WILLIAMS
WORDSWORTH
Biography
April 7, 1770
William Wordsworth was born
William Wordsworth is born in Cocker-mouth, in the northwestern English
county of Cumberland. He is the second of five children of John and Ann
Wordsworth.
1778
Mother Dies
Wordsworth's mother Ann Cookson Wordsworth dies.
1779
Moves to Lake District
William Wordsworth is sent to school in Hawkshead, a village in England's Lake
District. His sister Dorothy is sent to live with relatives in Yorkshire. The siblings
are separated for nine years.
1787
Begins University
Wordsworth enrolls as a member of St. John's College at Cambridge University.
He publishes his first piece of writing, a sonnet in The European Magazine.
1791
Graduates from University
Wordsworth receives his bachelor's degree from Cambridge University. In
November, he travels to France and is fascinated by the Republican movement.
He falls in love with a French woman named Annette Vallon.
2
November 1792
Leaves France before his first
daughter is born
Wordsworth runs out of money and is forced to leave France, leaving behind a
pregnant Annette Vallon. Vallon later gives birth to the couple's daughter
Caroline. When war breaks out in France the following year, Wordsworth is
unable to return to his family.
1793
Begins Publishing
Wordsworth publishes his first poetry collections, Descriptive Sketches and An
Evening Walk.
1795
Moves to Dorset
Wordsworth receives a small inheritance from a friend and sets up house in
Dorset, England with his sister Dorothy. He meets fellow poet Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, and the two become close friends.
1797
Friendship with Coleridge
Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy move closer to Coleridge. For a year, the two
poets are in daily contact with one another, a period that proves to be a vital
creative period for both of them. Wordsworth produces the poem "Tintern
3
Abbey," and Coleridge writes "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." They
collaborate on a groundbreaking collection of poetry.
1798
Lyrical Ballads Published
Wordsworth and Coleridge publish Lyrical Ballads, a collection of poems written
in "language really used by men," free of the "gaudiness and inane phraseology of
many modern writers."34 The book sparks the Romantic Age of English
literature. In a preface to the second edition, Wordsworth warns the audience that
they will either love or hate his new style of poetry.
1802
Family Matters
William and Dorothy Wordsworth travel to France so that Wordsworth can meet
his daughter—Caroline—and make arrangements for her support with Annette
Vallon. When he returns to England, Wordsworth marries Mary Hutchinson, a
schoolmate and longtime friend.
June 18, 1803
Son Born
William and Mary's first child, a son named John, is born.
1804
4
Daughter Born
The Wordsworths' second child, Dorothy "Dora" Wordsworth, is born. William
Wordsworth grows close to Dora. She inspires many of his poems, beginning with
"Address to My Infant Daughter."
1805
Prelude Finished; Brother Dies
Wordsworth finishes his "poem to Coleridge" but refuses to publish it until he has
completed The Recluse, a long piece for which the "poem to Coleridge" would be
a prologue. William's younger brother, 33-year-old John Wordsworth, dies in a
shipwreck.
1806
Son Born
The Wordsworths' third child, son Thomas, is born.
1807
Poems in Two Volumes
Wordsworth publishes the collection Poems in Two Volumes. The book contains
the poem "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early
Childhood."
5
1808
Daughter Born
The Wordsworths' fourth child, daughter Catherine, is born.
1810
Son Born
The Wordsworths' fifth and final child, son William, is born.
1814
The Excursion
Wordsworth publishes The Excursion, which is intended to be the second
part of the three-part Recluse. Wordsworth never finishes the other two
parts.
1843
Poet Laureate
Wordsworth is named Poet Laureate of England.
April 23, 1850
Wordsworth Dies
William Wordsworth dies of pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around
the lungs. He is buried in St. Oswald's Church in Grasmere. A few months
after his death, Mary Wordsworth publishes The Prelude, the
autobiographical poem now considered to be Wordsworth's masterpiece.
6
7
