A first book of poems - like a first album - is always something of an uncertain venture. When Wordsworth and Coleridge published their literary debut in 1798, no one had ever heard of them. Gradually, this remarkable volume started to change the way in which we read poetry. It entered into the literary subconscious of the nation, if not the world. It also changed how these two budding young poets actually wrote. What began as a book chronicling the lives of the rural poor, soon evolved into a more complex volume about personal memory and the connection between writing and feeling? This course will introduce this unusual, beautiful book and the fraught times in which it was written. Lyrical Ballads has changed, and will continue to change, so many lives. I hope this course will keep this revolutionary work will help keep our reading alive and kicking today.
Course aim
To gain a clear understanding of the meaning and significance of The Lyrical Ballads, the first published work by Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Understand the value of reading and studying a classic collection of poems.
- Observe something of Wordsworth's and Coleridge's innovative styles and techniques as poets.
- Explore something of the historical context in which Lyrical Ballads was written.
- Improve skills of close reading
- Recognise the nature of Wordsworth's and Coleridge's relationship, as friends and collaborators.
What else do I need to know?
You will need your own copy of The Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge.
View full course information sheet
Literature: Wordsworth - 'Lyrical Ballads' with Dr Mark Crees
