The correct answer is 2 (1800) because the Preface to Lyrical Ballads was first included in the second edition of the work, which was published in 1800.
Here's a brief overview for context:
1798: The first edition of Lyrical Ballads was published by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, but it did not include the famous Preface.
1800: The second edition was published, and it is in this edition that Wordsworth added the Preface, which laid out his views on poetry, his philosophy of poetic language, and his goals for Lyrical Ballads.
1802 and 1804: These editions had further revisions, but the Preface had already been introduced in 1800.
The Preface is significant because it is considered a foundational text for the English Romantic movement, where Wordsworth articulated his ideas about poetry’s purpose and form, moving away from the highly stylized, artificial poetic conventions of the 18th century.
Year-wise PYQs
