Lyrical Ballads: With a Few Other Poems

Wordsworth and Coleridge's 'Lyrical Ballads' was revolutionary at the time of publication, and remains one of the most important volumes in the history of English Literature. The volume contains Coleridge's famous 'Ancient Mariner', as well as popular Wordsworth pieces such as 'Tintern Abbey' and 'Michael'. A first time reader may not quite understand what all the fuss us about, as some of Wordsworth's pieces can seem facile and at times banal, something contemporary critics savaged him for. To truly grasp the spirit of the volume the reader must take time to absorb Wordsworth's 'Advertisment' in which he outlines the 'experimental' nature of the volume, as a reaction against the the artificiality and 'innane phraseology' of the majority of popular poetry at the time. Wordsworth uses simple language to produce intimate sketches of ordinary people: a humble begger, an idiot boy, or the female vagrant, and he does so with great sensitivity and feeling, showing us that compassion and feeling of the simplest people makes them as worthy as any privileged man. No reader will soon forget the Lucy poems, in which the narrator recalls a girl he once loved, and mourns her tragic early death. Whether Lucy was ever a real person, let alone an object of Wordsworth's affection however is another matter. There are weak links in the collection such as 'Lines Written in Early Spring', which could be justifiably labelled 'namby-pamby' (a term Byron used to describe a certain type of Wordsworth poem). However, the most impressive piece in the whole collection must be Tintern Abbey, a poem which could never be labelled facile or 'namby pamby', it is a spiritual, philosophical, and profoundly moving poem rich with memorably powerful turns of phrase and an intoxicating pslamic quality. Tintern Abbey may very well sum-up Wordsworth's entire enterprise better than any other poem he penned. Study and understand 'Tintern Abbey' and you understand Wordsworth. As for Coleridge's 'Mariner', although it is an enchanting and strikingly original work, I share Wordsworth's assertion that it's character is somewhat at odds with the spirit of the collection. This edition is the finest you will find anywhere. It contains both the 1798 and 1800 editions, while including extensive supporting material. A real must-have for anyone interested in English Poetry.

Richey and Robinson have compiled an excellent edition of Wordsworth and Coleridge's seminal Romantic text. In addition to the complete poems from the first edition of Lyrical Ballads published, they also provide intriguing commentary and copious contextual material that really gives you an excellent idea of just how influential this book was when it was first published. Highly recommended for any serious reader of Romantic poetry.

This edition of LYRICAL BALLADS brings together both the 1798 edition (including the Advertisement that prefaced the work) and the 1800 edition (with the Preface that replaced the Advertisement) in one convenient volume. The editors, R.L. Brett and A.R. Jones, have included quite an extensive introduction, a nice bibliography, end notes to the poems, multiple appendices, and an index. It is the perfect volume to purchase if you are going to study the LYRICAL BALLADS, particularly the changes that occurred between their first and second printing. Most of my praise will go out to this edition, as the quality of the poetry contained in it is beyond question. This early work of both Coleridge and Wordsworth finds them at the height of their powers. For those less familiar with the LYRICAL BALLADS, I will mention some of my favorite poems in the work to give you a sense of what this volume contains: 1798 Edition - "Rime of the Ancyent Marinere," "We are seven," "Lines written in early spring," "The Thorn," "Expostulation and Reply," "The Tables Turned," "Tintern Abbey." 1800 Edition - "A slumber did my spirit seal," "Lucy Gray," "Nutting," "Michael." And now, to end this review, I shall leave you with a few lines from one of my favorite poems, one that addresses me as I spend long hours studying hard into the night to uncover the "truth" of the world: THE TABLES TURNED by William Wordsworth Up! Up! my friend, and clear your looks, Why all this toil and trouble? Up! Up! my friend, and quit your books, Or surely you'll grow double. ... Books! `tis a dull and endless strife, Come, hear the woodland linnet, How sweet his music; on my life There's more of wisdom in it. ... One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man; Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can. ... Enough of science and of art; Close up these barren leaves; Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives. (1-4; 9-12; 21-24; 29-32)

This volume contains one of the greatest collaborations in literary history. Coleridge wrote of the supernatural and distant, and Wordsworth of the everyday and near in Nature. Coleridge wrote his poetic masterwork ,

If you know of Wordsworth and Coleridge you might also know that they both, but Coleridge in particular, led quite stormy lives. Although this work is a representative of the not so stormy Romantic period, the poems seem to transgress from the ordinary quiet of that time in history. With "Rhyme of the ancient mariner" as the obvious headstone in the book one cannot help but feel that this is somewhat "different" lyricism. However, the two poets don't seem to be on the same mission with their work. Often the reader is pulled in different directions. Perhaps the slight confusion of this book is one of the things that has helped it survive, it is undoubtedly at the same time what justifies it and annoys the critical reader. Having said that it seem somewhat "irregular" I must add that the book contains some of the most beautiful scenery in romatic lyricism.