extract from the prelude

• Author's name


  William Wordsworth
• 1770


  when William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland, England, where he lived for most of his life
• Wordsworth's early life


  both his parents died before his mid-teens; his siblings were then split apart and sent to live with different relatives; it would be nine years before he saw his beloved sister again.
• Wordsworth's relationship with his family


  Following the death of his parents, Wordsworth was sent to live with his uncle and grandparents with whom he had a poor relationship; they treated William so badly that he considered suicide
• Wordsworth's relationship with nature

  he found himself living in Penrith, in the Lake District, and he spent most of his time outdoors away from the house, exploring the countryside to escape the relatives he so disliked. He began to form a relationship with nature - a relationship which would grow over his lifetime
• Romantic Period


  Generally believed to be the period between 1789, the date of the French Revolution, and 1832, the year which saw the passing of the Great Reform Act
• Romantic literature


  Literature written during the Romantic Period which featured a change of values from rationalism, realism and empiricism to originality, and expression of the individual
• Typical characteristics of Romantic literature

  experimenting with traditional forms, focus on nature, self-expressive rather than repressive and often criticising social issues, politics, traditional institutions and the industrial revolution
• publishing context


  He began writing the poem in 1798, at the age of 28, and completed the thirteen-book version of The Prelude in May 1805. in 1839, he undertook the s final revisions to The Prelude. Published posthumously in 1850
• The Industrial Revolution


  marked a shift from country life to city life; machines were invented, which could complete work quicker than humans had done in the past, bringing about big changes in agriculture, manufacturing and transport.
• 1760


  the beginning of the Industrial Revolution
• the human effect of the Industrial Revolution

  conditions in industrial factories were often terrible; children were often used as workers because they could fit in and around the machinery, so it wasn't uncommon for six-year-olds to be working nineteen hour days in these factories.
• the effect of the Industrial Revolution on nature and the landscape


  London became a smoke ridden city; nature was being ruined - one of the important contextual factors explored in the poem.
• how Wordsworth describes the themes of the poem

  views of Man, Nature and Society'.
• Growth of a Poet's Mind'

  the subtitle of the poem added after his death when published in 1850
• awakening


  The awakening understanding of the power of nature can be seen as such an important moment in the poet's life, that he felt it was deserving of its inclusion in this epic.
• heroism and nature as a hero


  In the wider poem as a whole, the poet himself is the hero, but it is possible to see the hero as being nature in this extract concerning the boat stealing episode (more on that later).
• the selfishness of mankind


  In this opening of the poem, man is shown as selfish, taking whatever he wants (as represented through the stealing of the boat) with no thought of the consequences, perhaps an allusion to the Industrial Revolution and its destruction of nature
• the corrupt nature of mankind

  Later in the poem (beyond the lines of the extract) Wordsworth points out that Nature showed him the problem of 'the mean and vulgar works of man'.
• knowledge and self-knowledge


  before witnessing the mountain top, the poet (wrongly) assumes that 'the horizon's utmost boundary; far above, was nothing but the stars and the great sky'. In other words, he thinks the 'craggy ridge' is the much higher cliff face. The true shock, then, can be seen as one of self-realisation that the poet does not know everything - that his self-pride is misplaced, and there is much more to the world than he perceives.
• the power of nature as a teacher

  The notion that man is inherently bad leaves the reader open to the idea that Nature can have a positive, redemptive impact on mankind. In essence, man needs to realise that there is a power in the world they cannot control.
• hubris/(excessive) pride


  The speaker's prideful attitude is presented at the beginning when he steals the boat and later in the poem when the poet tells of rowing whilst 'proud of his skill' but nature will soon humble him from his pride
• the formation of a child of Nature

  how we are formed by love and fear
• identity


  identity is presented as at once continuous and ever-changing. The present self is the product of the past, and yet the past is subject to a constant process of revision as it is remembered in the present
• fear


  Nature is shown to be more powerful than a human being. The narrator is left with a feeling of awe and respect for nature, but he's also scared by it.
• self-reflection


  The poem ends with the narrator reflecting on how he's been changed by the event. His thoughts and dreams are still troubled by what he's experienced.
• Syllable


  the pronunciation of a vowel sound within a word
• consonant


  sounds of speech, not vowels, made by touching two parts of the mouth, such as the letters 'p', 'b', 'f', 'g' etc;
• Verse


  a line of poetry
• Meter


  a stressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse
• iambic pentameter


  a metrical structure of 1 unstressed syllable followed by 1 stressed syllable (2 feet - da-DUM); this pattern is repeated 5 times making 10 syllables all together - da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM
• typical function of iambic pentameter


  typically used with serious topics, to give an elevated tone, perhaps here to reflect the philosophical theme of the poem; it also shows the influence John Milton's poetry had on Wordsworth - Milton often wrote in blank verse (iambic pentameter)
• greatest characteristic of the language in the poem

  Highly metaphorical language used to present nature as something supernatural but also to help us see the events through the eyes of the speaker and thus resonate with the autobiographical style of the poem
• metaphor definition


  A method of describing something in a way that cannot be literally true but that helps us understand an idea and especially to see the events through the eyes of the speaker
• effect of the metaphor 'Small circles glittering idly in the moon'


  literally this is referring to the circles in the water against the reflection of the moon, but metaphorically it creates and mythical or supernatural description that reflects the supernatural theme of nature in the poem
• personification


  a form of figurative or metaphoric language in which something that is not human is given human characteristics. This device is often used in poetry to enhance the meaning and beauty of poems
• personification of nature


  One summer evening (led by her)...'; the pronoun 'her' creates mystery and characterises nature as a living being; note that the poet did not seem to intentionally set out and steal a boat. He is deliberately taken there by nature.
• diction


  the choice and use of words in speech or writing
• diction in The Prelude


  the entire poem can be read in terms of the genders applied within it. The masculine 'oars', 'line', 'ridge' and 'peak' contrast the feminine 'boat', 'cave' and 'lake
• language of power


  The poem focuses on the power of nature, as represented through nature.