English Lit Poetry Quotes + Annotations

Prelude

The Prelude

William Wordsworth

“My boat / Went heaving through the water like a swan”

1. Simile: The simile (comparison using ‘as or ‘like’) compares the speaker’s boat to a “swan” which evokes an image of serenity (peace) and elegance, suggesting harmony between man and nature.

2. Dynamic Verb: The dynamic verb “heaving” implies restless energy beneath the surface, subtly unsettling the image of the boat as a graceful swan and hints at the rupture of the speaker’s perceived dominance over the natural world.

“a huge peak, black and huge [...] Upreared its head”

• Rhetorical Repetition: The rhetorical repetition (repeating a word or phrase) of the adjective “huge” emphasises the speaker’s inarticulacy (beyond ability to speak) and awe, as though overwhelmed by the inadequacy of language to capture the sublime (awe-inspiring yet fearful) presence of the mountain

• Personification: The employment of personification (treated like a person) in “Upreared its head” animates the peak with a predatory, intimidating presence, transforming it from landscape into both a spectacle and an oppressive force (something entertaining but also overpowering).

“With purpose of its own / And measured motion like a living thing, / Strode after me”

1. Personification: The mountain is personified (treated like a person), endowed with intention and autonomy (self-control), positioning nature as an entity that surpasses human understanding or control, an embodiment of the sublime (awe-inspiring but scary).

2. Alliterative Phrase: The alliterative phrase, “measured motion”, where the “m” sound is repeated at the beginning of each word, creates a slow and deliberate cadence, heightening the sense of inevitability (certain to happen) and menace (threat) in the mountain’s actions.

3. The verb “strode” further reinforces a vision of nature as an imposing and insurmountable (unstoppable) force.

“O’er my thoughts / There hung a darkness”

1. Metaphor: The darkness metaphor (direct comparison to the dark) in “hung a darkness” represents the psychological aftermath of the speaker’s experience.

2. It marks the beginning of moral and existential introspection (looking inwards for morals and reason for existence) as well as the beginning of the speaker’s confrontation with mortality (death) and the unknown.

3. Enjambment: The overflow of thought across lines due to the employment of enjambment (line breaks) mimics the way this darkness lingers in the speaker’s mind as a result of the speaker’s experience, suggesting trauma that resists containment or resolution.

“Like living men, moved slowly through the mind”

1. Alliteration: The alliteration, the repetition of the liquid “l” sound, in “live / Like living” creates a soft, echoic rhythm that mirrors the lingering psychological presence of the experience on the speaker.

2. It emphasises how the memory clings to the speaker’s consciousness, haunting him long after the physical encounter has ended.

3. Consonance: The consonance, the recurrence of the “m” sound, in “men,” “moved,” and “mind” generates a deep, resonant tone, reinforcing the slow, weighty movement of the memory through the speaker’s mind.

4. This phonological (sound) pattern enacts the mental burden and permanence of the trauma inflicted by the sublime force of nature.