenomena. In general, the city as such is almost not present in the works of the poet. It belongs entirely to the village, village and nature.
The last two decades of the poet's lifemarked by the gradual extinction of his poetic inspiration. In literary criticism, it is customary to distinguish between “early” and “late” Wordsworth. And if the first stage of his work was marked by a clear and harmonious attitude, then the later period is distinguished by a heavy frame of mind. This is largely due to the personal losses of the author: he very hard experienced the death of his beloved sister, with whom he lived all his life, as well as the death of two of his children. In addition, he lost his brother, who drowned during one of the flights, as well as his friend Coleridge. However, at this time he created a whole cycle of beautiful sonnets and elegiac works, which are imbued with sadness, grief and longing. These later works of his have a greater philosophical burden than the early works, in which joyful admiring the beauty of nature prevailed. The poet died in 1850 in the same county where he was born.
Wordsworth's poetry became a landmark inthe formation of English romanticism. In modern literary criticism, he and Coleridge relate it to the older generation of romantics. Indicative of the fact that the poetry of the author was not immediately recognized. Only in the 1830s were his rewards in literature rewarded. The public began to treat his writings favorably, and the queen granted him the title of poet-laureate. He was known in Russia. So, Pushkin in his famous “Sonnet” mentioned the name of the English poet as a prominent author.
