William Wordsworth Biography

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth in Cumberland, England, on April 7, 1770; William was the second of five children in a middle-class family. His father, John Wordsworth was a lawyer for the powerful Sir James Lowther. When William was eight years old his mother died and his family was split up, William went with his older brother Richard to Hawkshead Grammar School. At this point in William's life after his mother death his father was not a big part of his life. As a young boy with freedom he roamed the Lake District, and attend the Hawkshead School and got a great education. William's father died in 1783, leaving the five kids with no parents and no money.

William went off to St. John's College, Cambridge. He did not graduate with honors. In 1789 the French Revolution erupted William impregnated a woman by the name of Annette Vallon instead of joining the war he scurried back to the Lake District to secure an income and return to her, but he never did. In 1793 his first published work appeared: Descriptive Sketches and An Evening Walk. At this point in William's life he needed to find a way to get a steady income because his family was not going to help him. Living in the Lake District, Wordsworth had acquaintance that also lived in the Lake District, a man named Raisley Calvert who was very well off. William had been a good friend to Calvert, so when Calvert who was very sick died he left Wordsworth a bit of money to help William on his way.

William went back to London with a little money in his hand. Wordsworth became a disciple of the philosopher William Godwin. He lived a very idealistic, bohemian life, encountering and engaging with many of the most brilliant minds of the moment. While staying in London he met with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William got a chance to live in a small country cottage with his beloved sister, Dorothy, which is what she has always wanted to do. Then William and his sister moved to Racedown...