the dialectics of romanticism and neoclassicism in william wordsworth’s preface to lyrical ballads

what is called romanticism in english literature is often a reaction to the neoclassic literature. it is generally accepted that romantic school of poetry begins with the revolutionary manifesto of william wordsworth’s preface to lyrical ballads. the present paper intends to give a minute scrutiny to wordsworth’s preface so as to come up with the idea that there is a dialectics or a chain of contradictions, especially in its hegelian sense, in its assumptions. indeed, it is this dialectics inherent in wordsworth’s preface which this paper is going to reveal. in doing so, the researcher will analyze the preface in relation to his revolutionary poems. moreover, the paper will compare and contrast these poems with the poetry of the last quarter of the eighteenth century to observe to what extent wordsworth’s preface was revolutionary.