(Extract From) The Prelude - William Wordsworth

what piece of context about Wordsworth gives context to the style of the poem

* Wordsworth was a ‘romantic’ poet and explored themes of how humans experiences are shaped by nature
* the central theme explored in this poem specifically is the idea of the ‘sublime’, an overwhelming and powerful beauty, and how this causes internal conflict for him as a young man

what is the meaning Wordsworth attempts to convey

* humans can often be arrogant in their views and actions but may be humbled by simple acts (such as just existing) of nature
* thus showing humans comparative insignificance

what can be said about the sectioning of the poem

* the poem is one long stanza, however it is split into 3 distinct sections
* these are distinguished by voltas, which are used by Wordsworth to differentiate between tone and mood, thus creating contrast
* it could also allude to the movement of time and his journey to coming to terms with the power of nature

what type of verse and structural device is used and what effect does this have

* blank verse and enjambment are present throughout the poem, echoing the ease and natural flow of memories
* this feeds into the idea of the sublime, as a contrast is created by Wordsworth through the calm and tranquil characteristics of nature (emphasises by enjambment) and its domineering and sinister side

“led by her”

* nature is personified as a benign and feminine force
* the feminine pronoun ‘her’ could perhaps be what perks the interest of the young teenager, but it could also perhaps feed into the idea of finding comfort and solace in the almost maternal presence of nature

“she was an elfin pinnance”

* use of grandiose language creates a sense of the epic tradition (wherein boys go on quests and return as men as they are shaped by their experiences)
* Wordsworth attempts to highlight the speaker’s arrogance as he views nature as a delicate, frail feminine concept, which is later juxtaposed by the image of the mountain

“a huge peak, black and huge”

* the repetition of the simple adjective ‘huge’ connotes the paralysing fear and how it was affected the speaker, as he cannot fathom any other words
* it could also perhaps serve to exemplify the overwhelming force of the size of the mountain as it dominates his view and seems to be the only thing he can focus on

“towered between me and the stars”

* Wordsworth creates a new malign representation of nature, contrasting the maternal, delicate view of the ‘elfin pinnace’
* it could also be interpreted that the force of nature is separating the speaker from the stars, blocking out its source of life and comfort, feeding into his fear of the unknown

“there hung a darkness”…”solitude”…”desertion”

* semantic field of depression exemplifies the ‘grave’ and existential effect on the speaker
* the darkness mirrors the language used to describe the mountain as it is depicted as ‘black’, thus implying that its image is engrained into his mind and follows and haunts him throughout his life

“a trouble to my dreams”

* nature’s presence in his dreams feeds into the idea of the sublime, as it encroaches past the realm of real life and infects his thoughts and imagination, thus implying that nowhere is safe from its force
* it could also be said that this final line and idea serves as a representation of his realisation of the powerlessness of humans in comparison to nature, and that nature as a concept is not only a physical things who’s only function is aesthetics, but rather an emotional and sentient being that has control over everything and by its sheer existence dominates the world