El preludio

The work of William Wordsworth (1770–1850) ranks among the most influential in the history of Western poetry. A prolific writer with a long career, at the age of twenty-eight he published—alongside S. T. Coleridge—the famous *Lyrical Ballads*, regarded as the manifesto of English Romanticism. He went on to produce an extensive body of work that led to his appointment as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and saw him explore fundamental themes of modern literature, ranging from a deep examination of subjectivity to the exaltation of nature as both source and model for humanity. *The Prelude*—presented here in a new, complete translation by the poet and philologist José Luis Rey—stands as his magnum opus and his greatest contribution to poetry. Conceived as an expansive, autobiographical "river-poem," it celebrates humanity's conscious existence in a world teeming with riches and mysteries, yet also fraught with doubts and disquiet that must inevitably be confronted. Likely aware of its significance, Wordsworth devoted his life to composing *The Prelude*, never releasing it beyond his inner circle; it was finally published after the poet's death in 1850.