Excerpt from The Prelude (William Wordsworth) Flashcards
CONTEXT (AO3)
written by William Wordsworth
- Romantic Era
-  William Wordsworth presents nostalgic thoughts of his childhood through the autobiographic epic poem in which he explores his place in nature and the world.
- born in the Lake District
purpose
- presents the loss of childhood innocence and youth
written in the Romantic Era
- mentions ideas regarding the supernatural world
STRUCTURE
- blank verse (rhythm and no rhyme)
- iambic pentameter
- enjambment (progression of time)
FORM
written in the form of an autobiographical, epic poem.
‘And in the frosty season, when the sun
Was set, and visible for many a mile’
‘frosty season’ - CONTRAST with the later ‘cottage windows’
this line sets the scene and dominates the poet’s recounting of his memory.
‘I heeded not the summons: - happy time
It was indeed, for all of us; to me’
‘I’ - poet’s view intrudes - he remembers it as a time of freedom
‘;’ - SEMICOLON + CAESURA - provides a pause to emphasise the joy of the memory/moment.
‘toll’d six…’
beginning to evoke the senses - could be hinting at awakening and opening and clarity.
‘Proud and exulting, like an untir’d horse,’
‘like an untir’d horse’ - SIMILE - suggests energy and health and confidence.
‘All shod with steel, We hiss’d along the polish’d ice, in games’
‘shod with steel’ + ‘hiss’d’ - SIBILANCE - creates a vivid image - AURAL IMAGERY
‘The leafless trees, and every icy crag’
‘leafless trees’ - SYMBOLIC - of loss of childhood innocence and recklessness
ENJAMBMENT - time passing
‘Of melancholy, not unnoticed, while the stars, Eastward, were sparkling clear, and in the west
the orange sky of evening died away.’
the last lines set an oddly contrasting tone
‘melancholy’ - SYNAESTHESIA - the sadness is the adult’s nostalgia for childhood happiness
passing of time is inevitable just like how childhood pleasures mutate into adult awareness and responsibility.
‘died away’ - METAPHOR - for passing from childhood to adulthood.
