Excerpt from The Prelude Flashcards
About the author
William Wordsworth:
Romantic poet
Lived most his life in the Lake District, loved nature
Loved ice skating from childhood to adulthood
Distant from father and his mother passed away when he was young
Stayed with his grandparents, they didn’t get along
Contextual info
It is an autobiography that focuses on Wordsworth’s childhood and relationship with nature.
Setting is at a lake where he lived when he was younger
Themes
Power of nature
Childhood
Death
Brief overview
Autobiography that describes happy childhood memories if skatingon the lake.
Reveals Wordsworth’s love for nature and how enjoyed playing in the countryside.
I.H.N.T.S-H.T
“I heeded not the summons - happy time”
Childhood:
-first person presents him as rebellious, child prioritising play over duties and rules, conveys innocence.
-caesura shows his reminiscing about his childhood.
-‘Happy time’ loaded with nostalgia and warmth. Joy and emotional purity of childhood. Phrase reflects simplicity of child perspective: not overthought.
Power of nature:
-nature is so engaging it overrides duties and human world. Speaker is so absorbed that the ‘summons’ don’t matter. Not just personal freedom but seductive power of natural environment pulling him in.
- boys choice to ignore shows natures ability to compete and overpower societal expectations. Commands childs attention and loyalty.
CONEXT:
- did not listen to grandparents as he didn’t get on with them. Preferred nature to them.
-sees nature as a parental figure.
F.S…T.B
“Frosty season”…”twilight blaz’d”
-Winter imagery
Nature:
-sets the scene in winter around twilight
-juxtaposition between cold and heat suggests nature and ‘the domestic’ are incompatible
-winter often associate with silence and stillness creating a sense of calm and purity. Speaker finds peace and excitement in nature.
-setting for joy and exploration
-verb ‘blaz’d’ suggests intensity, colour and vibrancy. Speaker sees natures as alive, magical and awe inspiring. Childhood magnifies experience making everything feels brighter
Childhood:
- Verb ‘blaz’d’ reflects wordsworths warm feelings when looking back on his childhood.
- the cold is not uncomfortable or threatening instead it is part of the joyful atmosphere. Shows how childhood is a time of innocence and resilience where the natural word feels like a playground rather than something to fear.
CONTEXT:
- felt happy with nature but unhappy with his grandparents in the cottage
Form and structure
-blank verse; unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter and one stanza creates continuous movement
-gives natural flowing rhythm that mimics speech reflecting the way memories unfold in the mind. Telling a personal honest, nostalgic story.
P.A.E.L.A.U.H.T.D.N.C.F.H.H
‘Proud and exulting, like an untir’d horse that does not care for his home’
-simile shows that the persona feels confident, strong and free, they not only like nature, they feel like a part of it
Childhood:
-‘proud and exulting’ shows how full of life he felt. Shows how children are full of energy. Horse isn’t tired or controlled but wild and free just like the child’s spirit.
-‘cares not for his home’ reflects child’s desire for freedom and independence from adult rules or routine. Child wants to stay in nature far from restriction
-romantic poetry: childhood is a time of natural freedom before adulthood brings limitations
-children often imagine themselves as animals or heroic figures- this simile reflects the speakers own imaginative identity at the time. He feels like a horse, blurring the line between memory and fantasy a typical feature of childhood recollection.
Nature:
-imagery of untamed horse reflects how nature is seen as dynamic, free and powerful. Child feels like he has become on with nature.
- the landscape gives the child space to explore, express and feel alive. Provides not only beauty but a setting for emotional and physical freedom.
-in Wordsworth’s romantic view, nature is spiritually enriching. A moment of oneness with the natal world where the speaker is lifted out of ordinary experience.
CONTEXT:
-freedom and joy he felt as a child playing outside and skating. Compares himself to a wild horse that doesn’t want to return home, just like he did not want to return home but because he was not close with his grandparents and would prefer nature to them
W.H.A.T.P.I.I.G
“We hiss’s along the polish’d ice, in games”
Childhood:
-‘in games’ shows that the scene is a pure, innocent moment of childhood play. No purpose beyond having fun and freedom.
-Wordsworth highlights the spontaneity of youth as even a frozen lake became a playground for them.
-use of ‘we’ suggests community and connection, shared with others and a reminder that friendship and play were central to childhood. Creates warm, nostalgic the celebrating those fleeting but powerful memories.
-onomatopoeia of ‘hiss’d’ mimics the sound of skates cutting ice and gives a sense of speed and excitement, captures energy and thrill of being young when the wold feels fast, fun and full of life. Reflects how sensory experiences are heightened in childhood.
Nature:
-‘polish’d’ ice’ transforms the frozen lake into a smooth surface perfect for games. Nature isn’t distant or hostile, it’s welcoming and playful. Shows how the natural world and child’s world are intertwined
-adjective ‘polish’d’ suggests something is smooth and shining showing how speaker viewed nature as having a kind of quiet elegance eben in winter.
T.L.T.A.E.I.C
‘The leafless trees, and every icy crag’
-uses bleak imagery
-Wordsworth’s perspective on nature starts to change as he paints a harsh picture of the landscape, possibly showing the change of a persons perspective on nature once they reach adulthood.
Nature:
-‘leafless trees’ creates a stark image of lifelessness and emptiness. Trees which are usually symbols of growth and vitality are now bare suggesting a loss of warmth and life. This reflects a shift in how the speaker sees the natural word, not as playful and vibrant but as cold and uncomfortable.
-‘icy crag’ evokes a sharp, unforgiving environment. Shows that nature, once a space for childhood fun now appears threatening and alien like in the adult memory. It is no longer just a setting but becomes something that inspires awe and even discomfort in Wordsworth.
-This shift from nature being exciting and full of life becoming something still and lifeless suggests that as Wordsworth grows older, his relationship with nature becomes more distant and perhaps more fearful. Nature starts to represent something greater and more powerful than him- something he can’t control or fully understand.
Childhood:
-as a child, the speaker didn’t focus on ‘leafless trees’ or ‘icy crags’ as he was focused. On the joy of skating and the thrill of the games. Remembering these details now as an adult shows how his innocent view has been replaced by a more analytical and somber perspective. Nature is no longer fun but as a symbol of time passing and life’s harshness.
-childhood wonder has faded. The adult speaker doesn’t sees the winter landscape as a playground for exploration and imagination anymore but as something emotionally cold and detached. This highlights how growing up brings with it a deeper awareness not just of its beauty but of natures indifference and power.
D.H…T.S.A.A.S.O.M
‘Distant hills….tumult sent an alien sound Of melancholy’
-pathetic fallacy
-nature begins to feel different and unsettling
-emotional relationship with nature becomes more complex with age and maturity.
-reader no longer feels comfortable in nature, there is unfamiliarity
Nature:
-‘distant hills’ suggests separation and how the natural world is no longer close, comforting or playful but instead far away.
-nature becomes more mysterious and unfamiliar
-‘alien sound’ introduces sense of unfamiliarity. Nature is making a noise that doesn’t match the joyful energy of the scene, it is described as something unexpected and unsettling
-Wordsworth uses this to show that nature can evoke emotions we don’t fully understand
-‘sound of melancholy’ suggests a shift of tone from joyful to sorrowful. The landscape once a play of games is now mirroring a deeper emotional truth. Perhaps a realisation. Of time passing, the fleeting nature of childhood or the speakers growing awareness of mortality and loss.
Childhood:
-loss of innocence. As a child, Wordsworth was immersed in play but this sudden ‘melancholy’ suggests he’s starting to feel emotions that go beyond childhood joy. He senses something deeper and more complex in nature.
-the word ‘tumult’ (chaos or noise) contrasts with the stillness of the distant hills. It could reflect the noise of the skaters but this sound seems ‘alien’ implying the speaker now feels emotionally out of sync with his surroundings.
-he begins to notice something feels different, possibly marking the moment when childish joy begins to give way to deeper reflection.
T.O.S.O.E.D.A
“The orange sky of evening died away.”
-personification of death
-symbolises the end of childhood innocence
Nature:
-the dying of the ‘orange sky’ shows how nature controls the passing of time. The death of the sunset is not something the speaker can stop, it just happens. This suggests how nature has an unavoidable power and does not only hold many beauties but also many mysteries.
-it marks endings, even joyful things like playtime or childhood itself.
Childhood:
-the image of the ‘sky of evening’ dying reflects the end of childhood innocence and childish joy. It mirrors the idea that childhood is fleeting and that maturity is inevitable.
-just as the sky fades, so does the carefree experience of skating with friends. This marks a turning point toward greater self awareness and emotional maturity.
-use of verb ‘died’ hints at quiet sadness as the speaker begins to realise that even the most joyful moments can’t last forever. Wordsworth does this to emphasise this is a huge part of growing up and suggests a deeper emotional response to the natural word and passing of time.
-compared to earlier energetic lines, this moment is slower and more thoughtful. This shift relieves how the speaker begins to process deeper emotions, not just excitement and fun but melancholy, nostalgia and change.
I.W.A.T.O.R
“It was a time of rapture”
-Sets the tone for the scene, filled with energy, excitement and freedom
-word ‘rapture’ is emotionally charged, it doesn’t just mean happiness but intense overwhelming joy
Nature:
-‘rapture’ shows that nature doesn’t just provide a setting for joy but creates it. The frozen lake and the ‘woodland pleasures’ allows the speaker to feel this intense emotion. Nature is not passive, it is an active force that inspires deep feeling.
-nature was sublime to Wordsworth as a child as the experiences were beautiful and powerful. ‘Rapture’ suggests even a child felt the spiritual intensity of nature showing how it isn’t just physical, but emotional and even spiritual.
Childhood:
-‘rapture’ is a word that suggests raw, overwhelming joy which is often associated with childhood. Children feel things deeply without the emotional filters that adults develop. Wordsworth is capturing that sense of pure emotional response, something that adults may long for but rarely experience.
-phrase reflects a moment where the child is completely absorbed in the present, lost in joy without fear, reflection or responsibility, free from the burdens of adult thought
-growing UUU has chagrined how he experiences both emotion and nature
How does Wordsworth present nature in this poem?
-Wordsworth uses nature to reflect the passing of time and the loss of childhood innocence.
-powerful emotional and a transformative force. Not just a backdrop for childhood memories but it is an active presence that shapes the speakers feelings, experiences and understanding of the world.
-at the start it is a source of happiness and freedom
-the mood shifts as the poem progresses and nature begins to feel more distant and alien like.
How does Wordsworth present childhood in this poem?
-presents childhood as a time of freedom, intense emotion and deep connection with nature. Also shows how childhood is temporary, filled with moments of joy that gradually give way to deeper reflection and signs of maturity
-how maturity and adulthood changes perspective on nature.
-towards the end, he hints a the passing of childhood
