From Revolution to Revelation: Studies in Wordsworth's Poetry 1793-1798

Abstract

This thesis traces the development in Wordsworth's faith in the millennial possibilities of revolution from its origins in the enthusiasm for political change generated by the French Revolution to its culmination in the faith achieved through revelation, through the imagination. Dealing extensively with the poetry leading up to 'The Lyrical Ballads', this thesis examines the significant, evolving idea of revolution from a sense of the millennial possibilities inherent in outward political change in society to the discovery of the possibilities of a revolution arising from within man, through the imagination. Essentially, the imagination is seen to have both a political origin, and a political as well as spiritual and aesthetic function.