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39th out of 109 books
—
55 voters
Selected Poetry of William Wordsworth
Selected Poetry of William Wordsworth represents Wordsworth’s prolific output, from the poems first published in Lyrical Ballads in 1798 that changed the face of English poetry to the late “Yarrow Revisited.” Wordsworth’s poetry is celebrated for its deep feeling, its use of ordinary speech, the love of nature it expresses, and its representation of commonplace things and...more
Paperback, 784 pages
Published
February 12th 2002
by Modern Library
(first published April 28th 1913)
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Apr 29, 2013
Dolors
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes Romantic English Poets
Recommended to Dolors by:
Cristina
Shelves:
read-in-2013,
poetry
***Updated on April 29th, see below***
I can't help it if my heart doesn't leap with joy with Wordsworth's respectful and magisterial poems. I feel some kind of guilty distance with his realistic and moderated exultation of Nature, his aspirations towards perfection and his Odes full of bucolic and idealized countryside.
There are some brilliant stanzas though which show the almost anecdotal wonders of an apparently monotonous life, but still I find them lacking in originality and too self-center...more
I can't help it if my heart doesn't leap with joy with Wordsworth's respectful and magisterial poems. I feel some kind of guilty distance with his realistic and moderated exultation of Nature, his aspirations towards perfection and his Odes full of bucolic and idealized countryside.
There are some brilliant stanzas though which show the almost anecdotal wonders of an apparently monotonous life, but still I find them lacking in originality and too self-center...more
Wordsworth is a guilty dislike for me. So many poets don't only like him but credit him with their very inspiration as to what poetry is and should be. Last summer I endeavored to make peace with Wordsworth once and for all. I skipped the juvenelia, and went straight for the "young" Wordsworth. My complaints I can find very quickly--many many poems about A man wandering unhappy, ill at ease, or at least lonely--he encounters daffodils/a leech gatherer/nature's primal majesty and whatever was bot...more
1 like · like · see review
Tintern Abbey
Five years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a sweet inland murmur.—Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
Which on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which, at t...more
Five years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a sweet inland murmur.—Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
Which on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which, at t...more
“That men, least sensitive, see, hear, perceive
And cannot choose but feel.”
Yes, if you’re going to read Wordsworth you’re going to have to stomach stuff like the above. I read the entirety of the Prelude over the course of two years. At times I could not bear to read another stanza. To me, the poem veered wildly between passages of stunning beauty and clarity, longwinded lectures about politics, quaint discourses on “Man” and the “Ideal,” and a few others motifs. I could distill the situation of...more
And cannot choose but feel.”
Yes, if you’re going to read Wordsworth you’re going to have to stomach stuff like the above. I read the entirety of the Prelude over the course of two years. At times I could not bear to read another stanza. To me, the poem veered wildly between passages of stunning beauty and clarity, longwinded lectures about politics, quaint discourses on “Man” and the “Ideal,” and a few others motifs. I could distill the situation of...more
Two poetry books I have ever been tempted to buy are Wordswoth's "The Prelude" and Byron's "Don Juan".
BUT they are so damn BIG!!!!
An excerpt of a stanza...or two may strike you.
But when there is page after endless page in a volume as thick as a brick, well, you know what I mean, the gold nugget just gets swept along in the flow of either too many gold nuggets or so few that you overlook it.
Get my drift.
So...I am going to read my Signet edition from University days, the Selected Poetry and Prose...more
BUT they are so damn BIG!!!!
An excerpt of a stanza...or two may strike you.
But when there is page after endless page in a volume as thick as a brick, well, you know what I mean, the gold nugget just gets swept along in the flow of either too many gold nuggets or so few that you overlook it.
Get my drift.
So...I am going to read my Signet edition from University days, the Selected Poetry and Prose...more
Conversation with Not while crossing Westminster Bridge earlier this afternoon:
N: Let's get off this bridge and go somewhere where there aren't so many fucking tourists.
Me: Hey! Remember Earth hath not anything to show more fair!
[Pause]
N: Than what?
N: Let's get off this bridge and go somewhere where there aren't so many fucking tourists.
Me: Hey! Remember Earth hath not anything to show more fair!
[Pause]
N: Than what?
Not much to say, his stylish writing and unique view of the main topics in life (love, hate, honor, etc) is just overwhelming.
"She was a phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment´s ornament;
Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
Like Twilight´s, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From Maytime and the cheerful Dawn
A dancing Shape, an Image Gay,
To haunt, to startle, and waylay"
I suggest to read "Character of the Happy Warrior"
"She was a phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment´s ornament;
Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
Like Twilight´s, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From Maytime and the cheerful Dawn
A dancing Shape, an Image Gay,
To haunt, to startle, and waylay"
I suggest to read "Character of the Happy Warrior"
Oct 13, 2012
Emily Mejia
added it
so inspiring...
If you enjoy any of the Transcendental authors, I don't think you can help but like Wordsworth. He is a true artist of imagery. It's not necessarily that I love all nature poems -- I'm not a fan of Robert Frost, for example -- but Wordsworth intermingles spirituality and intellectualism in a beauteous way. This is a great collection of poetry for those who love nature for its sheer power to make you ponder the lovely and the profound.
Mar 03, 2010
Jess
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2010,
cs-spring-summer-challenge-2010
Reading this book, I realized that I much prefer 20th and 21st century poetry (e.g. Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, etc.) much more than 17th century poetry. However, Wordsworth certainly has a way with words and the English language. I gave it one star because I found it dry as dirt, but had a lot of time today (procrastinating!) to read the requisite 75 pages for the College Students Spring/Summer Challenge.
A very enjoyable Romantic poet, deals mostly with subjects that are more realistic and down-to-earth. The class I was in applied the lens of nostalgia/longing to the poems, and that proved to be very enjoyable, so I would recommend doing the same. I also recommend reading in conjunction with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and, to some degree, Keats.
Jul 28, 2011
Tori
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
favourites
Brilliant. Words cannot express how much i adore William Wordsworth. My edition is this cute little 1963 reprint with a yellow cover that i acquired from a lovely old lady who was moving house. She used it when she was studying his works, so it's filled with her notes!
I've always had trouble reading poetry. I've never really enjoyed it...I just don't "get" it.
Maybe it's because of English/Language Arts class all through school where we had to disect the meaning of every line or stanza.
Maybe it's because of English/Language Arts class all through school where we had to disect the meaning of every line or stanza.
A couple of minor omissions I would’ve liked to see (Simon Lee, for example), but solid collection from one of the best poets ever. I especially like that this includes a healthy selection of The Prelude.
A very good selection of Wordsworth.
'Lucy Gray' is my instant favorite Wordsworth poem. His style reminds me of a peaceful countryside. I like his narrative poems but only the short ones.
'Lucy Gray' is my instant favorite Wordsworth poem. His style reminds me of a peaceful countryside. I like his narrative poems but only the short ones.
a beautiful ode to nature, he cpatures it beautifully and therea sre some really deep commentary/obersvations about human nature and politics. a must read and every home should have a copy.
Many of Wordsworth's poems reminded me of Robert Frost. Both in the topics and in the way that I only found a few that I personally enjoyed.
Wordsworth is one of my favorites.
Daffodils is one of the best.
The world is too much with us.
My heart leaps up.
etc, etc.
Daffodils is one of the best.
The world is too much with us.
My heart leaps up.
etc, etc.
He has quite a few lovely poems. One of my favorite is 'I wandered lonely as a cloud'.
Put on-pause 11 December 2012 although has been on pause since before moving.
It's Wordsworth. Not much else needs to be said. Beautiful stuff.
Wordsworth's poems are absolutely beautiful.
Really need to re-read this soon
May 18, 2013
Anurupa Chaudhary
marked it as to-read
May 16, 2013
Sara Bakker
marked it as to-read
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William Wordsworth was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads.
Wordsworth's masterpiece is generally considered to be The Prelude, an autobiographical poem of his early years which the poet revised and expanded a number of times. The work was posthumously titled and publ...more
More about William Wordsworth...
Wordsworth's masterpiece is generally considered to be The Prelude, an autobiographical poem of his early years which the poet revised and expanded a number of times. The work was posthumously titled and publ...more
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Apr 29, 2013 01:17pm
Apr 29, 2013 02:17pm