the prelude

Question 1

analyse “frosty season” and “twilight blazed” from the beginning of the poem

Answer 1

• contrast between cold and heat suggests that nature and the domestic are incompatible
• relates to context, he felt severely unhappy at his grandparents house but found happiness in nature

Question 2

analyse “ i heeded not the summons”

Answer 2

1st person persona is presented as rebellious, negative relationship with the domestic -> links to context after parents died

Question 3

analyse the title of the poem “the prelude”

Answer 3

• a sort of introduction > relates to the theme of time
• context tells us this is about Woodworth’s childhood

Question 4

what does the frequent use of caesura in the 2nd part of the poem suggest

Answer 4

represents the personas passion, excitement and breathlessness
- excitement of nature

Question 5

analyse “untired horse” in the 2/4 of the poem

Answer 5

by comparing themselves favourably to a horse suggest the persona not only likes nature but believes they are a part of it

Question 6

analyse the happy tone shown in “happy time” and it was a “time of rapture” in the 2/4 of the poem

Answer 6

positive tone reflects the personas love and enjoyment of nature -> context tells us he loves nature as a child and sees nature as a parent or teacher like figure as his parents dies at a young age

Question 7

analyse the positive tone being maintained in the 3/4 of the poem

Answer 7

• it is maintained through quotes like “not a voice was idle” and the “woodland pleasures”

Question 8

analyse “all shod with steel” in the 3/4 of the poem

Answer 8

sibilance reflects the sound of ice-skating, context tells us he loved ice skating and even taught his children

Question 9

analyse how childhood games are presented in the 3/4 of the poem

Answer 9

• compared to hunting “hunted” and “resounding horn” loud and manic, intrinsically linked in nature

Question 10

analyse “din” in the final part of the poem

Answer 10

• has negative connotations: too loud and unpleasant
• volta/ turning point

Question 11

analyse and give quotes for the negative tone in the final part of the poem

Answer 11

• “meanwhile” “leafless trees” “melancholy” “died away”
• negative tone is used to show the personas change of attitude toward nature
• change in mood has been caused by the strange noises of nature which have startled the persona -> made them no longer feel a part of nature

Question 12

analyse “the precipices rang aloud”

Answer 12

• nature is responding to the children by making the same noise as them, yet it sounds sinister

Question 13

analyse “alien sound”

Answer 13

• suggests strongness and unfamiliarity - the persona no longer feels comfortable in nature

Question 14

analyse “leafless trees”

Answer 14

• connotations of death -> suggest a death in his relationship with nature

Question 15

analyse “ evening died away”

Answer 15

• the ‘death’ of an evening could represent a loss of innocence
• as the poems persona is shocked out of their youthful naivety

Question 16

context for the prelude

Answer 16

• English poet who lived in rural areas like the lake district
• distant relationship with father, mother died when he was 8, he was sent to boarding school
• lived with his maternal grandparents and uncle in rural columbaria, he contemplated suicide
• Wordsworth spent a lot of time outside, he believed that nature could be a parent or teacher like figure
• romantic poet
• loved to ice skate and taught his kids
• the prelude is autobiographical and focuses on Wordsworth childhood and relationship with nature