prelude Flashcards
(12 cards)
message
nature holds great power over man,
criticism of arrogance and pride relating to mans power,
explores effects of nature on mans mind
context
taken from larger scale work, auto biographical, romanticisim, true story
Form
epic poem and blank verse
Epic poem: a long narrative poem which tells of heroic actions, usually legendary or historical. In this case, nature is the personified hero.
Blank verse meaning no rhyme scheme, however it is in iambic pentameter, the blank verse allows the speaker to express his thoughts in a free flowing confessional manner.
Structure
one long verse
Creates an overwhelming aspect to the poem which reflects how wordsworth was overwhelmed by nature, allowing us to symphathise and better understand his feelings
Enjambment
persisitent throughout poem
Adds to overhwelming sense of nature upon child
Lexical choices
“it was an act of STEALTH” “PROUD of his SKILL” “a CHOSEN point”
Stealth suggesting the boy is aware this is a sly, morally wrong act that he should attempt to conceal. At this point, the boy appears dominant over nature.
“proud of his skill” suggests the boy is arrogant and feels as though he is superior to nature.
The boy believes he “chooses” this point highlighting his arrogance towards nature
Celestial imagery
“glittering” “sparkling”
This positive imagery potraying nature as something harmless and beautiful highlights the boys naivety as it will lead to greater juxtaposition and shock when the peak of the mountain is seen
symbolsim
the great peak symbolises all that the boy does not know about the world and that wordsworths main shock is of his self realisation that he doesnt know everything.
The message of this is how miniscule and insignificant human life is when compared to the vast magnitude and power of nature.
Development of boat
“little boat” turns into an “elfin pinnace” (a more significant and whymsical type of boat)
Suggests his growing pride and arrogance as he is exageratring the importance of this event
Use of pronouns
from “she/her” to “it”
Potrays wordsworths loss of connection towards nature and potrays it is as less weak/harmful
Insophisticated language
“huge peak, black and huge”
He is inable to articulate his feelings towards the mountain as they are so overwhelmed by the enormity and power of it
repetition
“no” is repeated towards the end, “no familiar shapes… no pleasent images”
Highlights that there is so much more he does not know. He can only explain his views towards nature now as things he does not know. Shows how greatly his perspective has shifted from arrogance to insignificance.
