Romantic Poetic Principles

By Jackie Leslie, Student

Wordsworth's poetics in The Preface

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

Romantic Poetic Principles

The real beginning of English Romanticism began with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge. The "Preface" is considered to be the classic statement of Romantic poetry principles. In it, Wordsworth sets forth several principles which comprise poetry at its finest.

He begins the "Preface" by stating that the main interest of the poet lies with "imncidents and situations from common life." Wordsworth sought to compose poetry of commonality that was written in the "language really used by man." By usuing the simple language of the common man, poetry would then be able to express the "essential passions of the heart."

To Wordsworth, the purpose of poetry was to "illustrate the manner in which feelings and ideas are associated in a state of excitement." When the poet has met this purpose, he,then, has become "a man speaking to men . . . . who has a greater knowledge of human nature and a more comprehensive soul." The poet is meant to educate others through his work.

The final characteristic of Romantic poetry that Wordsworth discusses in the "Preface" is "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings." To the Romantics, poetry found its inspiration in the emotions that man has as well as in the reflection of nature as it effects mankind.