The main features of Wordsworth's "Preface" to Lyrical Ballads?

The main features of William Wordsworth's "Preface" to Lyrical Ballads include an emphasis on exalting the common person, the use of simple language, a focus on nature as an expression of the divine, and a conviction that poetry should be lyrical or emotional, expressing "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings ...recollected in tranquility."

Wordsworth's "Preface" represents a radical break with eighteenth century neoclassical poetry. Such poetry emphasized the deeds of great men and allusions to works of classical antiquity. Instead of that, Wordsworth proposed that poetry focus on depicting the ordinary person—poor, obscure, and laboring—in the most positive light possible (in other words, it should "romanticize" such as individuals). While commonplace today, the idea of exalting the everyday person, usually either ignored or represented as a "clown" in literature, was then an unusual concept.

Wordsworth, in his "Preface," also argued in favor of using simple language that would be easily accessible to all people. He envisioned the poet in Miltonian terms as one who adds God's ways to people. Wordsworth envisioned the poet as a kind of priest, a mediator with a special gift of translation or interpretation from God. This led him to focus on nature, which in Wordsworth's view was expressive of divine power, and to emphasize supernatural and folk stories that were not often represented in poetry at the time.

The "Preface" also emphasized the importance of the lyrical or emotional. Instead of poems celebrating great events, poetry, in Wordsworth's mind, should primarily be a matter of conveying emotions. He famously said that poetry is:

The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.

He spends some time talking about the nature and character of the Poe. He describes the Poet as "a man talking to men" but says he has certain special gifts and abilities—"a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul" than most men. He compares the Poet's art and specialized knowledge with that of lawyers, scientists, and other specialists. While he admits that some of a Poet's art is dependent on technical skill, this is a necessary rather than sufficient condition.

Wordsworth defends poetry, writes of the pleasure of meter, and explains his own decision to write in this particular genre. He offers his own celebrated definition of poetry: "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."

I think that one of the main features of Wordsworth's introduction is that it expresses his main ideas about the nature and structure of poetry.

This consists of the analysis of three specific features of the poetic structure, which he believes constitute the essence of the romantic belief.

The theme of the poem is one of those qualities. Wordsworth notes that the idea of rural life, the simplicity of nature, is important.

Here the poem must emphasize its power. Wordsworth believes that the poem speaks to the main idea of expressing the joy of life, enjoying what one sees every day. Wordsworth demonstrates in it the nature of the emotional connection that is part of the poetic experience. The belief that poetry is a "spontaneous expression of emotion" is important.

Poetry should be considered a form of expression in which the poet's feelings guide the research and presentation of the subject.

In both, Wordsworth suggests that poetry can capture the reader's imagination. This is the third feature of the introduction, which clearly indicates that there is an emotional and mental experience in the poem, the purpose of which is to connect both areas. Poetry is a source of unity in a world of disunity and division, and is one of the central pillars of romanticism.