William Wordsworth: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
Additional Reading
The definitive biography of Wordsworth is the magisterial work by Stephen Gill, William Wordsworth: A Life (1989). The second half of the 20th century witnessed a rich profusion of books on Wordsworth and his art. Of these, the following deserve mention: Geoffrey H. Hartman, Wordsworth’s Poetry, 1787–1814 (1964, reissued 1987); W.J.B. Owen, Wordsworth as Critic (1969); Jonathan Wordsworth, The Music of Humanity: A Critical Study of Wordsworth’s Ruined Cottage (1969); M.H. Abrams, Natural Supernaturalism: Tradition and Revolution in Romantic Literature (1971); Jared R. Curtis, Wordsworth’s Experiments with Tradition: The Lyric Poems of 1802 (1971); Richard J. Onorato, The Character of the Poet: Wordsworth in The Prelude (1971); Stephen Maxfield Parrish, The Art of the Lyrical Ballads (1973); Paul D. Sheats, The Making of Wordsworth’s Poetry, 1785–1798 (1973); James H. Averill, Wordsworth and the Poetry of Human Suffering (1980); James K. Chandler, Wordsworth’s Second Nature: A Study of the Poetry and Politics (1984); Kenneth R. Johnston, Wordsworth and The Recluse (1984); Thomas McFarland, William Wordsworth: Intensity and Achievement (1992); Herbert Lindenberger, On Wordsworth’s Prelude (1963, reprinted 1976); John F. Danby, The Simple Wordsworth (1960); Jonathan Wordsworth, William Wordsworth: The Borders of Vision (1982); and Geoffrey H. Hartman, The Unremarkable Wordsworth (1987).
To these book-length studies may be added five important collections of critical essays: Jonathan Wordsworth (ed.), Bicentenary Wordsworth Studies in Memory of John Alban Finch (1970); M.H. Abrams (ed.), Wordsworth: A Collection of Critical Essays (1972); Kenneth R. Johnston and Gene W. Ruoff (eds.), The Age of William Wordsworth (1987); Kenneth R. Johnston et al. (eds.), Romantic Revolutions: Criticism and Theory (1990); and Pauline Fletcher and John Murphy (eds.), Wordsworth in Context (1992). Harold Bloom (ed.), William Wordsworth, updated ed. (2007), is also a collection of critical essays. Wordsworth’s relationship with his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, is explored in Lucy Newlyn, William and Dorothy Wordsworth: “All in Each Other” (2013).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Stephen Maxfield Parrish
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invalidated site: University of Pennsylvania - School of Arts and Sciences - Department of English - William Wordsworth. | Sep 21, 2026 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Apr 19, 2026 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Apr 03, 2026 | ||
| Added section about the influence of his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth. | Sep 25, 2025 | ||
| Article revised. | Apr 04, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Mustansiriyah University - William Wordsworth Biography. | Mar 27, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Feb 18, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts - Wordsworth as a Romantic Critic. | Nov 19, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Pennsylvania - School of Arts and Sciences - Department of English - William Wordsworth. | Jul 30, 2024 | ||
| First paragraph modernization. | Apr 16, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Poetry Archive - William Wordsworth. | Mar 28, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Academia - William Wordsworth (1770 � 1850). | Nov 07, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Humanities LibreTexts - William Wordsworth (1770-1850). | Jul 03, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Victorian Web - William Wordsworth (1770-1850). | Aug 19, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: British Library - William Wordsworth. | Apr 05, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Historic UK - William Wordsworth. | Apr 05, 2022 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Dec 17, 2020 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Wordsworth Trust - Biography of William Wordsworth. | Nov 14, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Facts about Famous People - Biography of William Wordsworth. | Feb 08, 2019 | ||
| Changed title of the "Assessment" section to "Legacy." | Nov 15, 2017 | ||
| "I wandered lonely as a cloud" mentioned as one of the lyrics included in Poems, in Two Volumes. | May 19, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: The European Graduate School - Biography of William Wordsworth. | May 22, 2014 | ||
| Collection of essays edited by Harold Bloom added to bibliography. | Dec 02, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Poets.org - Biography of William Wordsworth. | Mar 19, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Poetry Foundation - Biography of William Wordsworth. | Mar 19, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Victorian Web - William Wordsworth. | Jun 15, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Spartacus Educational - Biography of William Wordsworth. | Apr 19, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Fact Monster - People - Biography of William Wordsworth. | Apr 19, 2012 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 07, 2012 | ||
| Article restructured. | Feb 07, 2012 | ||
| Added new Web site: BBC - Beyond Belief - Wordsworth. |
|
May 01, 2007 | |
| Article revised and updated. | Dec 21, 2006 | ||
| Bibliography revised. | Dec 21, 2006 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | May 04, 1999 |