Extract From The prelude - William Wordsworth✔️ Flashcards
How is the power of nature presented at the star of the poem?
Nature is shown as tempting by the way he is “(led by her)” - we get quotations of mother nature being manipulative/tempting
what is the structure in extract from the prelude?
- written as an epic poem (normally lengthy narrative poems)
- single stanza
- breathless pace intensified by frequent enjambments and connectives that prevent the reader from pausing
how does wordsworth use parallelism in the poem to contrast how the speaker was before and after the revelation of natures power?
Change through his rowing “melted all into one track” - shows how easily he is able to move through the water in an “unswerving line” - contrasts to his laboured rowing after seeing the mountains (“heaving through the water”)
How is contrast in pride presented in the poem?give qoutes?
The narrator’s pride in his rowing as he crosses the lake - “proud of his skill”, “unswerving line”, “went heaving through the water like a swan” - is shattered as he is humbled by the overwhelming power of nature - “trembling oars”
How is nature presented as peacfull and nurturing of the poem?
Nature is personified as a woman as the start showing the gentle and nurturing face of nature as he is “(led by her)” use of brackets creates an aside like a whisper - the use of imagery “glittering idly in the moon” and “sparkling light” creates a calm and peacfull scene where the boy is working with nature
How is nature presented at end of the poem?
calm beggining is contrasted to later where the sense of threat is created by the visual images of the “black and huge” peak emphasised by the alliterative ‘d’ sounds in “dim” , “days” , ‘determined” , “ darkness”
How is the relationship between humans and nature presented throughout the poem?
Humankind portrayed at one with nature until contronted by the dark side of nature - we see the insignificance of humankind with the repetition of ‘huge’ and ‘struck’ which shows the boys panicked movments as he has to use all his force to flee from nature
How is structure at the start of the poem?
The extract starts with a steady pace which reflects how the narrarator is at one with nature as the boat moves through the water “like a swan”
When does the structre and form change in the poem?
Turning point comes as the peak emerges “when from behind the craggy steep” and the rhythm echoes the boys fear as it becomes disjointed - the imabic pentametere, lack of rhyme and the enjambments work together to create this mood
First and last lines?
“On a summer evening (led by her) i found a little boat tied to a willow tree”
“And were a trouble to my dreams”
What form is the poem written in? Effect?
Written in blank verse (line do not follow a specific rhyme scheme) and structured with iambic pentameter
5 Examples of language which shows the boys expirence of rowing being ‘magical’?
- ‘like a swan’
- ‘She was an elfin pinnance’
- ‘Silent lake’
- ‘Glittering idly in the moon’
- ‘Sparkling light’
What methods are used to make the ‘peak’ seem so threatning?
Repetition - ‘huge’ emphasises the sheer size of the mountain - repetition might also sound like stuttering wich may suggest he is nervous and intimidated by the power of nature
How does wordsworth use enjambments?
Uses this device to make the poem flow but also give a sense of a lack of control from the lack of structure - makes the poem feel like a stream of consciousness
How is nature personified?
Opens the poem with being ‘led by her’ reference to nature as ‘her’ is an allusion to the idea of mother nature - indicates that nature was in control
