Prelude

Question 1

thesis

Answer 1

In The Prelude, William Wordsworth uses the autobiographical poem to reflect on his childhood relationship with nature, shaped by the loss of his mother and the emotional neglect he experienced from his relatives. Nature, for Wordsworth, becomes a source of comfort and solace during his formative years. As the poem progresses, it traces his evolving perception of nature, shifting from innocent wonder in childhood to a more complex understanding of the dark side of nature, as the poet matures.

Question 2

quote 1

Answer 2

in the frosty season, when the sun

contrast between cold and heat suggest that nature and the domestic are incompatible, their direct opposites of each other
nature is cold, but the domestic is warm, however persona felt opposite way

Question 3

quote 2

Answer 3

i heeded not the summons: - happy time

first person persona is presented as rebellious as they don’t listen to guardians asking them to come home
shows negative relationship with domestic
focus on individual (created by first person voice) is a characteristic of Romantic poetry

Question 4

quote 3

Answer 4

a time of rapture

phrase creates a positive tone, reflecting how persona loves nature, which he viewed as a parent/teacher-like figure

Question 5

quote 4

Answer 5

like an untir’d horse

comparison to untied horse suggests persona feels confident, strong, free
also suggests persona not only likes nature but feels like they’re a part of it

Question 6

quote 5

Answer 6

we hiss’d along the polish’d ice, in games

use of sibilance reflects activity in this line
wordsworth loved ice skating
sibilance could express wordsworth’s emotions towards ice skating, an intensity which is characteristic of the Romantic genre

Question 7

quote 6

Answer 7

we flew…not a voice was idle; with the din

hyperbole ‘we flew’ seems positive and reinforced by ‘not a voice idle’
suggests happiness and excitement of the children as they play
however ‘din’ has negative connotations, it’s too loud, long and unpleasant
these two lines are poem’s volta shifting from positivity to something unsettling/off-putting

Question 8

quote 7

Answer 8

the precipices rang aloud

before the sibilance was used in a positive way and reflected the sound of ice skating as well as wordsworth love for it, now, nature is now responding to the children by making the same noises as the children, which in reality is probably just echoes, but it now sounds sinister

Question 9

quote 8

Answer 9

into the tumult sent an alien sound

‘alien’ suggests strangeness and unfamiliarity, implying that the persona no longer feels comfortable in nature

tumult is another word for a large mass of noise, all the children being happy now has negative not positive connotations

Question 10

quote 9

Answer 10

the orange sky of evening died away

‘died away’ has connotations of death
as the poem’s final image, it could represent a loss of innocence as the poem’s persona is shocked out of their youthful naivety
it could also represent the death of their love for nature
it could symbolise the death of wordsworth’s mother, whose death that caused him to move in with his maternal grandparents in the first place

Question 11

rough essay plan

Answer 11

start: shows how persona takes comfort in nature

middle: shows extent of persona’s joy in nature

end: shows the shift from nature being comforting to nature being menacing