This book seeks to study the mind of a poet specifically by picking William Wordsworth as a case study. The reason for signaling out Wordsworth as the person in whom to study the mind of a poet is that The Prelude reveals with unusual fullness a mind that is fundamentally poetic. Even its peculiarities its numerous limitations and its unusual emphases are in the main those of a poet. Besides poetrynot as with many other writers religious or social problems humanitarianism science politics economics metaphysics or literary criticismwas the chief concern of his creative years. Further the sheer amount of verse criticism letters and journals Wordsworth produced makes him an excellent choice for a study of this kind.