The Prelude

• "Troubled pleasure"

  • Oxymoron - His actions have caused consequences
• "A huge peak, black and huge, As if with voluntary power instinct, Upreared it's head"

  • Volta - Nature is now working against him
• "I struck and struck again"

  • Repetition - Emphasises power of nature
• "I dipped my oars" ... "Trembling oars"

  • Juxtaposition - Nature was on his side but is now against him
• Links to:

  • Ozymandias - Nature will put you into place
  • Kamikaze - Patriotism & Nature (Nature is all powerful)
  • Storm on the island - Nature is powerful and violent
• Themes:

  • Nature (Humans vs. Nature)
  • Power - Humans are arrogant to Nature's power
  • Pride - The cause of downfall
• Key Message:

  The power of nature and the insignificance of man. Also how nature can shape a man’s identity.
• Context:

  The Prelude is autobiographical. Wordsworth grew up in the Lake District. He was a Romantic poet, which meant that he wrote about the power of nature and how nature can shape man’s identity.