ABSTRACT
The surprising phenomenon highlighted in the opening chapter of the book is the limitation of Wordsworth’s interest in religion to poetry alone. Overall, the picture that emerges from the reminiscences of the poet’s contemporaries—Coleridge, De Quincey, Hazlitt, Crabb Robinson, or those cited in Christopher Wordsworth’s Memoirs—coincides with the image of William Wordsworth that could be drawn on the basis of his poetry. That is, a dedicated professional focused on his art, regularly studying the works of his contemporaries and predecessors, knowing a lot of these same works by heart. A man of strong attachments; a patriot and a democrat. A lover of nature—and of men (the kindest of neighbours, the most devoted friend, a happy family man). Also, of course, a man of the remembrance of things past. In all these and other respects, the reminiscences of Wordsworth on the one hand and his poetry on the other converge. The interests and attitudes which impressed those who knew him harmonize with the interests and attitudes expressed in his work. There is only one area where this harmony is disrupted: the subject of religious faith, which is one of the most prevalent topics of Wordsworth the poet, while being almost totally absent from his talk.
