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How did Lyrical Ballads begin English Romanticism?

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“The Tyger,” anastatic print by William Blake — Romantic literature English Romantic poet and artist William Blake wrote and illustrated “The Tyger” and other poems in his book *Songs of Innocence and of Experience* (1794).

Published in 1798 by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lyrical Ballads is widely considered the work that launched the English Romantic movement.12

The collection initiated this shift by rejecting the formal, stilted poetic diction of the 18th century in favor of "the language really used by men". By focusing on everyday experiences, humble subjects, and rustic life, the poets sought to democratize literature and prioritize personal feeling over conventional structure.123

Key revolutionary aspects included:
* Spontaneous Expression: Wordsworth famously defined poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," shifting the focus from societal truth to individual, subjective experience.13
* Organic Form: The poets favored an "organic" approach to composition, where a poem’s shape is dictated by the creative imagination rather than rigid classical genres.3
* Emphasis on Imagination: The collection elevated the role of the imagination as a supreme creative force, often exploring dreams, the supernatural, and the intensity of the human mind.3

Ultimately, Lyrical Ballads signaled a departure from Neoclassical "mechanical" art, establishing the sincerity and emotional intensity that defined Romanticism.13