In William Wordsworth, John Williams provides a detailed account of
Wordsworth's evolution as a poet. This includes his earliest known
writing while a pupil at Hawkshead Grammar School, and his later poetry,
often virtually ignored by critics. Wordsworth's ambivalent attitude
towards seeking out a public readership beyond his immediate circle of
friends and admirers is a central concern of the book. This involves an
assessment of the poet's shifting sense of his political allegiances
alongside the pressures of personal relationships and circumstances.