The Prelude — William Wordsworth

“One summer evening (led by her)”

→ Wandsworth personifies nature as a female, this could be to show natures beauty and fragility (which he later on learns is not- juxtaposition) shows his innocence and naivety

He refers to nature as a guide, nature is presented as gentle and nurturing drawing the speaker in— as if he’s enchanted/ he trusts it but its a false sense of security

However referring to nature as a woman, may suggest that he thinks he has power and control (1790s woman had little agency) over nature despite her leading him.

→ parenthesis adds a quiet reflective tone

→ temporal marker ‘one summer evening’ calmness, beauty and serenity at the start

“It was an act of stealth/ and troubled pleasure”

→ the cautious noun ‘stealth’ suggests secrecy, he was trying to hide — taking the boat was not just a literal theft, but symbolic of humans overstepping the boundaries of nature

He’s overly confident here (hubris?) which nature later on fixes

→ oxymoron ‘troubled pleasure’ highlights his naivety — he’s enticed by the danger and secrecy of his actions.

However it could also reflect his psychological complexity — he’s conscious he’s violating nature and ‘troubled’ could possibly be a foreshadowing of the troubles, and guilt he experiences later

Lustily i dipped my oars into the silent lake

→ adverb lustily conveys enthusiasm, energy showing wordsworths confidence and pride — arrogance even- at the moment hes in full control and feels powerful

→ gentle verb ‘dipped’ conveys how easy he thinks he can control the lake and nature or suggests respect for nature

→ ‘silent’ lake builds up tension - often foreshadows a disruption, contrast between the speakers energy and natures calm indifference

‘ behind that craggy steep […] a huge peak, black and huge, as if with voluntary power […] upreared its head.

→ the repetition of ‘huge’ in quick successions shows the speaker is overwhelmed at the peak and its energy

→ monosyllabic words- infantilises him, he’s at a loss of words his vocabulary becomes as a child- he loss control of his vocabulary His earlier naivety comes back here.

→ this marks the volta in the poem- wordsworth complete shift in tone and emotion - from confident to scared and insignificant.

→ colour imagery - black symbolises danger, unknown possibly even death- could symbolise the death of his innocence and naivety.

→ oxymoron of ‘voluntary’ and ‘instinct’ the speaker is unware whether nature is purposefully as its own will raising against him or if it was just on instinct - blurs the boundary between nature as a thinking force and a raw uncontrollable power.

→ upreared - personification as if looking at speaker — possibly morally judging him? Punishing him for his earlier arrogance.

‘There hung a darkness, call it solitude or blank desertion. No familiar shapes […] no pleasant images.

Personification of darkness, the terror of the peak hung on him like physical weight he couldn’t shake off- it haunts him- its not just an absence of light but a metaphor for loss and his fear

→ ambiguous language ‘call it.’ ‘..or’ he can’t fully explain what he’s feeling, he just knows its dark highlights the psychological impact of encountering true natural power

→ isolation ‘desertion, solitude’ no one can save him

→ repetition of ‘no’ in front of comforting words ‘familiar’ ‘pleasant’ — comforting, peaceful images have been obliterated by nature and its power