‘The Preface’ composed by William Wordsworth to the second edition(1800) of the anthology Lyrical Ballads( first
published in 1798) which included poems of both Wordsworth and Coleridge. It marked the dawn of a new literary
movement Romanticism in English poetry although the term ‘Romanticism’ was first used by the German poet Schlegel
in his Dialogues of Poetry (1800) where he defined it as “literature depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form”.
Schlegel’s definition captures the very essence of English Romanticism too- preference to human emotions, spontaneity,
imagination and ordinary language of the common people. ‘The Preface to Lyrical Ballads’ in this way is often considered
as a de facto manifesto of the Romantic movement. The ideas that Wordsworth has given here becomes the touchstone
of writing poetry for a coming generation of poets.
The Romantic age (1798-1837) in English literature serves a sharp break from the previous Neo Classical literature and
its practices. Wordsworth in his ‘Preface’ unambiguously speaks of detaching this new type of poetry from its
predecessors. The Neo Classical poets emphasized intellectualism over emotion. It focused on society rather than
individual, didactic spirit rather than human feelings, stylistic rigidity rather than spontaneity. Although in the last stage
of Neo-Classicism known as ‘the age of Johnson’ poets like John Gray etc tried to incorporate nature and melancholy in
poetry but according to Wordsworth, they failed. In his ‘Preface’ he proposes a ‘revolutionary’ kind of poems that would
reject the ‘mimetic’ quality of poetry while upholding its imaginative value.
The Neo-Classical poems display an unforgivable insensitivity and sensationalism. It has created an artificial “craving for
extraordinary incident” among the mass. To counter this Wordsworth believes that a new kind of poetry is necessary
that can restore the readers back to their natural sensitivity. Such poems would not only impart pleasure but also would
create a class of poetry that is “well adapted to interest mankind permanently”. From this we can see that Wordsworth
had two main goals in mind- first of all, to create poems that appeal not only to the educated section but also to the
‘municipality’ or general public. Secondly, he intends to have these poems be relevant to humanity’s ‘moral relations’
inspiring readers to be more humane.
Romantic age is marked by its inclination towards the ordinary lives of common people as subject matter and the
simplicity of poetic language. According to Wordsworth choosing “humble and rustic life” as subject matter allows the
poet to better explore human nature and reveal truth. The simple prose like language not only corresponds well with
ordinary life – it’s closer to the way normal people speak. Being free from the influence of artificiality and ‘social vanity’
such language is more ‘permanent’ and ‘philosophical’.
Wordsworth believes that there is no rigid difference between the language of prose and poetry- the rustic language he
wants to use (of course with some selection and purification) is “simple and unelaborated”. H should get rid of linguistic
ornamentation like ‘personification of abstract ideas’ and verbose diction. To put it simply the language of poetry should
be as Wordsworth puts it “man speaking to men”.
Romantic age is a vigorous promoter of emotions in poetry. Wordsworth too gives more importance to the emotions
involved in a situation rather than the situation itself. He writes –“for all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings”. A poet must communicate his emotions to his readers. In order to do so he must be careful to
successfully observe and depict the feelings that people have when they are in “a state of excitement”. He must
immerse himself in a process of poetic creation which includes observing the subject matter, recollecting his emotions
“in tranquillity”, contemplating on them, reviving them in his poetic composition and finally enjoying the pleasure his
poetry creates. Then only a timeless poetry can be created.
The early 19th century England when Romanticism started saw a rapid growth in industrialization, labour migration and
urbanisation. Wordsworth wanted to keep his readers emotionally alive and morally sensitive in this dull, fast paced,
crowded life style. He finds nature as a solution to the harms of urban life. His nature centric poems like ‘Tintern Abbey’,
‘Lines Written in early spring’ etc in Lyrical ballads allows people to enjoy the simple, unadulterated joys of countryside
and revive their dull minds. These poems represent “man and nature as essentially adapted to each other”.
In this way ‘the Preface’ to the Lyrical Ballads captures the very essence of Romantic age which marks the beginning of a
more emotional, more spontaneous and subjective kind of poetry in English literature.
PREFACE TO THE LYRICAL BALLADS BY WILLAIM WODSWORTH
1. BRIEFLY SUMMERIZE THE ROMANTIC AGE AS PREFACE TO THE LYRICAL BALLADS
2. PREFACE TO THE LYRICAL BALLADS AS THE MANIFESTO OF THE ROMANTIC AGE.
