The Prelude Flashcards
Form
‘Epic’ poem
Written in blank verse with enjambement make it sound like general speech
First person anecdotal narrative - personal, sense of nostalgia
Occasional caesura make the reader seem excitable, breathless and curious at the beginning. At the end they slow down the pace and make the lines more reflective
Structure
Two main sections
1) focusses on fun children are having
2) nature
Tone changes from carefree to serious and showing a greater awareness of nature
Volta in line 16 from nature -> people
Language
Excitement
Reflection and rumination
Frosty season
Seasonal pathetic fallacy
twilight blaz’d
Colour imagery
I heeded not the summons
Woopee rebellion
Time of rapture
Wondrous tone
Proud and exulting like an untir’d horse
Simile - horses are domesticated so not too wild
But related him to nature- desire to be a part of nature is an inherent part of humanity, which is denied to us by society
All shod with steel
Like knights in shining armour
Child’s play really
The resounding horn
Hunting
Danger
Tinkled like iron
Juxtaposition
An alien sound of melancholy
Depression
Children are unused to sorrow - it is foreign to them
Enjambement places emphasis on melancholy, juxtaposed with earlier emotions to highlight the difference in the feelings of those outside of the idyllic setting
What’s going on outside of this utopia?
Sparkling clear
Wondrous
The orange sky of evening died away
Noice
Language of movement
Monosyllabic verbs increase the poems pace, illustrating youthful energy
‘Wheel’d’
‘Flew’
Animal imagery
Anthropomorphism shows close connection to nature
Domesticated animals show how they aren’t a true part of nature
Phonology
Sibilance and onomatopoeia create a visceral image of the scene
‘Precipicies’
‘Leafless trees’
‘Icy’
‘Distant hills’
How nature is sighing - links to depression
Aural imagery
distinguishes the humans for nature -> nature is ethereal, humans are rowdy
‘Din’, ‘not a voice was idle’
‘Tinkled’ musical soundscape subverts that of the humans rumbustious one giving it an ethereality
Not unnoticed
Emphasises how out of place the depression was
Double negative show children don’t fully comprehend
The Pack
Anthropomorphism
Presents the children as rambunctious and almost violent, but also gives a sense of unity
‘Hiss’d along the polish’d ice’
Soundscape of skating
Juxtaposes with the sibilance layer which portrays the melancholy of nature
Proud and exulting
Promotion of ‘proud’ indicates confident and carefree attitude
Exulting -> excitement and freedom
Context
Romantic
Relationship between humans and poetry
Autobiographical
