Extract from The Prelude

“led by her”

considered as an allusion to Mother nature
personification used shows mother natures control over him, like a mother

“troubled pleasure”

oxymoron

outlines his excited yet guilty feelings about the adventure

“elfin pinnance, lustily”

metaphorical language, love for nature

lustily shows his love for nature, Romanticism, romantic poet

“ measured motion”

alliteration describes brutality of nature as well as nature being calm and composed

“silent water”

description of nature juxtaposes the tumult of the huge peak: nature can offer solitude in times of fear

structure

• epic poem, intended to portray spiritual growth over time

• entire extract is one stanza

• pace is intensified by continuous enjambment and connectives

Form

• first-person narrative

• blank verse

• regular rhythm

• written in iambic pentameter

Context

• forefather of romantic movement

• poet laureate in 1843

• centred on his childhood, in lake district, loved nature

“trembling oars”

hypallage, it is narrators hands that are trembling not oars

intensifies fear

“back to the covert of the willow tree”

cyclical nature of poem, like seasons in nature