the preface to the lyrical ballads was published on january 1801.
the preface to the lyrical ballads was published on january 1801.
when was the preface to the lyrical ballads published?
january 1801
preface to the lyrical ballads









































the preface to the lyrical ballads is an essay, composed by william wordsworth, for the second edition (published in january 1801, and often referred to as the "1800 edition") of the poetry collection "lyrical ballads", and then greatly expanded in the third edition of 1802. it has come to be seen as a de facto manifesto of the romantic movement.









































the four guidelines of the manifesto include:









































1) ordinary life is the best subject for poetry









































2) everyday language is best suited for poetry









































3) expression of feeling is more important than action or plot
preface to the lyrical ballads
in his ""preface to lyrical ballads"", which is called the "manifesto" of english romantic criticism, wordsworth calls his poems "experimental". the year 1793 saw wordsworth's first published poetry, with the collections "an evening walk" and "descriptive sketches". he received a legacy of £900 from raisley calvert in 1795 so that he could pursue writing poetry. that year, he met samuel taylor coleridge in somerset. the two poets quickly developed a close friendship. in 1797, wordsworth and his sister dorothy moved to alfoxton house, somerset, just a few miles away from coleridge's home in nether stowey. together, wordsworth and coleridge (with insights from dorothy) produced "lyrical ballads" (1798), an important work in the english romantic movement. the volume gave neither wordsworth's nor coleridge's name as author. one of wordsworth's most famous poems, "tintern abbey", was published in the work, along with coleridge's "the rime of the ancient mariner". the second edition, published in 1800, had only wordsworth listed as the author, and included a preface to the poems, which was augmented significantly in the 1802 edition. this preface to lyrical ballads is considered a central work of romantic literary theory. in it, wordsworth discusses what he sees as the elements of a new type of poetry, one based on the "real language of men" and which avoids the poetic diction of much 18th-century poetry. here, wordsworth gives his famous definition of poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." a fourth and final edition of lyrical ballads was published in 1805.
early life of william wordsworth