Dorothy Wordsworth and her influence on the life and work of William Wordsworth with particular emphasis on the Grasmere Journal 1800-1803

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature Works grade: 13 University of Würzburg course: First Generation Romantics: Blake Wordsworth and Coleridge language: English abstract: [...] Where'er my footsteps turnedHer voice was like a hidden bird that sang;The thought of her was like a flash of lightOr an unseen companionship a breathOr fragrance independent of the wind.With these words the poet laureate William Wordsworth describes the role ofhis sister Dorothy in his life (Wordsworth:738). Dorothy Wordsworth had neverintended to be published praised as a writer or seen as more than the lovingcompanion to the genius William. In 1799 William and Dorothy moved to Grasmereto live together in their little Dove Cottage. In 1800 Dorothy began to take down herobservations of nature the incidents happening in and around Grasmere and hereveryday life with her brother. For the next three years Dorothy proved her uniqueability of observing and describing her surroundings in nature precisely.In this seminar paper the importance of Dorothy Wordsworth's writing andits influence on the works of her famous brother will be examined. Following thispreface Dorothy's biographical background will be presented. The largest part of thepaper will be the examination of the importance of the Grasmere Journal for thecompositions of William Wordsworth followed by the fourth chapter which is aboutthe general influence Dorothy had on her brother. In the end a conclusion will sumup the findings. Due to the large number of findings in literary studies whichanalysed this topic the seminar paper will show just the major examples ofDorothy's influence on William and her role in his literary productions.