The Prelude Flashcards
(led by her)
Personification. The pronoun ‘her’ is referring to nature.
It was an act of stealth and troubled pleasure
The narrator is committing a crime. The juxtaposition is also foreshadowing.
glittering idly in the moon
The narrator is captivated by the beauty of this pleasant moonlit scene.
like one who rows, proud of his skill, to reach a certain point with an unswerving line
Exaggeration shows the narrators arrogance at this stage in the poem.
my boat went heaving through the water like a swan
Simile representing how nature is elegant yet secretly aggressive.
When, from behind that craggy steep till then horizon’s bound
The volta represents the narrator’s change in emotion toward nature.
a huge peak, black and huge
The clumsy repetition and broken rhythm show how the narrator is terrified of the looming mountain.
Towered up between me and the stars
He is beginning to separate himself from nature.
And measured motion like a living thing
Alliteration - stumbling over his words in fear.
in grave and serious mood
Symbolises the death of his innocence.
no pleasant images of trees, of sea or sky, no colours of green fields
The power of nature. It has been tainted in his eyes.
were a trouble to my dreams
The episode ended up giving him nightmares.
troubled pleasure
hints at the narrator’s guilt
