Showing posts with label William Wordsworth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Wordsworth. Show all posts

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.