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William Wordsworth
Wordsworth was a romantic poet.
This extract explores the connection between nature and human emotion, and the way human identity and character is shaped by experience
used to be a poet laureate
was known to be an early supporter of the French revolution however once it picked up and became very violent, Wordsworth disapproved
form
Epic poetry- who is the hero, poet? nature?
blank verse: the poem has no rhyme scheme but is written in iambic pentameter
structure
extract is one long verse- makes the reader feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the poem.
readers are literally left breathless
helps reader to understand the emotions the poet was going through in that moment
“(led by her)”
‘her’ is nature being personified
he didn’t go out to the boat, nature led him
nature can be seen as female (mother nature) 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 an entire planet thus demonstrating it’s superior power.
“i found/ a little boat tied to a willow tree”
enjambment- overwhelming effect nature has on the child
he feels almost like he has to furiously blurt out the whole story, no time for punctuation
“act of stealth”
knows what he is doing is wrong
first sign of something not being right
sneaky, covert, secrecy
he has no though of the consequences of taking boat
represents the pride of man and society
society is made of people who are proud and who take what they want from nature, who feel dominant and like they’re the superior aggressor, we can see this through how the child steals the boat with little hesitation
“troubled pleasure”
oxymoronic phrase shows he has no right to be stealing the boat but feels entitled to enjoy nature, and arrogance of believing he was in control
“her”-
continues to refer to nature as ‘her’ which could suggest he views himself as equals with nature, which later becomes his downfall when he realises the true power of nature.
“reach a certain point”
he thinks he controls where he is going despite being lead by nature
deceived into a sense of control, but nature chose the point as 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.
“heaving through the water”
the active verb “heaving” connotes sustained, intense physical effort.
the illusion of control is broken as the mountain rises from the water and natures supremacy becomes apparent.
“upreared it’s end”
mountain seems to be living with intent- wanted to reveal itself. this phrase also suggests the reader can empathise with the speaker’s anxiety, and it juxtaposes to how nature was working with him at first, but now has turned against him.
“for many days… o’er my thoughts”
this line suggests the encounter and what he has seen now has irreversibly changed him and his mind- this reflects the immense power nature can have on both society and an individual
“but huge and mighty forms, that do not live/ Like living men”
The speaker thinks he is in control- reaching his “chosen point” performing an “act of stealth”, but really he is just following nature- controlled by greater force
applying this to society, Wordsworth may be suggesting how mankind always thinks it is in control but it is always subject to nature. (“huge and mighty forces that do not live like living men”)
“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
power
the speaker’s ignorance of the power of nature is manifested in the “darkness” and lack of colour as the speaker has realised that he has been living metaphorically in the dark, so he is naïve and unaware of his own significance.
The prelude vs Kamikaze
The prelude
man vs nature
kamikaze
patriotism vs nature
both speakers are forced to reconsider their perspective on nature
celebrates/recognises the power and influence of nature.
Ozymandias similarities
both poems display nature as more powerful than mankind; in Ozymandias, human power is shown as intrinsically weak and transient and lost to time and nature. meanwhile, in the Prelude, failed attempts of mankind to overpower and manipulate a force beyond its control are displayed
The theme of pride is key in both, it being the cause of the speaker’s eventual fall. They both link to Milton’s paradise Lost in this sense of the ‘fall of man’ and also to epic poetry in general. This links to the irony of statue in desert in the poem Ozymandias
Ozymandias differences
whilst both poets explore how pride is unfounded because human power is inferior to the power of nature, they present this in different ways. In The prelude, the overwhelming power of nature leads tot the speaker’s loss of eloquence and how he becomes unable to define his world. On the other hand, in Ozymandias, this power is conveyed through the symbolism of the desert and time.
Note
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