Introduction to Dorothy’s Grasmere Journal
Dorothy Wordsworth wrote a journal in Grasmere between 1800 and 1803. In it she records her and William’s life in Dove Cottage, their home. She also writes about the natural …
Course: William Wordsworth: Poetry, People and Place
‘Home at Grasmere’: reading
These extracts are from Wordsworth’s unpublished poem ‘Home at Grasmere’ lines 218-236 and 256-269. The poem describes Wordsworth’s joy at finding a true home at last as well as his …
The Christmas Eve Letter: reading
The Christmas Eve letter is a letter written by the Wordsworths to Coleridge on first arriving in their new home, Dove Cottage (24 December, 1799). As you listen, think about …
The Wordsworths and Letter Writing
In this short film, Professor Sharon Ruston speaks to Jeff Cowton MBE, Curator of the Wordsworth Trust, about the importance of letter writing to Dorothy and William Wordsworth. They look …
Introduction
Watch this film, in which Professor Simon Bainbridge introduces the key issues we’ll be covering in this final week of the course. We’ll be particularly focusing on the Wordsworths’ decision …
Working with Manuscripts: ‘Michael’
In this video Professor Sally Bushell looks at some of the manuscripts for ‘Michael’ held at The Jerwood Centre. She talks about the context for the poem, looking closely at …
Wordsworth at the Sheepfold
In this video Professors Simon Bainbridge and Sally Bushell talk about the context for the writing of ‘Michael’. Sally describes Wordsworth’s difficulty in writing it as well as the way …
Cross-written Manuscripts
MS R (DC MS 30) is a manuscript that contains work for ‘Michael’ and ‘Home at Grasmere’ written over across and around a printed copy of Coleridge’s Poems (1796). The …
The Sheepfold in ‘Michael’: Reading
In the previous video you have learnt a little about the use of symbols in poetry, particularly in relation to the central object/image of the sheepfold. Now listen to Professor …
The Sheepfold in ‘Michael’
In this video, Professors Simon Bainbridge and Sally Bushell walk further up the valley of Greenhead Gill to find a sheepfold. They discuss the significance of the sheepfold as a …
Michael and the land
We hope you enjoyed the discussion of ‘Michael’ in the setting of Greenhead Gill and now have some idea of what the poem is about. Next, listen to these passages …
‘Michael’ and Place
In this video Professors Simon Bainbridge and Sally Bushell discuss Wordsworth’s longer poem, ‘Michael’, first published in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads, 1800. Simon and Sally go to a …
Personal Place Creative Task
This creative task is about engaging with, and sharing, your responses to a particular site that has meaning for you. Personal Place Creative Task Choose a place, preferably somewhere outdoors, …
The Goslar Letter
Watch this video in which Jeff Cowton MBE shows Professor Simon Bainbridge one of the Wordsworth Trust’s treasures, the ‘Goslar Letter’. This letter, a joint production from William and Dorothy …
Make Your Own Goslar Letter
Have a go at the first task. If you enjoy it, you can try tasks 2 and 3 as well. You can download the materials you need for these tasks …