Compare how poets present the effects of nature in the Prelude and one other poem we
have studied so far
In both the Prelude and Exposure, first person narration is used to explore the power of
nature and depicts conflicts between man and nature, although they go about this in
different ways. Wordsworth focuses on the spiritual development, maturing to realise that
there’s a force uncontrollable to man – nature – highlighting his insignificance and mortality.
Nature asserts power throughout the journey and permanently alters the way the speaker
thinks. However, Exposure is based on the misery of WW1 soldiers waiting overnight in the
trenches. No physical suffering is present, yet they are still suffering from exposure to the
extreme conditions during the winter of 1917. Trauma is left from living through such
conditions and leaves a sense of lost hope and despair in them.
The prelude opens with an ironic setting introduction as the speaker is in admiration of
nature and the beautiful scene around him as he steals a boat and heads on an adventure –
beginning with ‘One summer evening (led by her).’ Pathetic fallacy is utilised to suggest that
the poem will be calm and romantic, so that readers expect a joyous poem – contrasting to
the dark turn later – so readers won’t expect the sinister end. However, this scene may raise
some suspicion to whether nature already knows the fate of the speaker. The whole first
line is ambiguous and mysterious as it doesn’t provide many details about the poem or plot;
the only detail is quite vague itself – ‘(led by her)’. Wordsworth never specifies who is
leading the speaker. It could be personification of nature as mother nature connotates to
tasks like creating, sustaining, and nurturing life as a mother. Addressing nature as an equal
with the pronoun ‘her’ is an understatement and offensive even hence mother nature
carries many more responsibilities than a human mother. A human mother provides for one
child typically, but mother nature must provide for one planet. An underestimation has
been made to nature’s power and influence over humans, thus, proving the speaker – and
humanity as a whole – arrogant. In addition, the speaker is presented to be out of control as
he’s been attracted by the boat, and this deviates the blame for any of his wrongdoings that
night. A childish aura is given off by the line as it implies that the speaker is young and naïve
to think that the world was created perfect for mankind and that he has all the freedom in
the world. The poet continues describing the romanticised surroundings similarly with a
pattern of wealth imagery as the ripples are ‘glittering idly’ under the ‘sparkling light’ and
the boat has transformed into ‘an elfin pinnace’. The verbs ‘glittering’ and ‘sparkling’ could
suggest that the speaker is being almost blinded by the mesmerising light in a way that
hides the truth of mankind’s mortality. This could also represent how the speaker lived life
before the experience, with a hopeful outlook on life. Or alternatively this could be implying
that nature is targeting him already and purposely using the light to weaken his sight or the
beauty to distract him right before the mountain appears to frighten him. Adding to this
point, the fact that he now sees the boat as a mythical and majestic ‘elfin pinnace’ further
supports the idea that nature has calculated a plan to educate the arrogant speaker as it
makes the speaker seem to be exaggerating due to being seduced by mother nature hence
the ‘lustily’ rowing. The Prelude is one part of an incomplete three-part epic poem. Epic
have studied so far
In both the Prelude and Exposure, first person narration is used to explore the power of
nature and depicts conflicts between man and nature, although they go about this in
different ways. Wordsworth focuses on the spiritual development, maturing to realise that
there’s a force uncontrollable to man – nature – highlighting his insignificance and mortality.
Nature asserts power throughout the journey and permanently alters the way the speaker
thinks. However, Exposure is based on the misery of WW1 soldiers waiting overnight in the
trenches. No physical suffering is present, yet they are still suffering from exposure to the
extreme conditions during the winter of 1917. Trauma is left from living through such
conditions and leaves a sense of lost hope and despair in them.
The prelude opens with an ironic setting introduction as the speaker is in admiration of
nature and the beautiful scene around him as he steals a boat and heads on an adventure –
beginning with ‘One summer evening (led by her).’ Pathetic fallacy is utilised to suggest that
the poem will be calm and romantic, so that readers expect a joyous poem – contrasting to
the dark turn later – so readers won’t expect the sinister end. However, this scene may raise
some suspicion to whether nature already knows the fate of the speaker. The whole first
line is ambiguous and mysterious as it doesn’t provide many details about the poem or plot;
the only detail is quite vague itself – ‘(led by her)’. Wordsworth never specifies who is
leading the speaker. It could be personification of nature as mother nature connotates to
tasks like creating, sustaining, and nurturing life as a mother. Addressing nature as an equal
with the pronoun ‘her’ is an understatement and offensive even hence mother nature
carries many more responsibilities than a human mother. A human mother provides for one
child typically, but mother nature must provide for one planet. An underestimation has
been made to nature’s power and influence over humans, thus, proving the speaker – and
humanity as a whole – arrogant. In addition, the speaker is presented to be out of control as
he’s been attracted by the boat, and this deviates the blame for any of his wrongdoings that
night. A childish aura is given off by the line as it implies that the speaker is young and naïve
to think that the world was created perfect for mankind and that he has all the freedom in
the world. The poet continues describing the romanticised surroundings similarly with a
pattern of wealth imagery as the ripples are ‘glittering idly’ under the ‘sparkling light’ and
the boat has transformed into ‘an elfin pinnace’. The verbs ‘glittering’ and ‘sparkling’ could
suggest that the speaker is being almost blinded by the mesmerising light in a way that
hides the truth of mankind’s mortality. This could also represent how the speaker lived life
before the experience, with a hopeful outlook on life. Or alternatively this could be implying
that nature is targeting him already and purposely using the light to weaken his sight or the
beauty to distract him right before the mountain appears to frighten him. Adding to this
point, the fact that he now sees the boat as a mythical and majestic ‘elfin pinnace’ further
supports the idea that nature has calculated a plan to educate the arrogant speaker as it
makes the speaker seem to be exaggerating due to being seduced by mother nature hence
the ‘lustily’ rowing. The Prelude is one part of an incomplete three-part epic poem. Epic
