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William Wordsworth (1770-1850), English poet, one of the most accomplished
and influential of England's romantic poets, whose theories and style
created a new tradition in poetry.
Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumberland, and
educated at Saint John's College, University of Cambridge. He developed a
keen love of nature as a youth, and during school vacation periods he
frequently visited places noted for their scenic beauty. In the summer of
1790 he took a walking tour through France and Switzerland. After
receiving his degree in 1791 he returned to France, where he became an
enthusiastic convert to the ideals of the French Revolution (1789-1799).
His lover Annette Vallon of Orleans bore him a daughter in December 1792,
shortly before his return to England. Disheartened by the outbreak of
hostilities between France and Great Britain in 1793, Wordsworth
nevertheless remained sympathetic to the French cause.
Although Wordsworth had begun to write poetry while still a schoolboy,
none of his poems was published until 1793, when An Evening Walk and
Descriptive Sketches appeared. These works, although fresh and original in
content, reflect the influence of the formal style of 18th-century English
poetry. The poems received little notice, and few copies were sold.
Wordsworth's income from his writings amounted to little, but his
financial problems were alleviated for a time when in 1795 he received a
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