The Discovery of Dove Cottage
William Wordsworth, the renowned Romantic Poet of the 1800's, was on a walking tour in the Lake District in England with his friend, the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He discovered Grasmere and Dove Cottage and was immediately smitten with both the picturesque countryside and the cottage.
Within a few months he had moved into the cottage with his sister, Dorothy
The cottage, which was originally a public house had no running water, only a well. His daily life was plain but he believed his thinking was romantic.
His inheritance was £70 per annum but he was not a wealthy man.
The cottage had a dry pantry in which flour, salt and oats were stored. Fresh meat was housed in the buttery where it was kept cold for up to three weeks.
His study/sitting room was sparsely furnished, containing a chair for him to sit on whilst composing his poems. Mostly, he composed these in his head and then dictated them to his wife, Mary, to write down.
There was a guest bedroom , which was regularly inhabited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who lived twelve miles away in Keswick.
If you are lucky enough to visit Dove Cottage, then look at the children's room and take particular interest in the wallpaper which Mary used to cover the bare walls. The room was very cold so she used newspapers to try to insulate it. The Times newspaper 'wallpaper' dates around 1800's and makes interesting social comments, in particular, not to allow young persons to apply for teaching roles in an established ladies' school.
The Famous Poem
The setting was an inspiration to Wordsworth in his poetic writings and he wrote one of his famous poems, 'I wandered lonely as a Cloud', as a result of his observations on his frequent walks in the countryside.
His sister, Dorothy, was also a keen writer and kept regular journal entries. One such entry was on 15th April 1802 about her walk when she saw daffodils. She continued to walk and saw more and more of these beautiful flowers, growing among mossy stones. She wrote about the wind blowing on them, causing them to be tossed...and danced.
It is believed by many scholars that William Wordsworth used Dorothy's ideas two years after her journal entry to write his famous daffodil poem. However, he wrote the poem as a personal experience rather than one shared with his sister, [www.wordsworth.org.uk]
Travel
Wordsworth did manage to travel on the Continent as his fame increased. He spent three months in Italy and was honoured in France by being presented with a French passport.
Poet Laureate
In 1843, only seven years before his death, Wordsworth was given a Royal Warrant to be Poet Laureate.
He had been offered this prestigious position on two previous occasions but had refused Queen Victoria's offer on the grounds that he did not want to write on demand, only when he was inspired. Eventually, Queen Victoria agreed for him to write only for special events.
Sadly, in the following seven years before his death, there were no special events, so
William Wordsworth is the only Poet Laureate not to have written anything whilst in office!
But his romantic poetry has remained as his legacy for all of us to enjoy today!
Bibliography
www.wordsworth.org/history/index
Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum leaflet
Verbal information given during guided tour.
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