Neither Wordsworth nor his publisher Longman could have predicted the surge of negative publicity that erupted from the review culture, the reading public, contemporary authors and parodists over the publication of his 1807 Poems, in Two Volumes. Before the 1807 volumes, Wordsworth's four editions of Lyrical Ballads had received more positive than negative reviews, his poetry was discussed frequently by reviewing critics and his brand of poetry was slowly becoming a recognizable literary commodity. To Wordsworth and his publisher, the reading public seemed primed for a new and original edition of his poems. The 1807 volumes, however, neither achieved the market share, nor received the kind of sympathetic readings that Wordsworth expected. As sales languished, reviewers criticized his new poems for four related reasons.

First, many reviewers wondered why Wordsworth had not introduced the 1807 Poems with a preface that explained the poetic principles and purpose governing his poems.