Virgil Horace etc They also took Aristotle's Poetics as a guide to what should or should not be done in writing They are followed by reason Judgment allusion and discipline William Wordsworth came to light at the time with a new conception which freed the imagination from the chain of reason and rules of th-century literature As he exposed his new theory at first in the preface to the Lyrical Ballads the claim that it is the manifesto of the English Romantic Movement is justified A New Definition of Poetry In Preface to the Lyrical Ballads William Wordsworth as a precursor of the Romantic Movement sketches a new definition of poetry which becomes the first propaganda of Romanticism He says it is not mere imitation but a creation with the help of imagination Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings it takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquility This definition based on personal emotion is the fundamental principle of English Romanticism However neoclassics always neglected individual emotion Romantic Characteristics of a Poet Wordsworth's concept of a poet is more romantic which is enough to make the Preface a vivid manifesto of the English Romantic Movement Dominated by the powerful passion of Romanticism Wordsworth has put some questions What is meant by the word poet What is a poet To whom does he address himself And what language is to be expected from him In the next lines he disclosed his questions He is a man speaking to men who has a greater knowledge of human nature Thus Wordsworth nicely decorated the qualifications and functions of a romantic poet in his preface to the lyrical ballads Language of Common Men Wordsworth directly attacks the conventional tradition of the language of poetry To him language for poetry should be the real language of men So he affirms that poetry is a selection of the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation By denying contemporary literary theory he has adopted the language of humble and rustic people He has chosen this language because humble people live near nature Reaction Against Set Poetic Diction The traditional poetic diction of the eighteenth century is strongly attacked in the Preface Simplicity became the watchword The personification of abstract ideas is firmly disregarded in favor of straightforward language According to Wordsworth Assuredly such personifications do not make any natural or regular part of that language The romantic idea also certainly assures us that the Preface can be regarded as the manifesto of the Romantic Movement To conclude The Preface to Lyrical Ballads outlines the aims and features of poetry by emphasizing its language purpose and function It thus serves as a key manifesto of the English Romantic Movement So the Preface by Wordsworth is a landmark or milestone in the history of literary criticism