Filmed at the major locations of the poet’s life, this program traces Wordsworth’s development by focusing on his famous "spots of time," touchstones of place and experience immortalized in his autobiographical poem, The Prelude. Along with readings and dramatizations of works, key ideas in Wordsworth’s poetry are analyzed in the context of 18th-century thought by such leading scholars as Professor James Butler of La Salle University, Pamela Woof of the University of Newcastle, and Nigel Leask of Queen’s College, Cambridge. Pictures and manuscripts owned by the Wordsworth Trust at Dove Cottage complement a wealth of primary archival material. A 10-minute coda explores the relevance of Wordsworth’s poetry today. (57 minutes)