The Language of Man

In Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads, he is extremely passionate about writing his poetry in the "language of man". He says: "I have proposed to myself to imitate, and, as far is possible, to adopt the very language of men; and assuredly such personifications do not make any natural or regular part of that language." He is saying that the use of uneccessary measures to elevate the style of poetry can make the poetry unreadable and unrealistic. The more realistic and down to earth his poetry is, the better that the general populous can understand it and relate to it. His goal in writing this poetry was to entertain and draw the inner soul of man into his works by creating a new form a poetry. This form of poetry was not focused so much on being regarded as a highly sophisticated, purely artistic work, but was instead created to relate to the most readers possible by "speaking their language". Thus a new form of poetry was born.