The Prelude

• Context for The Prelude:

  • William Wordsworth was born in the Lake District
  • It is an autobiographical poem
  • He believed in 'spots of time' - moments that affect the person you become
  • Set in 1798 - cold weather
• Structure for The Prelude:

  • Written in blank verse - mirrors natural descriptions of the Lake District
  • Tone changes from joyful to serious and melancholy
  • There is also a nostalgic tone throughout
• 1 . "In the frosty season, when the sun was set, and visible for many a mile"


  • Begins poem by setting the scene
  • It is cold, remote and beautiful
  • A attractive image of a frosty, winter's day
• 2 . "Happy time" "Time of rapture"

  • He wants to stay out and enjoy the freedom that nature and childhood bring
  • He revels in the beauty of the moment and described it fondly as a "happy time" and a time of "rapture" - meaning pure joy
• 3 . "All shod with steel we hiss'd along the polish'd ice"

  • He compares the skates to horses shoes, using animal imagery
  • The sibilance (sound) echoes the smooth, swift sound of their skates as they cut through the ice
  • The use of enjambment captures the continuous movement of the skates
• 4 . "The distant hills... sent an alien sound of melancholy"

  • As the poem ends, the focus changes from childhood innocence to describing the magnificence and power of nature
  • The "alien sound" could be the sounds of the industrial revolution
  • Wordsworth reflects not only his loss of freedom as he has to go home but his loss of youth as this is a childhood memory as he is now an adult.
• 5 . "The orange sky of evening died away"

  • The sun sets but this is also symbolic of the child's freedom, innocence and happiness
  • The dark sky and stars symbolise the move to adulthood (change)