Lyrical Ballads was a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It was published in 1798, and it is sometimes considered to have marked the beginning of English romanticism. In the Preface to this book, the authors criticize those that are too reliant on traditional aspects of poetry. Instead, the authors want to focus on the experience of the common man, mostly the rural one. They argue that for poetry to convey a powerful feeling, clear lines and ideas are key.
