How did the death of William Wordsworth’s brother John affect his poetry?

The 1805 drowning of William Wordsworth’s favorite brother, John, a captain in the merchant navy, was the most significant shock the poet ever experienced. This tragedy profoundly altered his creative output, marking a transition toward a new style defined by sobriety, restraint, and a lofty, almost Miltonic elevation of tone and diction.12

The impact of this loss is captured in his poem “Elegiac Stanzas Suggested by a Picture of Peele Castle in a Storm, Painted by Sir George Beaumont,” where he laments, “A deep distress hath humanized my Soul”. Following John's death, the theme of duty became a prominent feature of his work, serving as a reminder of the sacrifices made by others while he lived in retirement as a poet. Furthermore, the event contributed to his shift away from the youthful, radiant idealism of his earlier years, which he began to view as an illusory “Poet’s dream”.12