Preface to Lyrical Ballads

What might Wordsworth mean by “the gaudiness and inane phraseology of many modern writers” (2)? How, in his view, does his own poetry set itself apart from such work?

What might Wordsworth mean by his reference to the “triviality and meanness” (3) found in the poetry of some of his contemporaries who, like him, follow a Romanticist style of writing?

Wordsworth states that in his poems “the feeling […] gives importance to the action and situation, and not the action and situation to the feeling” (4). Why is feeling more important than action for Wordsworth?

Consider Wordsworth’s discussion of social problems on Page 5. Do any of these issues still apply today? Discuss in detail.

What qualities does the poet possess that make them different from other human beings? In what ways do those differences paradoxically bring poets closer to the rest of humanity?

What role does pleasure play in poetry and art? How is this “pleasure” different from the “craving for extraordinary incident” (5) that Wordsworth criticizes?

What are the differences and the similarities between the way a scientist and a poet, respectively, approach knowledge? Is the sensation of wonder more poetic than scientific? Why or why not?

What does Wordsworth mean by nature, and what relationship does it have to poetry?