from CHAPTER 14
[LYRICAL BALLADS AND POETIC CONTROVERSY]

...the two cardinal points of poetry, the power of exciting the sympathy of the reader by faithful adherence to the truth of nature, and the power of giving the interest of novelty by the modifying colours of imagination. The sudden charm which accidents of light and shade, which moon-light or sun-set diffused over a known and familiar landscape, appeared to represent the practicability of combining both.

NOTES: Truth seems to be one of the preoccupations of the Romantic poets. In this sense, the truth of nature will always remain superior to poetry, which is an artifice. However, imagination is that aspect of poetry that provides another way of looking at nature so that what is ordinary and familiar can be seen anew.