William Wordsworth believed that a walk in the hills, a quiet lake, or a field of dancing flowers could fill your heart with joy. He helped start a whole new style of poetry about nature, feelings, and the wonder of being a child.
Quick facts
- Born
- 7 April 1770, Cockermouth, Lake District, England
- Died
- 23 April 1850
- Famous for
- "Daffodils" and starting the Romantic poetry movement
- Honour
- Poet Laureate of Britain (1843)
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A childhood among the hills
Wordsworth grew up in the beautiful Lake District of England, full of mountains, lakes, and forests. He loved to wander outdoors, and those happy, peaceful memories filled his poems for the rest of his life.
A new kind of poetry
In 1798, Wordsworth and his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge published a book of poems called Lyrical Ballads. Instead of fancy, complicated language, they wrote in simple words about ordinary people and the beauty of nature. This started the Romantic movement in English poetry.
The dancing daffodils
His most famous poem is often called "Daffodils." One day he saw thousands of golden flowers fluttering by a lake, and the memory made him so happy that he wrote:
"I wandered lonely as a cloud… when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils."
He also wrote a long poem about his own life called The Prelude.
Why we remember him
Wordsworth taught us to slow down and notice the world — a sunset, a tree, a flower — and to treasure our memories. In 1843 he was made Poet Laureate, the official poet of Britain. Next time you feel happy outdoors, you're feeling exactly what Wordsworth loved to write about!