the prelude

Question 1

who wrote the poem

Answer 1

William Wordsworth

Question 2

what is the poem about

Answer 2

extract begins on a summer evening when the narrator finds a boat tied to a tree, he unties the boat and takes it out on the lake. Initially the narrator seems happy and confident and he describes a beautiful scene, a mountain appears on the horizon and the narrator is afraid of its size and power. He turns the boat around and goes home however his view of nature is changing.

Question 3

form

Answer 3

first person narrative using blank verse

Question 4

structure

Answer 4

first - light and airy tone
then a distinct change - tone becomes darker and more fearful
final - reflects on experience which changed him

Question 5

language

Answer 5

beautiful - pretty and pastoral images of nature
confident - arrogant in his place in the world, impressive on feeling powerful
dramatic - threatening language becomes more intense after the mountain appears
fearful - less confident, experience is lasting, haunting effect on him

Question 6

what are the 3 attitudes of the poem

Answer 6

confidence changes throughout the poem
fear of nature
reflection on his thoughts

Question 7

finish the quote + analysis: ‘led…

Answer 7

by her’

• suggests it’s nature, personified

Question 8

finish the quote + analysis: ‘a little boat..

Answer 8

tied to a willow tree’

• happy, rural image

Question 9

finish the quote + analysis: ‘straight’

Answer 9

narrator appears confident

Question 10

finish the quote + analysis: ‘act

Answer 10

of stealth’

• knows he is wrong, first clue something isn’t quite right

Question 11

finish the quote + analysis: ‘troubled

Answer 11

pleasure’

• oxymoron, hits at the narrators guilt

Question 12

finish the quote + analysis: ‘proud

Answer 12

of his skill’

• narrator is confident, contrasts with mood later

Question 13

finish the quote + analysis: ‘the horizons utmost boundary;

Answer 13

far above was nothing but the stars and grey sky

• emptiness contrasts with line 22 when he looks at the horizon again - makes the mountain appearance more shocking

Question 14

finish the quote + analysis: ‘she was

Answer 14

an elfin pinnace’

• metaphor of a fairy boat makes the scene seem magical and otherworldly - still not threatening

Question 15

finish the quote + analysis: ‘like

Answer 15

a swan’

• natural simile shows he is confident and in control - enhances the contrast with the next line

Question 16

finish the quote + analysis: ‘when’

Answer 16

turning point - introduces a complete change in tone. simple word is is emphasised at the start of the line and the caesura.

Question 17

finish the quote + analysis: ‘the horizon bound,

Answer 17

a huge peak, black and huge’

• mountain appears - different language - more threatening and dark now

Question 18

finish the quote + analysis: ‘upreared

Answer 18

it’s head’

• mountain is personified (ugly image)
• contrasts the swans

Question 19

finish the quote + analysis: ‘I struck and..

Answer 19

struck again’

• as the narrator rows away more and more of the mountain comes into view - mountain gets bigger and bigger

Question 20

finish the quote + analysis: ‘strode

Answer 20

after me’

• mountain is calm, powerful and in control, narrators fear

Question 21

finish the quote + analysis: ‘stole’

Answer 21

he’s afraid and guilty - wants to hide away - feels like an intruder

Question 22

finish the quote + analysis: ‘in a grave

Answer 22

and serious mood’

• event had a long lasting effect on him, reminder of his own mortality

Question 23

finish the quote + analysis: ‘for

Answer 23

many days’

• impact was long lasting

Question 24

finish the quote + analysis: ‘there hung a

Answer 24

darkness, call it solitude’

• narrator feels alone and unsettled

Question 25

finish the quote + analysis: ‘no pleasant..

Answer 25

images of trees’

• no longer thinks nature is pretty - more to it than that

Question 26

finish the quote + analysis: ‘huge..

Answer 26

and mighty forms’

• nature is described as a powerful, conscious being that can influence or lives

Question 27

finish the quote + analysis: ‘trouble

Answer 27

to my dreams’

• unseating imagery - emphasis with him - huge contrast in moods from beginning to end

Question 28

context

Answer 28

romantic poet who explores connection between nature and human emotion, way human identity and character is shaped by experience.