Prelude Flashcards
(6 cards)
context
William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
Wordsworth was born in Cumberland in the Lake District. He had a difficult childhood as he had a
troubled relationship with his father and other relatives. Both his parents died during his
adolescence and, as a result, he was split up from his siblings and sent to live with different
relatives. He spent a lot of time avoiding his mother’s family, who treated him so badly he
considered suicide. He developed a deep affection for the Lake District as he spent so much time
outside to escape his problems.
Wordsworth was a romantic poet, which meant he was in favour of resisting growing industrialism
by remembering a simpler, natural past.
Romantic Movement
Romanticism stemmed from the enlightenment period which focused on objective science, logic
and rationality.
➔ Writers at the time wanted to
reject the cold unemotional
rationalism of the enlightenment
and instead use a more
emotional and subjective view
of the world
(led by her)
Can be considered an
allusion to the idea of
Mother Nature, and nature
can be seen as female in
that it is responsible for the
feminine task of creating,
sustaining and nurturing
life – just as a mother
does. By using
personification,
Wordsworth is able to
contrast the role of nature
to the role of a human –
whilst women nurture a
single child; nature nurtures all
- intimite relation between narrator and speaker
” Proud of his skill, to reach a chosen point “
thinks he controls where
he is going despite being
led by nature. Deceived
into a sense of control, but
nature chose the point as
a destination where he
would be humbled. This
has the larger suggestion
that it is only when
mankind tries to work
against nature that it
becomes arduous and
laborious
” Upreared its head. I struck and struck again “
Mountain seems to be
living with intent – wanted
to reveal itself. This
phrase also suggests the
reader can empathise
with the speaker’s fear
and anxiety, and it
juxtaposes to how nature
was working with him at
first, but now has turned
against him.
The true power of nature is
now being revealed and
the speaker is struggling to
continue on his journey -
nature has ultimate
control
” a trouble to my dreams “
Nature transcends
mankind and it is not
bound by time or
restrictions of life.
Therefore, nature takes
many forms to
demonstrate its power and
this phrase shows the long
term impact nature has on
him, this transformative
effect could also be
considered humbling but
haunting.
Structure
Blank verse : emphasis importance, The poem is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
semantic field of confidence
The Prelude has been written as an Epic Poem. These are lengthy, narrative poems that often
focused around a heroic protagonist and the legendary events they were involved in. They can
be considered one of the first forms of poetry. They were typically written to incite a sense of awe
in the reader as the narrative often focused on the heroism of the central character
