well, it's no surprise that wordsworth decided to open his 1800 (i think) version of lyrical ballads with this pair of poems.
out of all of the poems we've read from the work so far, i think "expostulation" is the most forward in terms of asserting a thesis, or at least something that alerts the reader to the intention of the poetry to follow.
also, the structure of the poem, the back-and-forth of it, lets wordsworth be as clear and didactic as possible. he does let us know, after all, that it is him saying it. it's posed as a recollection of an actual event
i think this change between editions is totally lame, and doesn't stay faithful to the experimental nature of lyrical ballads. it may be that i prefer the ancient mariner to these two poems, but i think that wordsworth does express a significant amount of confusion in a fair bit of the collection, which often points to a confusion and apprehension concerning his poetry-- whether it will be successful, etc.
I agree that these are a fitting pair of opening poems. Not only are they clear with their thesis, they really introduce the thematic content of the whole collection. The Walden-esque elevation of nature, escaping the gears of society, etc make fitting bookends with Tintern Abbey at the end. It makes more sense to start with these than Ancient Mariner, in my opinion.
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