Poems, in Two Volumes

Last updated
The title page of Poems in Two Volumes Poems in two volumes.jpg
The title page of Poems in Two Volumes

Poems, in Two Volumes is a collection of poetry by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, published in 1807. [1]

Contents

It contains many notable poems, including:

Contents

The contents [2] [3] of Volume I and Volume II:

Critical reception

Poems in Two Volumes has been considered to be the peak of Wordsworth's power, and of his popularity. However, it was poorly reviewed by Wordsworth's contemporaries, including Lord Byron, [4] whom Wordsworth would come to despise. Byron said of the volume, in one of its first reviews, "Mr. W[ordsworth] ceases to please, ... clothing [his ideas] in language not simple, but puerile". [5] Wordsworth himself wrote ahead to soften the thoughts of The Critical Review , hoping his friend Wrangham would push a softer approach. He succeeded in preventing a known enemy from writing the review, but it didn't help; as Wordsworth himself said, it was a case of "Out of the frying pan, into the fire". Of any positives within Poems in Two Volumes, perceived masculinity in "The Happy Warrior" was one. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" couldn't have been further from it. Wordsworth took the reviews stoically.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wordsworth</span> English Romantic poet (1770–1850)

William Wordsworth was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longman</span> British publishing company

Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byronic hero</span> Type of antihero often characterized by isolation and contemplation

The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. Both Byron's own persona as well as characters from his writings are considered to provide defining features to the character type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud</span> Lyric poem by William Wordsworth

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a lyric poem by William Wordsworth. It is one of his most popular, and was inspired by a forest encounter on 15 April 1802 that included himself, his younger sister Dorothy and a "long belt" of daffodils. Written in 1804, this 24 line lyric was first published in 1807 in Poems, in Two Volumes, and slightly revised in 1815.

<i>Lyrical Ballads</i> Poem collection by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. The immediate effect on critics was modest, but it became and remains a landmark, changing the course of English literature and poetry. The 1800 edition is famous for the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, something that has come to be known as the manifesto of Romanticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Maria Williams</span> British novelist, poet and translator

Helen Maria Williams was a British novelist, poet, and translator of French-language works. A religious dissenter, she was a supporter of abolitionism and of the ideals of the French Revolution; she was imprisoned in Paris during the Reign of Terror, but nonetheless spent much of the rest of her life in France. A controversial figure in her own time, the young Williams was favourably portrayed in a 1787 poem by William Wordsworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Cottle</span> English publisher and author

Joseph Cottle (1770–1853) was an English publisher and author.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

The Preface to Lyrical Ballads is an essay, composed by William Wordsworth, for the second edition published in 1800 of the poetry collection Lyrical Ballads, and then greatly expanded in the third edition of 1802. It came to be seen as a de facto manifesto of the Romantic movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802</span> Petrarchan sonnet by William Wordsworth

"Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" is a Petrarchan sonnet by William Wordsworth describing London and the River Thames, viewed from Westminster Bridge in the early morning. It was first published in the collection Poems, in Two Volumes in 1807.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ode: Intimations of Immortality</span> Poem by William Wordsworth

"Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" is a poem by William Wordsworth, completed in 1804 and published in Poems, in Two Volumes (1807). The poem was completed in two parts, with the first four stanzas written among a series of poems composed in 1802 about childhood. The first part of the poem was completed on 27 March 1802 and a copy was provided to Wordsworth's friend and fellow poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who responded with his own poem, "Dejection: An Ode", in April. The fourth stanza of the ode ends with a question, and Wordsworth was finally able to answer it with seven additional stanzas completed in early 1804. It was first printed as "Ode" in 1807, and it was not until 1815 that it was edited and reworked to the version that is currently known, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lucy poems</span> Five poems written by William Wordsworth

The Lucy poems are a series of five poems composed by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770–1850) between 1798 and 1801. All but one were first published during 1800 in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads, a collaboration between Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge that was both Wordsworth's first major publication and a milestone in the early English Romantic movement. In the series, Wordsworth sought to write unaffected English verse infused with abstract ideals of beauty, nature, love, longing, and death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sparrow's Nest</span>

"The Sparrows Nest" is a lyric poem written by William Wordsworth at Town End, Grasmere, in 1801. It was first published in the collection Poems in Two Volumes in 1807.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">To a Butterfly</span>

"To a Butterfly" is a lyric poem written by William Wordsworth at Town End, Grasmere, in 1802. It was first published in the collection Poems, in Two Volumes in 1807.

<i>Hours of Idleness</i>

Hours of Idleness was the first volume of poetry published by Lord Byron, in 1807, when he was 19 years old. It is a collection of mostly short poems, many in imitation of classic Roman poets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poor Susan</span> 1797 poem by William Wordsworth

"Poor Susan" is a lyric poem by William Wordsworth composed at Alfoxden in 1797. It was first published in the collection Lyrical Ballads in 1798. It is written in anapestic tetrameter.

<i>Peter Bell</i> (Wordsworth) Poem by William Wordsworth

Peter Bell: A Tale in Verse is a long narrative poem by William Wordsworth, written in 1798, but not published until 1819.

Love is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1799 as Introduction to the Tale of the Dark Ladie.

References

  1. Poems in Two Volumes, by William Wordsworth, Author of The Lyrical Ballads. Vol. I. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orms. 1807. Retrieved 4 January 2017 via Internet Archive.; Poems in Two Volumes, by William Wordsworth, Author of The Lyrical Ballads. Vol. II. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orms. 1807. Retrieved 4 January 2017 via Internet Archive.
  2. Wordsworth, William. "Poems in Two Volumes, Volume 1". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  3. Wordsworth, William. "Poems in Two Volumes, Volume 2". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  4. "William Wordsworth". Britain Express. 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
  5. Byron, Baron George (1837). The works of Lord Byron complete in one volume. H.L. Broenner. p.  686 . Retrieved 29 December 2009.

Poems, in Two Volumes on Internet Archive