Title: William Wordsworth Biography
Headings: William Wordsworth Biography | Poet
William Wordsworth Biography | Poet
Content: The young Wordsworth experienced tragedy at an early age, as both of his parents died before he turned fifteen. He and his four siblings were taken onboard by a succession of relatives, but the situation did not dim his passion for the natural world. Even as a young man, the admiration for nature which would later characterise his most famous pieces is clearly represented in his poetry. Wordsworth often spent his summer vacations on walking excursions in the Swiss and French Alps. This is where he picked up a keen interest in French politics and the values of the French revolution. The young Wordsworth started to write poetry during his time at Cambridge, but the work was not made public until 1793. In 1795, Wordsworth came into an inheritance and relocated to Dorset with his sister Dorothy. They would not stay still for long, however, because by 1797, they had upped and moved to Somerset in order to reside closer to a new fan of his work, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. As a fellow poet, Coleridge admired the collections An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches (published in 1793) and wanted to get to know Wordsworth better. According to some literary historians, Wordsworth was easily enamoured by the flattery of his new friend, having only recently experienced an acrimonious break with another poet, Robert Southey.