Preface to Lyrical Ballads

Wordsworth suggests that “by the act of writing in verse an Author makes a formal engagement that he will gratify certain known habits of association” (2). In what respect does he believe his poems may confound the expectations of his readers?

What might Wordsworth mean by “the gaudiness and inane phraseology of many modern writers” (2)? How, in his view, does his own poetry set itself apart from such work?

What might Wordsworth mean by his reference to the “triviality and meanness” (3) found in the poetry of some of his contemporaries who, like him, follow a Romanticist style of writing?