Biography dorothy wordsworth alfoxden

Posted on March 7, 2022 by rebeccar

Dorothy Wordsworth in Somerset

In 1797-8 West Somerset and the Quantock Hills became the backdrop for the blossoming of early Romantic poetry. This International Women’s Day (March 8) we celebrate the central role played by Dorothy Wordsworth during this extraordinary moment in English literary history.

In July 1797 Dorothy moved with her brother William to Alfoxden, a large country house near Holford. The Wordsworths were drawn to Somerset because of the strong bond they had developed with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He had recently taken up residence, with his wife Sara and infant son Hartley, at a run-down cottage in Nether Stowey, about three miles from Alfoxden.

Dorothy, William and Coleridge were enthralled by one another, and their intense friendship led them to spend almost every day together. The high mutual regard shared by Dorothy and Coleridge is reflected in their descriptions of one another. Coleridge wrote of being in Dorothy’s presence:

‘Wordsworth and his exquisite sister are with me – She is a woman indeed! – in mind, I mean, and heart.’

Dorothy’s description of Coleridge demonstrates the equally strong impression he made on her:

‘His conversation teems with soul, mind and spirit. He is so benevolent, so good tempered and cheerful.’

Dorothy’s relationship with her brother William was one of warm protection. She believed in his ability as a poet, and helped provide sustenance for his writings, both through her journal writing and through the conversations they shared during walks over the Quantock Hills.

The journal Dorothy kept during her time at Alfoxden provides an invaluable glimpse into her day-to-day life. It shows the central place that walking had in Dorothy’s life, and how it shaped her experience of the landscape around her. At the end of the 1700s walking for pleasure was still unusual, particularly for women, and can be viewed in retrospect as something of a radical act.

One journ

For the poet, daughter of William Wordsworth, see Dora Wordsworth.

English author, poet and diarist

Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings.

Early life and education

Dorothy Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland on December 25, 1771. She was the sister of English Romantic poet William Wordsworth and the third of five children born to Ann Cookson and John Wordsworth. Following the death of her mother in 1778, Dorothy was sent alone to live with her second cousin, Elizabeth Threlkeld, in Halifax, West Yorkshire until 1787. During this period, Dorothy attended boarding school at Hipperholme before transferring to a day-school in Halifax.

In 1787, Dorothy moved to her grandparents' house in Penrith, re-establishing contact with her siblings after a nine-year separation. She moved to Forncett parish in Norfolk in 1788 with her recently wedded uncle and his wife, where she remained for six years. Dorothy dedicated her time to domestic duties and corresponded regularly to her brother William and her childhood friend, Jane Pollard. In a letter to Jane, Dorothy mentioned starting a small school consisting of nine local girls. William spent six weeks in Forncett at the end of 1790, during which time the Wordsworth siblings began their enduring practice of undertaking long walks together. Dorothy and William maintained a close bond throughout their lives.

In 1794, Dorothy was reunited with William after a three-year separation. The siblings resided at Old Windebrowe cottage for a period of two months. They later relocated to Racedown Lodge in Dorset, where they r

Biography

Dorothy Wordsworth was the middle child of five, with two older brothers including William Wordsworth and two younger brothers. Her mother died when she was six, her father when she was twelve. Separated from her brothers, Wordsworth lived in the care of relatives, then worked caring for their children when she was older. After years of seeing her brothers only on holidays, when in her early twenties Wordsworth moved to Alfoxden with William. Here she kept a journal of their activities, including their frequent meetings with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, then living with his wife and child at nearby Nether Stowey.

As an unmarried woman, Wordsworth was dependent upon her brother and lived with him even after he married and had his own family. In later life, she became ill, both physically and mentally, and probably addicted to laudanum.

Journals

In 1798, while William Wordsworth and Coleridge prepared to publish Lyrical Ballads, the volume that would herald the Romantic age in British literature, Dorothy Wordsworth began her Alfoxden journal. Although many of her entries contain only simple notes about daily activities—having dinner, hanging linen—some passages include vivid natural description and commentary on the essence of nature that mirrors Romantic philosophy. Her entry for April 15, for example, voic