The Prelude
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.
Which Prelude? The 1805 and 1850 versions differ enough to matter, and the older Wordsworth revised his younger radicalism into respectability, so your edition choice is a genuine commitment. Inside, the egotism is structural: book after book of blank verse on the growth of the poet's own mind, and the France sections sag once revolution turns to disappointment. The spots of time are rare by design.
The case for it and the rest of the canon open with Pro.
