Lake Poets facts for kids
The Lake Poets were a group of English poets who lived in the beautiful Lake District area of England during the first half of the 1800s. They didn't all follow the same ideas or writing styles. They were given their name by a magazine called the Edinburgh Review, which wasn't always kind about them. However, they are now seen as an important part of the Romantic Movement in poetry.
The three most famous poets in this group were William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey. Many other writers and poets were also connected to them, including Dorothy Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, Charles Lloyd, Hartley Coleridge, John Wilson, and Thomas De Quincey.
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The Lake Poets
What's in a Name?
The name "Lake Poet School" was first used to make fun of them. Some people called them "the School of whining and hypochondriacal poets that haunt the Lakes." It wasn't really a "school" because they didn't all write in the same way or have the same ideas. Also, not all of them were from the Lake District, even though they lived there.
The main poets in this group were William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey. Dorothy Wordsworth, William's sister, was also very important. She didn't publish her own work during her lifetime, but her journals and letters helped inspire her brother's poems.
William Wordsworth's Connection
For William Wordsworth, the Lake District became a huge part of who he was as a poet. He grew up near the Lake District and moved back there in 1799, settling at Dove Cottage in Grasmere with his sister Dorothy. He saw this as a special place for his poetry.
Wordsworth didn't "discover" the Lake District, but his poems made many people want to visit. His way of seeing the landscape also had a lasting impact. He wasn't just a "nature poet." His poems explored the deep connection between people and the natural world. He believed that nature should not be changed just to make art.
Wordsworth had some new ideas for poetry:
- He used "plain language" that everyday people could understand.
- He wrote about "common people" like the Dales-folk, instead of just kings or gods.
- He wrote about his own thoughts and feelings, especially in his long poem The Prelude. He called it "the poem on the growth of my own mind."
Even though Wordsworth liked quiet time, he cared a lot about family and community. He worried about how changes in society, like the enclosure movement (which changed how land was used), affected poor people. He didn't like changes that went against nature, such as planting trees in straight lines, the arrival of railways, or new buildings that didn't fit the local style. He especially disliked grand houses built by rich factory owners in the Lakes.
In 1810, he published his Guide to the Lakes. This guide was for both tourists and people who lived there. It even had a section about how to prevent bad changes to the area. This guide became very popular and helped shape how people built and gardened in the Lake District for many years.
Other Important Poets
For other writers, the Lake District was a bit more complicated. Coleridge moved to Greta Hall in 1800 to be near Wordsworth. Even though people called him a "Lake Poet," Coleridge saw the landscape differently. He found "Gothic elements" in it, which made him think of scary stories rather than comfort. Wordsworth didn't include one of Coleridge's poems, Christabel, in their collection Lyrical Ballads. This, along with his personal problems and poor health, made him feel worse. Coleridge left the area in 1804.
Robert Southey lived at Greta Hall from 1803 to 1843, becoming known as a central "Lake Poet." However, he mostly wrote prose (like stories and essays) and didn't always share Wordsworth's views of the Lakes. Southey's political ideas changed over time. He started with more revolutionary ideas but later became a strong supporter of his country, seeing the Lakes as a symbol of the nation.
Writers Who Visited the Lakes
Many second-generation Romantic poets were drawn to the Lake District. They expected a quiet, peaceful place and thought the older poets had radical political views. But they often found a different reality.
Shelley lived in Keswick for three months in 1811. He had read Southey's early poems about "liberty and equality." But when he arrived, he found Southey's views had changed, and the Lakes were being spoiled by factories.
Keats visited in the summer of 1818 and felt similarly to Shelley. He found his hero Wordsworth's house full of fashionable people, and Wordsworth himself was busy campaigning for a local politician. Keats then moved on to Scotland, where he found the inspiration he was looking for.
Byron never visited the Lakes, but he made fun of the older Lake Poets for being isolated and for changing their political ideas.
John Wilson offered a different view of a Lake Poet. He lived near Windermere from 1808 to 1815 and knew the main Lake Poets well. His poetry showed a more active response to the Lakes. He loved walking and climbing and emphasized friendship and energy, unlike Wordsworth's focus on quiet and being alone.
Wilson knew both Harriet Martineau and Thomas De Quincey. Martineau moved to a house near Ambleside in 1845. She focused on how the Lakes needed to be better connected to the outside world. For example, she supported better sanitation and new railways, unlike her friend Wordsworth. Her guide to the Lakes (1855) was very factual and clear about the area and its people.
De Quincey moved into Dove Cottage in 1809. He had met Wordsworth a few times before. De Quincey admired Wordsworth greatly, but their relationship changed after De Quincey married a local girl and the Wordsworths refused to meet her. De Quincey then spent more time with the local dalesfolk and got to know them very well. He used the real world of the Lakes to inspire his dreams and imagination.
More Writers Inspired by the Lakes
The beauty of the Lake District has inspired many other writers over the years, beyond the main Lake Poets. These include their friends Bryan Procter, Felicia Hemans, and Walter Scott. Later writers like John Close, who wrote for the growing number of tourists, were also inspired. Other poets include James Payn, Margaret Cropper, and Norman Nicholson.
In 1871, John Ruskin decided to settle at Brantwood, a house overlooking Coniston Water, after visiting the Lakes many times. He was tired and looking for a peaceful escape. This feeling of weariness and hope for rest resonated with many visitors to the Lakes. Ruskin didn't write much about the area, but he became seen as the "new Sage of the Lakes," much like Wordsworth had been. He studied the rocks and water of the Lakes in a scientific way, trying to teach people how to appreciate them in a practical and moral sense.
Sources
- De Quincey, Thomas. Recollections of the Lakes and the Lake Poets. Edited by David Wright; New York, Penguin, 1970.
