The Prelude Flashcards
Context
The prelude is a poem about a man going on a journey in a boat, he comes face to face with a mountain and ends up feeling extremely vulnerable and intimidated.
“Elfin pinnace”
“Swan-like”
The quotes are used to describe the journey as soon as it starts, suggesting that the speaker is enjoying his time on the water. The sail is made to seem peaceful and a tranquil atmosphere is created, he seems familiar with sailing because he’s said to be “proud of his skill” leading the reader to believe that he feels comfortable in his current position.
“Black and huge”
“With voluntary power instinct”
This introduces the mountain as it emerges in the distance, despite how far away it is the intense description suggests that the speaker is already frightened by its presence. The mountain is said to have “voluntary power instinct”, implying that the mountains almost angered by his presence. The reader could perceive this moment as retaliation as a result of equal fear; the mountain may have equally questioned the speakers intentions, thus acting in equal intensity.
“No pleasant images remained”
After the experience the man is left so shaken that he claims he can never look at “trees” and other fixtures of nature the same. It’s changed how he perceives nature as a whole and meant that he’s incapable of viewing nature in a positive light. It seems that up until now he had underestimated the power of nature and this encounter with an inanimate object has had an extremely severe impact on life as he knows it.
Structure
The poem is relatively long and it seems like the speaker is trying to remember every single detail, almost rambling and rushing to get the story out - intensifying the affect the reader believes that the mountain has had on him.
Compare to
- storm on the island
- ozymandias
- exposure
- tissue
Author
William Wordsworth
