LIT2 - Poetry - Extract from the Prelude Flashcards
Who wrote Extract from the Prelude? Give some context around it:
-William Wordsworth (Romantic poet)
-in Lake District, about the power of nature and man’s insignificance in contrast
-spiritual growth of the poet, as he has a dramatic/life-changing response to a seemingly normal event due to his intense connection to nature
Give 5 good quotes from the Prelude:
-Proud of his skill to reach a chosen point/With an unswerving line, I fixed my view
-a huge peak, black and huge,/As if with voluntary power instinct,/Upreared its head
-the grim shape/Towered up between me and the stars
-call it solitude/Or blank desertion. No familiar shapes…no pleasant images…no colours
-a trouble to my dreams
Proud of his skill to reach a chosen point/With an unswerving line, I fixed my view
-deceived into the sense of control, arrogance
-enjambment leads the journey as he willingly follows, not knowing what lies ahead
a huge peak, black and huge,/As if with voluntary power instinct,/Upreared its head
-tonal shift in poem as the boy realises the omnipotence of nature
-longer sentences create a slower pace and delayed revelation, adding tension
-repetition of simple adjectives imply a loss of words for the events that are happening
-personification of the mountain to highlight its power
the grim shape/Towered up between me and the stars
-stark contrast with the frail “elfin pinnace” emphasises the difference in power between manmade objects and nature
-his positive approach to nature has vanished and is replaced with negative adjectives like “grim”
call it solitude/Or blank desertion. No familiar shapes…no pleasant images…no colours
-unable to precisely describe the situation, contrasts his idyllic descriptions from the start of the poem
-only described in a triplet of negatives with repetition of “no”, emphasising how traumatic the experience was
-asyndetic description (lacking conjunctions) creates a breathless effect when read aloud, emphasising his shock
a trouble to my dreams
-oxymoron reflects the inner conflict between the trouble to his previously peaceful dreams
-the fact that nature has troubled his dreams shows that nature can transcend mankind (Romantic concern)
Describe the structure in the poem Extract from the Prelude:
-unrhymed narrative with lots of enjambment, reflects the childlike expression of blurting out a story, highlighting his lack of power and control in comparison to nature
-one long stanza, creates the impression that it was a flood of memories spoken in a confessional voice (close to natural speech with iambic pentameter)
