January 2008
- Explore the sympathy for human suffering as presented in Lyrical Ballads. In your answer you should refer to at least three poems.
- How do these poems reveal beliefs about the power of nature? In your answer you should refer to at least three poems.
Sample Questions
- Using this extract as a starting point, consider the ways Wordsworth describes nature’s interaction with the imagination.
- How effectively does Wordsworth express his disgust at what is happening in his society?
- How do Wordsworth & Coleridge portray their ideal world in the Lyrical Ballads?
- How does Lyrical Ballads expose social issues at the end of the eighteenth century?
- How far do you think it is appropriate to say that Lyrical Ballads are a collection of popular stories?
- What have you learned of Coleridge’s attitude towards life in his poems from this collection?
- How does Wordsworth convey his ideas in a different manner to Coleridge?
- How effectively does Wordsworth convey his conflicting emotions about social changes which were ongoing?
- How is Wordsworth’s religious views reflected in Lyrical Ballads?
- How are the Lyrical Ballads influenced by the spate of revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century?
- “Although his narrative poems are ostensibly concerning minor poor characters, the poems are dominated by the personality of Wordsworth himself.” How far do you accept this view of Lyrical Ballads?
- How far can this poem be seen as a commentary on the deceit and corruption of nineteenth century society?
- What features of subject matter and style earn these poets the right to be called ‘Romantic’?
- How do the poets present the difficulties and struggles faced by women of their time?
- How do the poets show their respect and admiration for contemporaries who endure poverty or misfortune in their lives? In your answer, refer to the themes of three or four poems.
- How do the poets reveal a belief that God works through Nature? Refer to the themes and style of three or four poems from Lyrical Ballads.
- How does Wordsworth present his ideas on the ideal of childhood? In your answer, write about the themes, tone and style of not more than five poems. Refer to three or four poems.
- What features of subject matter and style have you found in the Lyrical Ballads to show that Coleridge may be described as a Romantic poet?
- Considering both of the authors of Lyrical Ballads, what differences have you found in both the content and style of their poems?
- How do the poets variously show their thoughts and feelings about the radical political and social changes taking place in their time?
- How does Wordsworth express his enthusiasm for Nature as a force of personal liberation? In your answer, you should refer to the extract below and to three or four other poems.
- It is said that the Romantic poets celebrated “the exuberant sense of life of the natural human being”. With reference to four or more poems in the collection, show how the authors demonstrate this characteristic not only in the experiences described but in the language used.
- How do the poets present their views in Lyrical Ballads on relationships between parents and children?
- How do both poets use simple tales to explore the complex and revolutionary ideas of the time?
- Allegory is a device used by many of the poems. With reference to four or more poems in the collection, show how the authors employ this device effectively.
- How does the poetry of the Lyrical Ballads relate to the past?
- What is a particular conception of “the imagination” so important to the poets of Lyrical Ballads?
- What does Nature represent for the poets of Lyrical Ballads? With reference to four or more poems in the collection, show how the authors demonstrate the central importance of nature.
- “Mankind is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.” How does Rousseau’s point underlie much of the poetry in this collection?
