Final answer:
Wordsworth and Coleridge were in their late twenties during their influential collaboration on 'Lyrical Ballads' (1798), which was a cornerstone of the Romantic Era.
Step-by-step explanation:
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, both pivotal figures of the Romantic Era, were in their late twenties when they collaborated on 'Lyrical Ballads' (1798) and turned the poetic world upside down. This hallmark publication effectively launched the Romantic Age in English literature and marked a definitive break from the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the time. Wordsworth's own work such as 'The Tables Turned' and 'The World Is Too Much with Us' exemplify the Romantic manifesto, emphasizing a deep appreciation for nature and a stark critique of industrial society. Similarly, Coleridge's contributions to the 'Lyrical Ballads' and other poems reflected the new sensitivity and revolutionary spirit that defined romantic poetry. Their collaborative and individual works contributed significantly to the transformation of the poetic landscape, establishing a focus on personal emotion, the sublime in nature, and the rejection of established norms in favor of artistic freedom.