The Excursion

poem by Wordsworth

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June 26, 2026

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The Excursion is a long, philosophical poem by William Wordsworth, published in 1814. It is intended to be the central part of a larger, unfulfilled work called The Recluse. The poem explores themes of moral and religious consolation, particularly for those disillusioned by the failure of the French Revolution's ideals.1

Wordsworth's work, including The Excursion, is characterized by a new perspective on nature, viewing it as intrinsically linked to the human mind and even as a reflection of the divine. The poem draws on earlier works like "The Ruined Cottage" and "The Pedlar". Wordsworth, a key figure in English Romanticism, lived in the Lake District and was deeply influenced by the natural world and his relationships with his sister Dorothy and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.2134

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William Wordsworth
The Recluse and The Prelude
…was published in 1814 as The Excursion and consisted of nine long philosophical monologues spoken by pastoral characters. The first monologue (Book I) contains a version of one of Wordsworth’s greatest poems, “The Ruined Cottage,” composed in superb blank verse in 1797. This bleak narrative records the slow, pitiful decline…
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…was published in 1814 as The Excursion and consisted of nine long philosophical monologues spoken by pastoral characters. The first monologue (Book I) contains a version of one of Wordsworth’s greatest poems, “The Ruined Cottage,” composed in superb blank verse in 1797. This bleak narrative records the slow, pitiful decline…
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English literature
Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge
…form part of the later Excursion); the second was developed from 1797, when he and his sister, Dorothy, with whom he was living in the west of England, were in close contact with Coleridge. Stirred simultaneously by Dorothy’s immediacy of feeling, manifested everywhere in her Journals (written 1798–1803, published 1897),…
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…form part of the later Excursion); the second was developed from 1797, when he and his sister, Dorothy, with whom he was living in the west of England, were in close contact with Coleridge. Stirred simultaneously by Dorothy’s immediacy of feeling, manifested everywhere in her Journals (written 1798–1803, published 1897),…
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Paul de Man
Controversies about language and ideas
…English poet William Wordsworth in The Excursion (1814), who lives in complete isolation because he can neither hear nor speak. Wordsworth provided the reader a perspective on this figure by referring to the face of the Sun—moving above him—as representing a grace that redeems life. For de Man, however, the…
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…English poet William Wordsworth in The Excursion (1814), who lives in complete isolation because he can neither hear nor speak. Wordsworth provided the reader a perspective on this figure by referring to the face of the Sun—moving above him—as representing a grace that redeems life. For de Man, however, the…
Read More