the prelude

• The Prelude

  • Romantic poet
  • Focused on the power of nature
  • Semi-autobiographical
  • Reflection of Wordsworth's own experience
  • Maturing of the poet
• Language, form and structure of The Prelude

  • Blank verse with iambic pentameter
  • No rhyme to reflect a conversation
  • Part of an epic poem
  • Enjambment to reflect overwhelming emotions
  • Single stanza to reflect breathlessness
  • Cyclical structure
  • Spiritual, not physical journey
  • loss of eloquence to reflect being overwhelmed by nature
  • Personification of nature
• extract from the prelude - william wordsworth
• "one summer (led by her)"

  • continues use of pronoun her through first half, views himself as equal with nature
  • allusions to the idea of mother nature
  • nature seen as female as it is responsible for creating, sustaining and nurturing life - like a mother
  • using personification of nature Wordsworth contrasts role of mother nurturing children to how nature nurtures the whole planet
  • show natures power
• "went heaving through the water like a swan"

  • heaving - sustained intense physical effort
  • illusion of control is broken
  • natures supremacy apparent
  • swan - natural similes
  • he is confident that he has control despite having to put in a lot of effort
• "upreared it head. i struck and struck again"

  • upreared - mountain living with intent - wanted to reveal itself
  • emphasises speakers fear - juxtaposes how nature was working with him but is now working against him
  • sibilance - creates sinister tone
  • struck - power of nature
  • speaker is struggling to continue his journey
• "there hung a darkness call it solitude or blank desertion"

  • realised his own ignorance
  • had a limited understanding on power of nature
  • he is all alone
  • realises his insignificance compared to nature
• summary 


  poet - William Wordsworth

  childhood memory of the lack district where he steals a boat and rows it to the middle of the lake

  mountains are bigger than he though