Table Of ContentThe Life of William Wordsworth
BLACKWELL CRITICAL BIOGRAPHIES
GeneralEditor:ClaudeRawson
This acclaimed series offers informative and durable biographies of important
authors, British, European, and North American, which will include substantial
critical discussion of their works. An underlying objective is to re-establish the
notion that books are written by people who lived in particular times and places.
Thisobjectiveispursuednotbyprogrammaticassertionsorstrenuouspoint-making,
but through the practical persuasion of volumes which offer intelligent criticism
withinawell-researchedbiographicalcontext.
Alsointhisseries
TheLifeofGeoffreyChaucer TheLifeofW.B.Yeats
DerekPearsall TerenceBrown
TheLifeofSamuelJohnson TheLifeofEvelynWaugh
RobertDeMaria,Jr DouglasLanePatey
TheLifeofRobertBrowning TheLifeofGoethe
ClydeDeL.Ryals JohnR.Williams
TheLifeofWilliamFaulkner TheLifeofJohnMilton
RichardGray BarbaraLewalski
TheLifeofWalterScott TheLifeofDanielDefoe
JohnSutherland JohnRichetti
TheLifeofSamuelTaylorColeridge TheLifeofWilliamShakespeare
RosemaryAshton LoisPotter
TheLifeofThomasHardy TheLifeofGeorgeEliot
PaulTurner NancyHenry
TheLifeofCeline TheLifeofWilliamWordsworth
NicholasHewitt JohnWorthen
TheLifeofHenryFielding
RonaldPaulson
The Life of
William
Wordsworth
A Critical Biography
John Worthen
Thiseditionfirstpublished2014
©2014JohnWiley&Sons,Ltd
RegisteredOffice
JohnWiley&Sons,Ltd,TheAtrium,SouthernGate,Chichester,WestSussex,PO198SQ,UK
EditorialOffices
350MainStreet,Malden,MA02148-5020,USA
9600GarsingtonRoad,Oxford,OX42DQ,UK
TheAtrium,SouthernGate,Chichester,WestSussex,PO198SQ,UK
Fordetailsofourglobaleditorialoffices,forcustomerservices,andforinformationabouthowtoapply
forpermissiontoreusethecopyrightmaterialinthisbookpleaseseeourwebsiteatwww.wiley.com/wiley
-blackwell.
TherightofJohnWorthentobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisworkhasbeenassertedinaccordance
withtheUKCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,
exceptaspermittedbytheUKCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988,withoutthepriorpermission
ofthepublisher.
Wileyalsopublishesitsbooksinavarietyofelectronicformats.Somecontentthatappearsinprintmay
notbeavailableinelectronicbooks.
Designationsusedbycompaniestodistinguishtheirproductsareoftenclaimedastrademarks.Allbrand
namesandproductnamesusedinthisbookaretradenames,servicemarks,trademarksorregistered
trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor
mentionedinthisbook.
LimitofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty:Whilethepublisherandauthorhaveusedtheirbesteffortsin
preparingthisbook,theymakenorepresentationsorwarrantieswithrespecttotheaccuracyorcom-
pletenessofthecontentsofthisbookandspecificallydisclaimanyimpliedwarrantiesofmerchantability
orfitnessforaparticularpurpose.Itissoldontheunderstandingthatthepublisherisnotengagedin
renderingprofessionalservicesandneitherthepublishernortheauthorshallbeliablefordamagesaris-
ingherefrom.Ifprofessionaladviceorotherexpertassistanceisrequired,theservicesofacompetent
professionalshouldbesought.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Worthen,John.
ThelifeofWilliamWordsworth:acriticalbiography/JohnWorthen.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-470-65544-3(cloth)
1. Wordsworth,William,1770-1850.2. Poets,English–19thcentury–Biography. I.Title.
PR5881.W752014
821′.7–dc23
[B]
2013039715
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
Coverimage:PortraitofWordsworthbyBenjaminHaydon,pencildrawing,c.1815.Bypermissionof
TheWordsworthTrust,Grasmere
CoverdesignbyNickiAverillDesign&Illustration
Setin10/12ptBembobyLaserwordsPrivateLimited,Chennai,India
12014
For Linda Bree
OnthevillageSilencesetsherseal
Andintheglimmeringvalethelastlightsdie
Thekineobscurelyseenbeforemelie
Roundthedimhorsethatcropshislatermeal
Scarceheardatimelyslumberseemstosteal
Oervaleandmountainnowwhileear&eye
Alikearevacantwhatstrangeharmony
Homefeltandhomecreatedseemstoheal
Thatgriefforwhichmysensesstillsupply
Freshfood
(“WritteninveryearlyYouth,”P2V324–5:1–10)
Contents
ListofIllustrations ix
Acknowledgments x
AbbreviationsandTexts xii
Foreword:“ThePrelude”:APoemofMyOwnLife? xvii
PartI Early Years 1
1 VersionsofHome:1770–83 3
2 HawksheadandEsthwaite:1783–7 18
3 Cambridge:1787–90 37
4 TotheAlps:andWhatFollowed:1790–1 53
5 AnnetteVallon,MicheldeBeaupuy,andtheBishopofLlandaff:
1791–3 69
PartII Writer 91
6 SalisburyPlainanditsConsequences:1793–5 93
7 Racedown:1795–7 113
8 ColeridgeandAlfoxton:1797–8 135
9 LyricalBallads:1798 157
10 HamburgtotheHarz:1798 173
11 WritinginGoslar:1798–9 183
12 SockburntoGrasmere:1799–1800 198
PartIII Town-End 213
13 “HomeatGrasmere,”the“Ode,”“Michael”:1800–1 215
14 Hurting:1800–1 241
15 Marrying:1801–2 249
16 GrasmeretoCalaisandontoGallowHill:1802 265
vii
Contents
17 Marriage,FirstChild,andtheTriptoScotland:1802–3 284
18 “ThePrelude”I:1804 303
19 “ThePrelude”II:1804–5 315
20 “ElegiacStanzas,”Poems,inTwoVolumes:1806–7 328
PartIV The Light of Common Day 341
21 “TheRecluse”andTheConventionofCintra:1808–9 343
22 LossandGrief:1809–12 356
23 Stamp-officerandPoetofTheExcursion:1812–14 368
24 “Whatthoughitbepast”:1814 387
PartV Sketches of Late Years 397
25 Poetry,Family,andPolemic:1815–18 399
26 PeterBelland“theghostsofwhattheywere”:1819–26 407
27 “TheRecluse”and“ThePrelude”:1827–33 418
28 ThePastEnshrined:1834–42 429
29 NoRestingPlace:1843–50 439
Afterword 447
Bibliography 451
Index 457
viii
