Authors+and+Their+Works

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=**AUTHORS**=

= = =**William Wordsworth**= = = (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) Wordsworth's Greatest __Work__ is generally considered to be //The Prelude,//a semiautobiographical poem of his early years which he revised and expanded a number of times. It was posthumously titled and published, prior to which it was generally known as the poem "to Coleridge". The volume gave neither Wordsworth's nor, Coleridge's name as author. One of Wordsworth's most famous poems, "Tintern Abbey", was published in the work, along with Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". The second edition, published in 1800, had only Wordsworth listed as the author, and included a preface to the poems, which was augmented significantly in the 1802 edition. This Preface to //Lyrical Ballads//is considered a central work of theory. In it, Wordsworth discusses what he sees as the elements of a new type of poetry, one based on the "real language of men" and which avoids the poetic diction of much 18th-century poetry. Here, Wordsworth gives his famous definition of poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." A fourth and final edition of //Lyrical Ballads// was published in 1805. Wordsworth was Britain's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850 (Source 2).

WORKS OF WORDSWORTH:
 *  Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems (1798)
 * "Simon Lee"
 * " We are Seven "
 * " Lines Written in Early Spring "
 * " Expostulation and Reply "
 * " T he Tables Turned "
 * "The Thorn"
 * " Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey "
 *  Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems (1800)
 * Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
 * " Strange fits of passion have I known "
 * " She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways "
 * "Three years she grew" [|[14]]
 * " A Slumber Did my Spirit Seal
 * "I travelled among unknown men
 * " Lucy Gray "
 * "The Two April Mornings"
 * " Nutting "
 * "The Ruined Cottage"
 * "Michael"
 * "The Kitten At Play"
 *  Poems, in Two Volumes (1807)Guide to the Lakes (1810) The Excursion (1814) Laodamia (1815, 1845)
 * " Resolution and Independence "
 * " I Wandered __Lonely__ as a __Cloud__ " Also known as "Daffodils"
 * " My Heart Leaps Up "
 * " Ode: Intimations of Immortality "
 * " Ode to Duty "
 * " The Solitary Reaper "
 * " Elegiac Stanzas "
 * " Composed upon Westminster Bridge, 3 September 1802 "
 * " London, 1802 "
 * " The World Is Too Much with U"
 *  The Prelude (1850)

=**Samuel Taylor Coleridge**= (21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) Throughout his adult life, Coleridge suffered from crippling bouts of __anxiety__ and __depression__; it has been speculated by some that he suffered from __bipolar disorder__, a condition as yet unidentified during his lifetime. Coleridge suffered from poor health that may have stemmed from a bout of rheumatic fever and other childhood illnesses. He was treated for these concerns with laudanum, which fostered a lifelong opiumaddiction. In addition to his poetry, Coleridge also wrote influential pieces of literary criticism including //Biographia Literaria//, a collection of his thoughts and opinions on literature which he published in 1817. The work delivered both biographical explanations of the author's life as well as his impressions on literature. The collection also contained an analysis of a broad range of philosophical principles of literature ranging from Aristotle to Immanuel Kant and Schelling and applied them to the poetry of peers such as William Wordsworth (Source 1)

__Samuel Taylor Coleridge:__
 * * //The Eolian Harp// (1795)
 * //Reflections on having left a Place of __Retirement__// (1795)
 * //This Lime-Tree Bower my Prison// (1797)
 * //Frost at Midnight// (1798)
 * Kubla Khan (1797) || * //Fears in Solitude// (1798)
 * //The Nightingale: A Conversation Poem// (1798)
 * //Dejection: An Ode// (1802)
 * //To William Wordsworth// (1807) ||

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
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It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. `By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

The bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: Mayst hear the merry din.'

He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he. `Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!' Eftsoons his hand dropped he.

He holds him with his glittering eye - The Wedding-Guest stood still, And listens like a three years' child: The Mariner hath his will.

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone: He cannot choose but hear; And thus spake on that ancient man, The bright-eyed Mariner.

"The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, Merrily did we drop  Below the kirk, below the hill,  Below the lighthouse top.

The sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he! And he shone bright, and on the right Went down into the sea.

Higher and higher every day, Till over the mast at noon -" The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,  For he heard the loud bassoon.

The bride hath paced into the hall, Red as a rose is she; Nodding their heads before her goes The merry minstrelsy.

The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast, Yet he cannot choose but hear; And thus spake on that ancient man, The bright-eyed Mariner.

"And now the storm-blast came, and he Was tyrannous and strong:  He struck with his o'ertaking wings,  And chased us south along.

1. Which traits revealed about the mariner's appearance suggest that there is something supernatural about him? 2. What kinds of language and literary devices did Coleridge use? 3. Why could the wedding guest not turn away?

media type="youtube" key="Rja9-CLj0hg" height="315" width="420" (Source 11) A BBC video series on Coleridge and Wordsworth media type="youtube" key="beQdcwTqcyU" height="315" width="420" (Source 10)

=**Lord Byron**=



//She walks in beauty//
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She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! =Who is Lord Byron referring to in this poem?= (source 5)
 * What is the main theme Lord Byron is trying to get across?**
 * Who is the woman Lord Byron is referring to?**

Lord Byron was the prototypical romantic hero, the envy and scandal of the age. He has been continually identified with his own characters, particularly the rebellious, irreverent, erotically inclined Don Juan. Byron invested the romantic lyric with a rationalist irony (Source 3). Byron's adventurous life — his love affairs, travels, advocacy of Greek Independence — make an entertaining entry into early nineteenth century life: the freebooting ways of the English aristocracy before Victorian morals took hold, the Napoleonic wars, Venice in the last years of her splendour, rebellion in the decaying Ottoman Empire, the frequent struggles for freedom in Europe, Russia and Latin America. A fascinating period is packed with larger-than-life characters. Even poets caught some of the fervour: Wordsworth's affair with Annette Vallon, Shelley's utopian outpourings, Keat's tragic life, Blake's visions (Source 4). Here is one of his more well known pieces:

//**Prisoner of Chillon XIII**//
I saw them - and they were the same, They were not changed like me in frame; I saw their thousand years of snow Oh high - their wide long lake below, And the blue Rhone in fullest flow; I heard the torrents leap and gush O'er channell'd rock and broken bush; I saw the white-wall'd distant town, And whiter sails go skimming down; And then there was a little isle, Which in my very face did smile, The only one in view; A small green isle, it seem'd no more, Scarce broader than my dungeon floor, But in it there were three tall trees, And o'er it blew the mountain breeze, And by it there were waters flowing, And on it there were young flowers growing, Of gentle breath and hue. The fish swam by the castle wall, And they seem'd joyous each and all; The eagle rode the rising blast, Methought he never flew so fast As then to me he seem'd to fly; And then new tears came in my eye, And I felt troubled - and would fainI had not left my recent chain; And when I did descend again, The darkness of my dim abode Fell on me as a heavy load;It was as is a new-dug grave, Closing o'er one we sought to save, -And yet my glance, too much opprest, Had almost need of such a rest.

= ** Percy Bysshe Shelley ** = Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron**.** Shelley's unconventional life and uncompromising idealism, combined with his strong disapproving voice, made him an authoritative and much-denigrated figure during his life and afterward. Mark Twain took particular aim at Shelley in //In Defense of Harriet Shelley//, where he lambasted Shelley for abandoning his pregnant wife and child to run off with the 16-year-old Mary Godwin. Shelley never lived to see the extent of his success and influence; although some of his works were published, they were often suppressed upon publication. Here is his famous piece:
 * (**Source 6)

// Indian Serenade //
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I arise from dreams of thee In the first sweet sleep of night, When the winds are breathing low, And the stars are shining bright. I arise from dreams of thee, And a spirit in my feet Hath led me -- who knows how? To thy chamber window, Sweet!

The wandering airs they faint On the dark, the silent stream-- And the Champak's odours [pine] Like sweet thoughts in a dream; The nightingale's complaint, It dies upon her heart, As I must on thine, O belovèd as thou art!

O lift me from the grass! I die! I faint! I fail! Let thy love in kisses rain On my lips and eyelids pale. My cheek is cold and white, alas! My heart beats loud and fast: O press it to thine own again, Where it will break at last!

=**John Keats**= (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) For information on Keats, please follow this [|link] (Source 9)

=W. B. Yeats=

He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead
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Were you but lying cold and dead, And lights were paling out of the West, You would come hither, and bend your head, And I would lay my head on your breast; And you would murmur tender words, Forgiving me, because you were dead: Nor would you rise and hasten away, Though you have the will of wild birds, But know your hair was bound and wound About the stars and moon and sun: O would, beloved, that you lay Under the dock-leaves in the ground, While lights were paling one by one.

1. What is Yeats trying to portray in this poem? What could have caused Yeats to portray what he does? 2. Why does Yeats chose to describe lights as "paling"? What effect does this give the poem?

Peace
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Ah, that Time could touch a form That could show what Homer's age Bred to be a hero's wage. 'Were not all her life but storm, Would not painters paint a form Of such noble lines,' I said, 'Such a delicate high head, All that sternness amid charm, All that sweetness amid strength? 'Ah, but peace that comes at length, Came when Time had touched her form.

1. What is the "Time" that Yeats is referring to? 2. What is the point that Yeats is trying to get across in this poem? == =William Blake=

Tyger
For more information on the Romantics and their works please navigate to this [|site]