The Prelude

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  • Created by: Annagc
  • Created on: 21-03-17 18:17

Content

'And in the frosty season, when the sun/ was set and visible for many a mile'

  • It is about a happy childhood memory of ice skating
  • It is about how nature is jpint with humans 
  • It describes nature as all around him which makes him seem small and insignificant 
  • It also creates a tranquil mood
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Narration

'I wheel's about / Proud and exulting , like an untir'd horse'

  • First person makes the memories seem more vivid
  • He also sounds childish as he is excited by such a small thing, coukd suggest nature re connects us with our younger selves
  • Simile comparing himself to a horse shows that nature is within us and we shouldn't separate animals from ourselves
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Context

  • He was born in the Lake District
  • Both his parents died whe he was young 'The orange sky of the evening died away'
  • Two of his children died in the same year
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Devices

'All shod with steel, /We hissed along the polish's ice'

  • Sibilance creates the sound of skating on ice and links to the idea of children feeling free in nature

'The Pack loud bellowing and the hunted hare'

  • The simile compares it to a hunt and shows people as part of nature rather than just observing it. Pack relates to his friends but it a word associated with animals making them sound wild and free from the expectations of humans

'while the distant hills/Into the tumult sent an alien sound/ Of melancholy'

  • Personification shows nature as experiencing emotions such as sadness and suggests nature is one of the poepl who were enjoying the day and are sad to see it end'

'Happy time, proud, pleasures, melancholy'

  • Semantic field of emotions shows nature is very influential on people
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Structure

  • Lines vary between 10 and 11 syllables shows that nature doesn't have set rules 
  • It is similar to iambic pentameter showing that nature flows and is beautiful but it can be unexpected
  • The line with the most syllables ' Of melancholy, not unoticed, while the stars' shows that sadness causes him to dwell on that moment and to stop for the first time and take it all in
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