the prelude

• William Wordsworth was a romantic poet, we don’t mean he wrote love poems, but he wrote poems about the world we

  live in which challenged people and the way they thought at the time. 
• During this time ‘epic’ poems of large length were

  common, as were poems which looked at the world and man’s place within it. This extract is from a much larger poem, it

  looks at the spiritual and moral development of a man growing up.
• there is a sense of conflict between man and nature where

  nature is eventually shown to be more powerful in the end.\
• During the poem the setting is of a journey in a boat. The journey represents a more

  spiritual journey and it becomes more rough and hostile along the way
• At first, nature is

  shown at peace with the poet, later as it gets darker and he tries to reach the horizon it

  becomes harsh and predatory, putting man back in his place.
• Written as part of a much larger piece. This section is 44 lines in blank verse (no real structure). The work

  is in iambic pentameter to give it a consistent pace.
• As the poem progresses the journey the poet is on becomes rougher and words like ‘and’ are repeated to give it a breathless

  pace and feel.
• “a huge peak, black and huge, As if with voluntary power instinct, Upreared its head.”

  The mountain is shown in the poem like a great angry entity and represents the full might

  and power of nature. It seems to take offense at the poet going too far or too ‘lustily’. You

  could imagine it like a game of ‘chicken’ where the poet is rowing toward the mountain,

  the closer he gets the more menacing it appears before he backs away.
• -The poem symbolically uses the journey on the river to

  mirror the poets own spiritual journey of reflection.
• The poet is structured to show the contrast of the serene

  and peaceful start where we works with nature, to the dark

  and disturbing battle with nature shown from when he tries

  to control his journey through rowing.
• -The conflict between man and nature is caused by mans

  attempt to manipulate nature, nature still contains a power

  and majesty beyond mankind's ability to command.
• key quote 1- "One summer evening (led by her)"
• key quote one- the word "one" emphasises how vivid this evening was to the speaker and how significant it was to him
• key quote 1- "summer" and "her" create a romantic, poetic setting almost as if he is referring to nature as his lover, the personification of nature by referring to it as "her" indicates that he has a strong relationship with nature at the start of the poem
• key quote one- the personification of nature by referring to it as "her" could perhaps be an allusion to Mother Nature and reinforces how nature is more superior than humans as Mother Nature is responsible for looking after an entire planet, whereas mothers aren't responsible for looking after as much compared to Mother Nature, highlighting natures superior power
• key quote 1- the word "evening" specifically references how it is getting darker and the night is approaching, this could be foreshadowing that the event will take a dark turn, it could also symbolise that this is the end of childlike innocence for the speaker, and this is why he remembers the event so vividly
• key quote 1- the brackets around "(led by her)" show how the speaker was dismissive of natures power at the start, or the speaker believes that nature should be protected
• key quote 1- the enjambement after the line conveys how excited the speaker is and how he is almost breathless, this could be emphasising the speakers childlike innocence and could be foreboding that it will end soon
• setting of speaker being on boat could be symbolic of spiritual journey speaker is on to find out the extent of power nature has
• key quote 2- "when, from behind that craggy steep till then

  the horizon's bound, a huge peak, black and huge,

  as if with voluntary power instinct, upreared its head"
• key quote 2- the conjunction "when" creates a tone shift which flips the relationship between man and nature
• key quote 2-the hyperbolic tone in "a huge peak, black and huge," symbolises natures supremacy and shows how he is almost in awe over nature (relates to the beginning where he refers to nature as his lover)
• key quote 2- the repetition of "huge" signifies natures dominance and the speakers fear, almost as if he is intimidated, the colour imagery in the middle of the repetition being "black" creates a dark, gothic and deathly image, so nature seems monstrous and evil
• key quote 2- the preposition "behind" could show that it was surprising and that nature has turned on him unexpectedly, as if it crept up on him from behind
• key quote 3- "with trembling oars I turned, And through the silent

  water stole my way back to the covert of the willow tree;"
• key quote 3- he is trying to personify the oars of the boat saying they are "trembling" as he doesn't want to admit his dread and he is trying to detach himself to save his pride
• key quote 3- the alliteration of the "t" sound in "trembling" and "turned" create dental plosive alliteration as if his teeth and trembling out of horror
• key quote 3- the "silent water" has been repeated from earlier, to show that he has changed but nature hasn't changed, could also convey the complexity of nature and that it can be deadly but can also offer solitude in times of hardship and the enjambment of "silent" then onto the next line "water" gives the impression that the speaker is out of breath maybe because of his fear or because ehe is trying to quickly row to get away
• key quote 3- the soft sounding sibilance on "silent" and "stole" could show that the speaker has been humbled, reinforced when he says "stole my way", perhaps he feels shame for stealing the boat, which he didn't feel at the start
• key quote 3- "back to the covert of the willow tree", could mean that the speaker has fled from danger and returned to where nature is comforting, not oppressive.
• The return of the speaker going back to the willow tree at the end gives the poem a cyclical structure, could indicate that the encounter has irreversibly changed how he views nature, or it could mirror the cycle of nature with the seasons