The Prelude

The Prelude is an autobiographical poem in blank verse by the English poet William Wordsworth.

The work is a poetic reflection on poetry itself in 14 books, published after Wordsworth's death in 1850, with this title suggested by Mary Wordsworth. The Prelude is by common consent the poet's greatest work; and it is astonishing that Wordsworth's fame in his lifetime as the architect of Romantic Conservatism was actually achieved without it.

It was intended to be followed by The Excursion, which Wordsworth left unfinished.

External link

http://www.bartleby.com/145/wordchrono.html