extract from the prelude - william wordsworth

Question 1

Give a plot summary for The Prelude.

Answer 1

the prelude - william wordsworth

• the speaker comes across a boat and uses it to row into a lake, consumed by the beauty
• he sees a “craggy ridge” in the distance, and a peak behind it appears suddenly, which seems to chase after the boy
• he turns around and returns to land
• the speaker is haunted by the experience long after

Question 2

What type of poet was William Wordsworth?

Answer 2

William Wordsworth was a Romantic poet (wrote about love, nature and strong emotions).

Question 3

When was The Prelude released? What is the relevance of this?

Answer 3

The Prelude was released along with 12 other poems after his death in 1850. The poem was not truly finished; Wordsworth started writing it in 1793 and kept on rewriting it as he believed it did not truly depict how he felt (took so long, so may not be a reliable account).

Question 4

What was Wordsworth’s childhood like? How is this relevant to The Prelude?

Answer 4

the prelude - william wordsworth:

• he had troubled upbringings; his parents died when he was mid-teen
• he grew up around the lake district with his aunt and uncle; this is where the poem is set
• the event in the poem is true and is based on an event during his childhood - he had an evening by himself, in which he stole a boat and rode into the lake
• this made him truly believe in the power of nature over man (he wrote about this a lot)

Question 5

Give seven key quotes from The Prelude.

Answer 5

the prelude - william wordsworth:

• “(led by her)”
• “an act of stealth and troubled pleasure”
• “small circles glittering idly… melted all into one track”
• “a huge peak, black and huge”
• “upreared its head, I struck and struck again”
• “like a living thing, strode after me”
• “by day, and were a trouble to my dreams”

Question 6

Give five relevant points about structure or form in The Prelude.

Answer 6

the prelude - william wordsworth:

• blank verse (no rhyme scheme)
• iambic pentameter
• epic poem
• frequent enjambment
• first person

Question 7

Give four key themes present within The Prelude.

Answer 7

the prelude - william wordsworth:

• power of humans
• power of nature
• identity
• adventure