What is preface to the Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth?

Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, written by William Wordsworth, is a landmark essay in the history of English Literature.

What was the purpose of the first edition of Lyrical Ballads?

Wordsworth explains that the first edition of Lyrical Ballads was published as a sort of experiment to test the public reception of poems that use “the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation.” The experiment was successful, better than Wordsworth was expecting, and many were pleased with the poems.

Will there be a first volume of these poems by Wordsworth?

William Wordsworth The first Volume of these Poems has already been submitted to general perusal.

What is the difference between Coleridge and Wordsworth’s poems?

Coleridge was to write poems involving the supernatural or the romantic, but portrayed with such true emotions as to promote suspension of disbelief. Wordsworth was to contribute poems about ordinary everyday life, but colored with imagination to give them novelty and excite a feeling of wonder.

What is Wordsworth’s poetic manifesto?

In his ‘Preface’ to the 1798 edition of the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth presented his poetic manifesto, indicating the extent to which he saw his poetry, and that of Coleridge, as breaking away from the ‘artificiality’, ‘triviality’ or over-elaborate and contrived quality of eighteenth-century poetry.

Why does Wordsworth use common life and language in his poetry?

Wordsworth’s decision to use common life and language in his poetry implies that upper-class life and lofty language are insufficient for poetic expression. Throughout the preface, Wordsworth seems to equate cosmopolitanism with corruption. Get the entire Preface to the Lyrical Ballads LitChart as a printable PDF.