Wordsworth’s theory of poetry

Described in the
“Preface” to the
second edition of
Lyrical Ballads,
published in 1800
 “[P]oetry is the spontaneous overlow of
powerful feelings. . .recollected in tranquility”
 It is concerned with the emotions of the
individual poet as opposed to being concerned
with great events in human history
 Although nature is a persistent subject, the real
subject of the poetry is the thoughts and
feelings of the poet
 “The principle object, then, which I proposed to
myself in these poems was to choose incidents
and situations from common life, and to relate
or describe them, throughout, as far as was
possible, in the selection of language really
used by men.”
 “Low and rustic life was generally chosen”
 The aim of this poetry is to refresh our sense of
wonder in the every day, the trivial, the familiar
 The purpose of poetry is to “throw over
[situations from common life] a certain coloring
of imagination, whereby ordinary hings should
eb presented to the mind in an unusual way”
 Sometimes it achieves a sense of wonder
through the use of the supernatural or altered
states of consciousness