What distinguished the English Romantic poets?

The English Romantic poets were distinguished by a naturalness of style hitherto unknown in the classically pure, rigidly formulated work of the Enlightenment authors. Difficult as it is for us to comprehend now, when his language appears stilted, even flowery, to the modern ear, Wordsworth’s earliest poems were considered radical inspirations to a whole generation.
   In fact, to write a simple poem about seeing daffodils was a thing unheard of in the lofty ranks of England’s serious poets of the time. Wordsworth’s focus on a common experience, remembered and related without recourse to hyperbole, immediately set him apart from the rest. He was followed of course by Coleridge, then Shelly and Byron, and finally Keats--the latter three of whom were to make fun of their hero as he became more famous, more respectable, and finally more labored in his verse.
   Still, Wordsworth’s contributions freed his successors forever from the need to create in labored language on subjects of suitable importance. He was a revolutionary, no matter what his sentiments in later life.