The second prominent feature of Wordsworth’s poetry is its preoccupation with emotion, and in particular what Wordsworth called “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings from emotions recollected in tranquility.” This sort of recollection of emotions in a state of tranquility was, for Wordsworth, the very definition of poetry. From this perspective his work can be seen for what it was in its time: a refreshingly straight-forward style of poetry that harks back to much earlier English poetic style, but unlike, for instance, the poetry of Milton, still manages to remain musically pleasant and prosaically clear. Viewed in this light, Wordsworth’s verse uses relatively direct phrasings, uncomplicated syntax, and few allusions. To properly understand what Wordsworth means-and the revolutionary nature of his work in comparison to the poetry of his time-one must consider the poetic conventions immediately prior to Romanticism specifically, the classical and highly ornate poetry of eighteenth century poets such as Alexander Pope. There is, first and foremost, the use of what Wordsworth calls “the language really used by men.” Contemporaneous readers might beg to differ, as Wordsworth’s diction little resembles the guttural, uneducated jargon of farmers and country folk whom Wordsworth praises so highly. Wordsworth’s poetry is characterized by two cardinal features that he explicitly outlines in his preface to the Lyrical Ballads.

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