What was Wordsworth's involvement with Gray's "Sonnet on the Death of Richard West"?

This poem was Gray’s poetic response to the death of his
good friend, Richard West, in 1742. It has been especially notable because Wordsworth
used it as the basis for criticizing the poetic diction of the previous age, while
defending his own concept that poets should choose ordinary, everyday language in their
poems. The revolution in language that Wordsworth sought to carry out required that
poetry should contain words that were to be middle, not high, and that they should be
appropriate for prose as well as for poetry. He repeatedly stresses the importance of
using the language that people really use. By this standard, many of Gray’s lines fall
short. The lines Wordsworth noted contain none of the elaborate phrases, such as
“smiling mornings,” to which he objected. Readers may want to debate the issues
Wordsworth raised; likely they will agree with Wordsworth.