Lines by (and About) Wordsworth Quiz

Answer: Dove Cottage

Dove Cottage is the best known of Wordsworth's homes, as it was where most of his poetry was written. He moved there with his sister initially, and when he married Mary Hutchinson in 1802, the three of them lived together. The property became too small once William and Mary's children were born, and they moved out in 1808. Dove Cottage was then occupied by Thomas de Quincey, the author of 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater'.

The Wordsworth Trust acquired Dove Cottage and opened it to the public as early as 1891, preserved nearly as it was in Wordsworth's time. A museum devoted to his life and works was established nearby in 1943.

Answer: Tintern Abbey

The full title of the poem is 'Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey; on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13 1798', which is, unsurprisingly, normally referred to just as 'Tintern Abbey'. Wordsworth describes the natural beauty of the area, and tells the reader that it is five years since his first visit. He describes how the memory brings him solace, and the poem also includes one of his famous lines: 'the still, sad music of humanity'.

The sylvan Wye can also be seen from the castles at Goodrich and Chepstow, but Stonehenge is nowhere near, being on Salisbury Plain.

Answer: Robert Southey

Southey had been Poet Laureate since 1813, and the post was offered to Wordsworth when Southey died. Wordsworth was reluctant to accept the post as he felt he was too old (he was already aged seventy-three) but was persuaded by the Prime Minister, Robert Peel. Wordsworth produced no poetry during his tenure. Scott was offered the post before Southey, but declined it and Hardy was never Poet Laureate. Ben Johnson was Poet Laureate from 1616 until 1637.

Answer: Westminster Bridge

The sonnet describes the sight of London in the early morning, before the activities of the city begin. Once again, the full title is something of a mouthful, being 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge September 3 1802'. Wordsworth was travelling to France, with his sister, to visit the illegitimate daughter he had fathered with Annette Vallon.

The final two lines are 'Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!'.

Answer: False

Wordsworth is actually buried in the graveyard of St. Oswald's Church in Grasmere, in a plot which also has the graves of many other Wordsworth family members. There is a memorial to him in Poets' Corner, which does have the graves of many famous writers, beginning with that of Geoffrey Chaucer and including Robert Browning, Rudyard Kipling and Edmund Spenser, along with many, many others.

Answer: Lucy

Four of the poems appeared in 'Lyrical Ballads' in 1800, and they are all known by their first lines. The poems are 'Strange fits of passion have I known', 'She dwelt among the untrodden ways', 'I travelled among unknown men', 'Three years she grew in sun and shower' and 'A slumber did my spirit seal'. Wordsworth himself did not group them together and they were not treated as a series until he had died. Wordsworth gave no information about 'Lucy' or even if the same 'Lucy' was referred to in each poem. It is generally agreed that she was a focus, possibly fictitious, for his feelings, especially about early death.

The poem 'Lucy Gray', from 1799, is based on a real life incident, and is not considered part of the series, despite using the same first name.

Since The Beatles wrote about a Lucy, I used names from their songs for all the answer options.

Answer: C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis borrowed the title for his book, which was subtitled 'The Shape of My Early Life'. In it, he described his search for some meaning in life, which culminated in his becoming a Christian. It does not have any connection with his later marriage to Joy Davidman.

The full title of the Wordsworth poem is 'Surprised by Joy - Impatient as the Wind', and describes how the poet momentarily forgets that his daughter has died, and turns to her to share his pleasure in something he has seen.

Answer: Daffodils

The poem's title is 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud', from its first line, and describes Wordsworth's (and his sister's) feelings on seeing the daffodils next to the lake called Ullswater. His sister's contribution to the poem is not acknowledged, although Wordsworth did say that his wife, Mary, had provided two of the best lines in the poem: 'they flash upon that inward eye; which is the bliss of solitude'.

Answer: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

'Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems' is now credited as marking the start of the Romantic Age in English literature. Most of the poems were contributed by Wordsworth, with Coleridge supplying only four in the first edition. One of these was 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', so it was a memorable contribution. Wordsworth had met Coleridge in 1795 and the two men developed a close and lasting friendship. They lived near each other, and also travelled to Germany together, where Wordsworth wrote several of his poems.

Keats was born in 1795, Byron in 1788 and Browning in 1812, so none of them could have worked with Wordsworth at the time.

Answer: Dorothy

Dorothy is referred to as 'dear friend' and 'dear sister' in 'Tintern Abbey', and her writings in a journal provided a regular and useful source of material for her brother. William was born in April 1770 and Dorothy in December 1771. They were separated, when their father died, in 1783 being sent to different relatives to be raised. They met again in 1795, and lived together from then, as Dorothy remained single all her life. She wrote poetry herself, but had no wish for her work to be published, preferring to let her brother have the glory.

You may have recognised the other options as being the names of the Bronte sisters.