Extract From the Prelude

• Who was Extract from the Prelude written by?

  William Wordsworth
• What was Wordsworth's early life like?

  He had a troubled upbringing with his parents & relatives . His parents died in his teenage years.
• How did Wordsworth's love for nature grow?

  He often went outside to get away from his uncle and grandparents who he did not like. This led him to spend most of his time around nature
• Wordsworth was an early supporter of the French Revolution. Why did he no longer support it in its later parts?

  He became disillusioned with violence
• William Wordsworth was a romantic poet. He also served as poet laureate
• Wordsworth wrote Extract from the Prelude as part 1 of 3 of an epic poem : "The Recluse". He only finished part 1 and part 2 and his wife published it when he died
• What are some key themes in Extract from the Prelude?

  Man , Nature and Society
• Why was Romanticism developed?

  To oppose enlightenment poetry (Poetry that agreed with revolutions and violence)
• What are some key features of Romanticism?

  An embrace of the natural world (As a reaction to the industrial revolution), A love of the supernatural and the use of everyday language
• What is the form of Extract from the Prelude?

  An epic poem - a long narrative poem that tells of heroic actions of one main character (usually)
• There is an argument to be made that the poet is not actually the hero in this epic poem. What might be personified to actually be the hero?

  Nature
• The poem Extract from the Prelude is written in Blank Verse. What does this mean?

  The poem has no rhyme scheme but is written in iambic pentameter (Lines of ten syllables)
• Why are epic poems usually written in blank verse?

  Because of the influence of John Milton , who Who wrote Paradise Lost
• What does the poem consist of?

  One long verse
• Why might the poem Extract from the Prelude have one long verse?

  To overwhelm the reader with the immensity of the poem - this reflects how Wordsworth was overwhelmed by nature
• What is William referring to when he says "led by her" ?

  Nature
• Why might Wordsworth use enjambment (the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line) in the poem?

  It adds to the overwhelming effect that nature has on the child
• Why might Wordsworth use the word stealth to describe the boy taking the boat onto the lake?

  Stealth is synonym of words like sneaky and sly, which tells us the boys action is morally wrong but the boy doesn't think so - This could be a criticism of mankind who take whatever they want with no consequences, or a criticism of society that take from nature
• Why might Wordsworth describe the boy as being "Proud of his skill"?

  To present mankind as proud and arrogant
• Why might Wordsworth use present participles such as glittering and sparkling to describe the movements on the lake?

  This reflects a fantastic moment in the poem that suggests that we are at the climax of positivity in the poem
• What does the word 'chosen' in the phrase "Proud of his skill to reach a chosen point" suggest about the boy?

  He is in control and is doing exactly as he pleases by heading to this point
• Why is the poet scared of the appearance of a mountain that is much larger than what he assumed to be the utmost boundary?

  The poet realizes he does not know everything and his self pride is misplaced - this can also suggest how minute and unimportant human life is when compared to the power of nature
• Why might 'nature ' have led Wordsworth to the lake where he becomes scared by 'nature'?

  To show the negative ways that mankind thinks in - and to have a positive redemptive impact on them
• What is the turning point of the poem?

  When the boy notices a huge peak
• Why might the poet describe his boat to an elfin pinnace ('magical light sailing boat') and a swan?

  To show how amazing the moment is for the poet but to also show how his pride is growing and how he exaggerates the moment
• Why does the author delay the subject and the verb in the sentences below?

  To increase the tension and suspense of the huge reveal. This allows the reader to emphasise with how the poet was feeling

  
• The poet uses the word 'its' to describe the peak. Why might the poet use a lack of personification?

  He no longer has power over nature and this shows the sudden shock he has, and he loses his ambitious vocabulary
• What does the repetition of huge show?

  The poet is stuttering and is now unable to put words together
• What does the repetition of the word no suggest?

  The poet realises there is so much he doesn't know , he is not confident of what he knows and can only explain what isn't happening