19 pages 38 minutes read

William Wordsworth

Preface to Lyrical Ballads

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1800

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Essay Topics

1.

Wordsworth suggests that “by the act of writing in verse an Author makes a formal engagement that he will gratify certain known habits of association” (2). In what respect does he believe his poems may confound the expectations of his readers?

2.

What might Wordsworth mean by “the gaudiness and inane phraseology of many modern writers” (2)? How, in his view, does his own poetry set itself apart from such work?

3.

What might Wordsworth mean by his reference to the “triviality and meanness” (3) found in the poetry of some of his contemporaries who, like him, follow a Romanticist style of writing?

Related Titles

By William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

A Complaint

William Wordsworth

A Complaint

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

William Wordsworth

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

William Wordsworth

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Daffodils

William Wordsworth

Daffodils

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Tintern Abbey

William Wordsworth

Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey ...

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

London, 1802

William Wordsworth

London, 1802

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

Lyrical Ballads

William Wordsworth

Lyrical Ballads

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

My Heart Leaps Up

William Wordsworth

My Heart Leaps Up

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

William Wordsworth

Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways

William Wordsworth

She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

She Was a Phantom of Delight

William Wordsworth

She Was a Phantom of Delight

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

The Prelude

William Wordsworth

The Prelude

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

The World Is Too Much with Us

William Wordsworth

The World Is Too Much with Us

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

To the Skylark

William Wordsworth

To the Skylark

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

We Are Seven

William Wordsworth

We Are Seven

William Wordsworth