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: 1,3, University of Würzburg, course: First Generation Romantics: Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge, language: English, abstract: '[...] Where'er my footsteps turned, Her voice was like a hidden bird that sang; The thought of her was like a flash of light Or an unseen companionship, a breath Or fragrance independent of the wind.' With these words the poet laureate William Wordsworth describes the role of his sister Dorothy in his life (Wordsworth:738). Dorothy Wordsworth had never intended to be published, praised as a writer or seen as more than the loving companion to the genius William. In 1799, William and Dorothy moved to Grasmere to live together in their little Dove Cottage. In 1800, Dorothy began to take down her observations of nature, the incidents happening in and around Grasmere and her everyday life with her brother. For the next three years, Dorothy proved her unique ability of observing and describing her surroundings in nature precisely. In this seminar paper, the importance of Dorothy Wordsworth's writing and its influence on the works of her famous brother will be examined. Following this preface, Dorothy's biographical background will be presented. The largest part of the paper will be the examination of the importance of the Grasmere Journal for the compositions of William Wordsworth, followed by the fourth chapter, which is about the general influence Dorothy had on her brother. In the end, a conclusion will sum up the findings. Due to the large number of findings in literary studies, which analysed this topic, the seminar paper will show just the major examples of Dorothy's influence on William and her role in his literary productions.