If there ever was a poet that served as a representative of the Romantic Period of literature, there’s no doubt that William Wordsworth’s poetry comes to mind. His understanding of Nature continues to remain unparalleled and which is something that Coleridge himself acknowledges in his poem, To William Wordsworth, where he expresses his admiration for the latter by calling him “friend of the wise” and “teacher of the good” (Coleridge).
Without a doubt, Coleridge and Wordsworth spent time writing poetry that is now considered to be the beginning of the Romantic Age, where poets took inspiration from Mother Nature after the lack of inspiring poetry for over a century. It was something that not only Coleridge and Wordsworth felt but Blake as well. However, given that both Wordsworth and Coleridge’s collaboration in the form of Lyrical Ballads spawned the movement that we now know as the Romantic Period and whose influences are seen in poetry written by Byron, Keats and Shelley as well (Beer and Mutter).
As we read the poem, To William Wordsworth, it is clear that Coleridge looked up to Wordsworth while using imagery such as stars, sea, darkness, storms, flowers, moon, mountain-streams in his description of Wordsworth and that are clearly metaphorical in nature. What is also clear is that he treasured his friendship with Wordsworth and which is why he shows great affection for his life and work while placing little or no value for his own. This poem, is also in response to Wordsworth’s Last Prelude, and that he refers to as that “prophetic lay” (Coleridge).
In closing, given how influential Wordsworth’s work was in ushering the Romantic Period, one can’t help but agree with Coleridge as to the work of Wordsworth being one of a kind and worth of admiration.
Works Cited
Coleridge, Samuel T. "To William Wordsworth." Poem Hunter Website. n.d. Web. 9 January 2017. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-william-wordsworth/>
Beer, John B. and Mutter, Reginald. “The Romantic Period.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. n.d. Web. 9 January 2017. <https://www.britannica.com/art/English-literature/The-Romantic-period/>
