Wordsworth and Coleridge: Lyrical Ballads, 1798

Rating:
Summary: A seminal work in English literature
Review: This collaboration between Wordsworth and Coleridge signaled the beginning of Romanticism in English poetry and announced all the important themes and techniques of the movement: the healing power of nature and art, the importance of "ordinary" man and woman, the pervasiveness of the supernatural in everday life, etc. The book also broke old rules by incorporating prosaic, common language in the poems.

Sometimes the poems are mawkish and strain for effect, but for the most part they are powerful and moving. Most famous of Coleridge's contributions, of course, is "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", with its admonition to respect ALL of God's creation. But even lovelier is "The Nightingale", a paen to the restorative power of art.

Wordsworth's most famous contribution is "Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey", but he also submits several excellent narrative poems with supernatural themes.