The Waggoner, a William Wordsworth Poem

William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) was an English Romantic poet. The Waggoner is a poetic tale about a character named Benjamin, involving a trip across the Lake District, misbehaving animals, drunkenness and a pub. It is folksy and fanciful, and a delight to read. The poem was written, probably as a reaction to a stressful period of Wordsworth's life as a means of escapism and was dedicated to his friend, the writer Charles Lamb. The Waggoner was written in 1806, and finally completed after several revisions in 1819. William Wordsworth was Britain's poet laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850. He initially refused to accept this honour, citing that he was too old, but the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, assured him that nothing would be required of him. He therefore became the only poet laureate to write no official verses while holding the title.