extract from the prelude

Structure

• One long stanza

  • Mimics the vastness of nature 

  • He’s in awe and breathlessness due to how incredible he thought it was

• Iambic pentameter

  • The regularity shows the beating of the oars on the lake

  • This contrasts with the sense of shock and surprise caused by the experience recounted

  • Echoing patterns of epic poetry

• Cyclical poem

  • End and begins with the boat being moored

• Scale of Nature

  • Has human presence

  • Dominating 

• Lines 25-30 do not have full stops

  • Reflects the scared and breathless nature of the author and his fear of nature

• free loose structure

  • His poem is liberated from the manacles of a tightly-controlled rhyme scheme or form, which mirrors his key message about nature: that you can exist within it, but it can never be yours, and it can never be mastered.

Context

The sublime

• Comes from the confrontation between feelings of fear and awe and feelings of pleasure

• A spectacle can create a sense of danger, pain or terror but when viewed from a suitable distance it can be enjoyed with pleasure

• This poem highlights the power of the sublime

General Points

1. Metaphorical and psychological journey

2. Shift in tone

3. Form of an epic poem — has a hero

“Led by her”

• “Her” refers to mother nature 

• There is a sense of nature “leading” and enticing and beguiling Wordsworth

• A sense of familiarity because he follows nature as if he has done it before, there is no doubt or hesitation

• “L” sounds

  • “Led” “little” “stealth” 

  • The alliteration of “l” reflects the echoes heard among the mountains and recreates the sense of harmony between nature and humanity

“Troubled pleasure”

• An oxymoron 

• There is a mix of guilt from stealing the boat, but there is enjoyment and excitement of an adventure

“Glittering” “melted” “sparkling”

• Something beautiful and harmonious 

• All just blends in very well creating a calming atmosphere

• Magical

• These words suggest that nature possesses a power beyond the understanding of the mortal, modest limits of mankind.

• Although Wordsworth is detailing the moonlight’s reflection on the water, it is as though he is transcended into a mystical realm.

• The use of these words creates a very magical feel and demonstrates the power and beauty that Wordsworth, a Romantic poet, can see in the natural world.

“Lustily/I dipped my oars into the silent lake”

• “Lustily” gives a sense of enjoyment 

• “Dipped” reflects the gentle nature of the action and environment/atmosphere

• “Silent” – still and tranquil which contrasts with the later sections – there is a shift in tone

“Heaving through the water like a swan”

• Tranquil, graceful, contrasts with heave

• Foreshadowing the shift in tone as swans don’t heave

“A huge peak, black and huge”

• Portrayal of the profuse force of nature and the helplessness of humans

• The form of a “huge peak” serves as a symbol of nature's dominance over human efforts

• The repetition of “huge” portrays the vastness of the “peak” causing the speaker to be so extremely overwhelmed that he cannot even speak in a sophisticated way as he was previously

• The adjective “black” creates an ominous and mysterious atmosphere making nature seem more intimidating as if it can swallow the speaker at any moment

  • This creates a sense of uselessness as the speaker can do nothing but let it consume him, displaying the power of nature once again

  • Ominous, unknown, intimidation, death and suffering, use of colour imagery

• The monosyllabic phrase also emphasises the state of shock the person is experiencing, depicting the conquering character of nature.

“Upreared its head” “strode after me”

• The personification of the peak makes it feel more alive and real as if it is moving, creating a creature who brings fear

• Sense of fear and threat

• Dominating and the use of “grim” later on highlights the terror of Wordsworth

• “Strode after me” also uses personification and makes the mountain a figure who is chasing the poet

• Wordsworth’s use of personification helps the reader to imagine that the speaker sees the mountain as a terrifying, ominous creature that looms over the narrator and pursues them.

• Wordsworth details that the mountain ‘strode after me’, which could demonstrate the speaker’s concern that he is being chased by the untameable mountain, and rapidly tries to row his boat away from it.

• The speaker’s terror at this moment contrasts with how peaceful he felt at the start of his boat journey.

  • This transformation reflects Wordsworth’s belief that nature can be both peaceful and frightening.

• Perhaps Wordsworth is also warning the reader that nature, no matter how tranquil and placid it may seem, always has the power to conquer humanity.

“And still”

• The language becomes simpler, more repetitive and monosyllabic in comparison to the more lyrical and poetic start of the poem

• Shows the difference in mindset and instilling the raw sense of fear

“Trembling oars”

• Uncertainty, fear and weakness in contrast with the calm and gentle “dipped oars”

• Highlights the change in tone and circumstance

“I left my bark, -”

The hyphen suggests the separation in time between the beginning and the end but he has only left the boat behind and not the trip memories behind

“In grave/and serious mood”

• The use of enjambment here shows how the memories and emotions are still within him

  • There is lingering fear and he keeps thinking of the situation he was in

“Call it solitude/or blank desertion”

Indicative of the mood of being alienation and deserted

Repetition of “no”

• The negative word emphasises that the only thing he remembers is the huge peak of losing the familiarity he had with nature and the very start of the poem

“Huge” strikes again!

• This shows that he is still in the mindset of that shock and the overwhelming emotions even after “many days”

“Mighty forms, that do not live/Like living men”

• “Might forms” have a godly image

• This massive thing is so powerful that he is reminded of his own mortality

• The line “do not live like living men” depicts the peak almost as if it is a higher being, stressing the idea that nature will forever outlive humans

  • Wordsworth does this to spotlight the emotional voyage that the speaker had gone through and how he is finally realising the helplessness of human beings

“By day, and were a trouble to my dreams”

• Continuing to haunt him in his conscious and subconscious mind

• Shows the depth of engravement it has on his mind

• Highlighting the fact that nature had been haunting him constantly even after “many days”

• The noun “trouble” has negative connotations portraying that the psychological effect is making it difficult to continue his life as if nothing had happened

  • It shows the unrest in his mind, signifying the depth of the memory and how it is engraved completely

• The word “dream” is usually connected to pleasant scenarios and situations whilst asleep, however, the mysterious force of nature has even taken over the happy moments in his life where he can stop thinking about reality

• Ultimately, it depicts nature as an uncontrollable might that is able to haunt people in their conscious and subconscious minds, emphasising the severity of its threat

  • I believe it had lingered in his mind for so long because it reminded the speaker of his mortality

• It is clear that the speaker of the poem has gone on a journey that has changed his view about nature forever.

• Wordsworth based this poem on his own experiences as a child.

  • The boat journey in this poem symbolises Wordsworth’s relationship with nature throughout his life; he was always discovering more about nature, and constantly reflecting upon its power and beauty.