Which English Romantic poet was appointed Poet Laureate in 1843?

William Wordsworth was the English Romantic poet appointed Poet Laureate in 1843.

Wordsworth succeeded Robert Southey as Poet Laureate on 6 April 1843, during Queen Victoria’s reign. He held the position until his death on 23 April 1850, after which Alfred, Lord Tennyson became laureate. Wordsworth was already one of Britain’s most celebrated poets by the time of his appointment.

Together with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wordsworth helped launch English Romanticism through Lyrical Ballads, first published in 1798. The collection challenged highly formal eighteenth-century poetic language and found profound meaning in ordinary people, rural life, childhood, memory, and the natural world.

A common mix-up is Coleridge, Wordsworth’s collaborator and fellow Lake Poet. Coleridge was never Poet Laureate. John Dryden held the office much earlier, from 1668 to 1689, while Tennyson succeeded Wordsworth and served from 1850 until 1892. Wordsworth’s laureateship is notable because he wrote little new official verse for the role.