Dorothy Wordsworth

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Dorothy Wordsworth

• Journals

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Background

• Born in 1771 in the Lake District
• Lived with her four brothers until 1778 when her
  mother died
• The boys were sent to school and Dorothy to live
  with a series of distant relatives
• Reunited with William in 1787 of her life living
  In 1799 moved to Grasmere where she remained with
  Wordsworth until his death
• When Wordsworth married, Dorothy stayed in the
  house
• She was Wordsworths companion, encourager,
  secretary, and transcriber of his drafts.
• In 1829 she was stricken with first of a series
  of devastating illnesses
• By 1835 it was clear her temperament and mental
  activity were also afflicted
• She lived an invalid half-life for twenty years,
  cared for by her brother

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Images of Dorothy
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Dove Cottage
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Journals

• Record of goings on of life
• Cover period when Wordsworth and Coleridge
  emerged as major poets
• Sketches of natural beauty
• Provided Wordsworth with materials for his poetry
• The world of man and nature
• Moods of the season
• A poet in prose
• Dorothy is Wordsworths memory

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Daffodils