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Essential

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Wordsworth and Coleridge's 'Lyrical Ballads' was revolutionary at the time of publication, and remains one of the most important volumes in the history of English Literature. The volume contains Coleridge's famous 'Ancient Mariner', as well as popular Wordsworth pieces such as 'Tintern Abbey' and 'We are Seven'. A first time reader may not quite understand what all the fuss us about, as some of the pieces (particularly Wordsworth's) can seem facile and at times banal, something contemporary critics savaged him for. To truly grasp the spirit of the volume the reader must take time to absorb Wordsworth's 'Advertisment' in which he outlines the 'experimental' nature of the volume, as a reaction against the the artificiality and 'innane phraseology' of the majority of popular poetry at the time. Wordsworth uses simple language to produce intimate sketches of ordinary people: an old huntsman, an idiot boy, or a female vagrant, and he does so with great sensitivity and feeling, showing us that compassion and feeling of the simplest people makes them as worthy as any privileged man. There are weak links in the collection such as 'Lines Written in Early Spring', which could justly be labelled 'namby-pamby' (a term Byron used to describe a certain type of Wordsworth poem). However, the most impressive piece in the whole collection must be Tintern Abbey, a poem which could never be labelled facile or 'namby pamby', it is a spiritual, philosophical, and profoundly moving poem rich with memorably powerful turns of phrase and an intoxicating pslamic quality. Tintern Abbey may very well sum-up Wordsworth's entire enterprise better than any other poem he penned. Study and understand 'Tintern Abbey' and you understand Wordsworth. As for Coleridge's 'Mariner', although it is an enchanting and strikingly original work, I share Wordsworth's assertion that it's character is somewhat at odds with the spirit of the collection.

Not totally inspired, but, something other than Shakespeare

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For my English Lit A level I am currently studying this text. When reading this (if you decide to) the first thing to remember is that the poetic style were purely experimental and thus meant to be taken lightly. That is important to bare in mind because you might be reading it and thinking what is this. The collection is written predominately by Wordsworth (only 4 Coleridge poems are in it) and definitely display's boldness and flare in execution and deliverance. You may find it interesting to read because Wordsworth draws upon the characteristics of many Seventeenth century vagrants, it is amazing to think that even than there were marginal members of society. However, his poetry does not only involve itself with solitary characters but also themes such as the supernatural, the sacred nature of children, loss, isolation and of course the sublime. One of the collections greatest poems is Tintern Abbey which deals exclusively with the sublime, it is a great account of Wordsworth's relationship with nature as a young boy and man. It may challenge you to look at your own attitude towards nature. Lyrical ballads is an oxymoron, which obviously suggests that the poetry will inhabit some kind of paradoxical elements. These aspects allow the reader to think and engage with the subjects and themes connected. Do not expect to read some fluently written masterpiece, he is not Shakespeare if anything he draws away from that. I wont say it is the best poetry I ever read but it is influential and most importantly authentic and this really is depicted throughout the poetry.