Extract Of The Prelude Flashcards
What is the context of William Wordsworth
Wordsworth was a romantic poet meaning he was in favour of resisting growing industrialism by remembering a simpler, natural past. The changing shape of industrial Britain is likely the force that inspired him to explore his own moral and spiritual development through the medium of his autobiographical epic poem. The poem also comes with a message of warning to the contemporary society that was transforming fields to factories, woods to roads
Also an early supporter of the French Revolution like many romantic poets who supported attempts to overthrow institutions. Their aim was to bring democracy and equality instead of monarchs and established religion to england. However in general the romantic movement later lost support for the revolution when it turned violent seeing it as evidence of humanity’s innate evil
What is the romantic movement
Romanticism stemmed from the enlightenment period which focused on objective science, logic and rationality
Writers at the time wanted to reject the cold unemotional rationalism if the enlightenment and instead use a more emotional and subjective view
They looked to the beauty of nature and past life in order to protest against the changing face of the world which was happening due to industrialism
What was the romantic movement (2)
Romantic writers also followed enlightened values of protesting institutions and sources of power like monarchy and church. Commented on society and how it should be reformed
The prelude was intended as the prologue to The Recluse designed to be a 3 part epic poem which he died never finishing
What is the perspective of the prelude
As the epic poem is auto biographical the speaker can be assumed to be a fictionalised version of william Wordsworth. This means the poem reveals many personal details of his life
Emphasised by the strong first person narration with the use of past tense showing that the speaker is recalling events which are personally experienced
Whilst the epic poem is generally written in past tense Wordsworth also used many present participles like “leaving” “sparkling” “glittering”. Through blurring past and present Wordsworth shows the reader how this experience has shaped how he lives and how he still views the world in the present as if he were experiencing it anew
What is the structure of the prelude
Stanza structure- entire extract is in a single stanza which emphasises the overwhelming power of nature. Heightened because there are no breaks or pauses which causes the reader to feel breathless
Wordsworth overwhelmed by the immensity of the mountain and nature. The reader can emphasise with the speakers sense of awe towards the “huge peak” as they are also faced with a huge piece of text thsg offers no breaks or pauses. The sensation increases as the stanza drags on contributing to the building up of tension as the reader approches the peak
How is parallelism used in the prelude
Wordsworth uses parallelism in his poem to contrast how the speaker was before and after the revelation of natures power. This highlights how the experience has acted as a catalyst in his development
Wordsworth employs a cyclical structure to emphasise that the change that took place during the journey was internal and psychological instead of external and physical.however despite starting and finishing in the same place there are subtle changes which are shown through Wordsworth use of a linguistic echo
How is personification of nature shown in the prelude
Wordsworth uses personification to describe nature. In “led by her” Is an allusion to the idea of Mother Nature a common theme across mythology.
Nature can be seen as female and is responsible for the maternal task of creating, sustaining and nurturing just as a mother does
By using personification Wordsworth I’d able to contrast the role of nature to the role of human- whilst women nurture a single child nature nurtured an entire planet thus demonstrating its superiority
Dark undertones
Élevâtes blâme for negative actions
How are similes and semantic fields used in the prelude
“Like a swan” “like a living thing” seems the speaker wants to share the knowledge he has gained specifically his knowledge of natures power in order to warn humanity against engaging and supporting the industrial Revolution
Swan represents grace and associated with romantic devotion, love and fidelity
White symbolises purity
Poet employs a range of thematically focused, semantic fields namely of nature, power and pride to create an emotive atmosphere and setting for his piece of work
How is mythilogy presented in the prelude
Hi “little boat” is transformed to an “elfin pinnace” which felt like his was undertaking a very significant journey and event and that it was his spiritual journey of self discovery. The boat is his means of achieving this and takes on a mythical quality to the poem with a sublime realisation of the awe of nature
Uses the motif of the mountain to portray the underestimation of natures power. Speaker can be seen as symbolic as humanity as a whole. He believed “the summit of the craggy peak” to be the extent of natures power over the world however the definitive statement thay is “horizons upmost boundary” shows humanities misplaced confidence and and false sense of superiority as well as impulsiveness
Intimidated by the existential realisation of his own insignificance, the confidence in natures inferiority was a dangerous misconception
How is militons paradise lost shown in the prelude
Ties in the theme of humanity’s evil also seen in John Milton “paradise lost” as Wordsworth is showing how humanity’s innate hubris leads to ignorance and subsequent offences against the forces they underestimate
Themes of pride in the poem are comparable to that in Milton paradise lost and additionally both these poems are written in iambic pentameter as epic poems with lengthy stanzas. Milton is presenting a fall from grace which is the inevitable fall coming from hubris
Icarus “moon”
