Prelude Flashcards
Rough plan
Opening - memory of happiness
Middle - children with nature
End - adult view of nature
Opening quotes
‘The cottage windows through the tiwlight blaz’d’
‘I heeded not the summons: - happy time’
Middle quotes
‘like an untir’d horse’
‘Confederate, imitative of the chace’
End quotes
‘Meanwhile, the precipices rang aloud,’
‘the tumult sent an alien sound/Of melancholy, not unnoticed’
‘The cottage windows through the tiwlight blaz’d’
- rural location with cottage windows, which symbolises human warmth as opposed to cities
- last rays of sun convey warmth as they ‘blaz’d’, perhaps reflective of how adult speaker feels about upcoming childhood memories
- blazed may reflect intensity of childhood emotion where everything is heightened
- this juxtaposes the ‘frosty season’, indicating that these memories bring warmth to life
- noun ‘twilight’ could be reflective of memories - known to be a balanced moment between night and day in the same way memories are neither past nor present
‘I heeded not the summons: - happy time’
- personal account through ‘I’
- child rebels as he enjoys nature with his friends, ignoring the calls to come back
- demonstrates defiance, ignorance and joy
- caesura created shows a break in thought, showing how the memory makes the speaker reflect emotionally
- enjambment of simple phrase ‘happy time’ implies this joy flowed throughout his childhood like words flow
‘like an untir’d horse’
- simile evokes energy about the children who are playing in nature
- ‘untir’d’ suggests health and confidence, highlighting how nature enhances a child’s health
- one may see the humans represented as animals as dehumanising, whereas many may suggest they have become one with nature
- doesn’t just observed but becomes it
‘Confederate, imitative of the chace’
- children are all joined together ‘confederate’, perhaps even together with nature
- hunting was common at the time and children chasing each other being ‘imitative of the chace’ reflects how they are intrinsically rooted in nature whilst blending adult actions
- caesurae mirrors speed, excitement like their momvement
- gradual loss of innocence since ‘imitative’ suggests mocking the adult world to come
‘Meanwhile, the precipices rang aloud,’
- through adverb ‘meanwhile’ a volta emerges symbolising shift from childhood memory to adult life
- images of ‘precipices’ may be reminiscent of description of ‘twilight’
- both are liminal, precipice a threshold between solid ground and fall whilst twilight represents shift from day to night
- ‘precipices’ seem more dangerous with connotations of death
- perhaps a result of the precautious disposition of adults as opposed to innocent, free children
- shifts of perceptions of nature with progression of time, loss of childhood innocence
‘the tumult sent an alien sound/Of melancholy, not unnoticed’
- juxtaposing previous descriptions, a loud confusing sound perhaps demonstrating mixed perceptions of nature
- ‘alien sound’ conveys uncomfortableness
- use of synaesthesia as melancholy not usually associated with sound, indicating that the sadness is the adult’s nostalgia for childhood happiness
- double negative suggests humans cannot fully comprehend nature
Structure
Blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) - mimics natural speech, giving a reflective tone
Chronoligcal narrative as narrator navigates out of memory
Constant enjambment suggesting that time progresses swiftly, continuous movement of thoughts and nature
Context
- romantic poet with elevated view of nature, lived in lake district
- autobiographical poem which reflects his childhood, evolving with nature
- coined the phrase ‘spots of time’ referring to memories
- ideals of liberty and equality influenced by French revolution, but became disillusioned by its violence
- loved ice skating on Esthwaite Lake
- contemplated suicide, detachment from family
Overview
Wordsworth uses ‘Excerpt from The prelude’ as a vehicle to celebrate childhood innocence and their interactions with nature, which gradually decrease with the passing of time into adulthood. His upbringing in Lake District as well as his detachment from some of his family allowed him to connect with nature, having an impact on this poem,
