The first great autobiographical poem in English. Wordsworth's account of the "growth of a poet's mind" traces his childhood in the Lake District, his experiences in revolutionary France, and the way specific memories ("spots of time") shape and sustain the imagination. It invented the idea that a poet's inner life is inherently interesting, and that the development of consciousness is worthy of epic treatment.

The case for it, the case against, and the rest of the canon open with Pro.