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Sunday, April 7, 2013

A Birthday in April ~ Wordsworth

This is the first of three posts in which we will celebrate the life of a poet or author who was born in April.

William Wordsworth (Public Domain)
In April here beneath the flowering thorn
He heard the birds their morning carols sing


William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 and died on 23 April 1850, at the age of 80. Wordsworth was the Poet Laureate of Great Britain (1843 - 1850). He is best known for his lyrical poetry which is definitive of the Romantics, as well as several much anthologized sonnets. His magnum opus is the posthumously published epic poem, The Prelude, on which he worked from the age of 28.

One summer evening (led by her) I found
A little boat tied to a willow tree
Within a rocky cave, its usual home.
Straight I unloosed her chain, and stepping in
Pushed from the shore.


Grasmere Lake - Lake District, England
Creative Commons

Wordsworth allowed her (Mother Nature) to be his guide in life as well as in art. For this prompt, I am providing the following quotes selected from his writing. Choose the one that most inspires you, becomes the little boat, and push off from the source to write something to express your own unique perspective.

 “Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” 

“A mind forever Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.” 

“The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.” 

Should none of these finds favour, I invite you to peruse the Goodreads quotation page and make your own selection. Please include the quote in your post.

22 comments:

  1. What a great idea for a series of posts. Happy Birthday Wordsworth! I love all his poems from Lyrical Ballads.

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  2. I may make Wordsworth groan... LOL.

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  3. I LOVED THIS! Thank you so much, Kerry! Smiles to the poetic peeps!

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  4. blogger is making me apoplectic first thing in the morning. otherwise, what a lovely reflection this would be. thanks, Kerry :)

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  5. Kerry, I love this poet and this challenge!
    Thank you~

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  6. Thanks for this one, Kerry--I had a few fragments drifting through my brain--this definitely gave them form and direction--turned a plank or two into a boat, I hope. Will be around later to read.

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  7. I loved doing this challenge and where it lead me~ Thank you! :D

    Happy Sunday Toads!
    Thank you Kerry~

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  8. Blogger is killing me Marian! Even now I am waiting for pages to load..I was beginning to think I was the only one with the problem - it's been going on for weeks.

    I'm glad that many have enjoyed this prompt. I was worried Wordsworth might be a bit old news to inspire.

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  9. Wordsworth is never old news to poets, in my opinion, Kerry.
    I've done enough so far to feel inspired, and now must run away for a few hours, but I'll be back to post something this afternoon.
    K

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  10. I loved your poem, Loredana, and the daffodil was a definite giveaway. I was curious to know which quote inspired your thoughts. Thanks for the clarification.

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  11. the poem that's emerged is nothing like my style and I'm not sure I like it but there's something in it that means I can't delete it, definitely not up to Wordsworth though, I feeled ashamed to link it up. loving the print though

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  12. I love, love this Birthday idea! It will be fun exploring poets!

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  13. Oops I really botched this one Kerry. Did not read your post carefully enough and then got the wrong poet but wrote something anyway so I will post it here nonetheless. LOL

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  14. I wrote /lined a poem on Wordsworth's quote, "To begin, begin." I think his words were very wise.

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  15. Great quotes - and what a great idea! Thanks!

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  16. Think of me as an open hand . . .
    and thank you for the prompt, Kerry.

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  17. Well I enjoyed writing this -- can't answer for Wordsworth, though!

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  18. Hope a Haiku wud qualify. Here's mine- http://ektakhetan.blogspot.in/2013/04/the-grasshopper-experiment.html

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  19. Ekta, your poem does not respond to this prompt so it has been removed. Please share unrelated poems on Open Link Monday.

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  20. I just love Wordsworth! Thank you for reminding me how much I love his work.

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  21. Wordsworth! I love him. I am still playing catch up, but I am getting closer!

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  22. Were he still alive he would surely sue!

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