Analysis Of A Passage In The Prelude
The stichic passage taken from William Wordsworth’s autobiographical poetry The Prelude sees the speaker as Wordsworth and is confronted by unfamiliar aspects. This verse bildungsroman is a coming-of aging poem, which chronicles the speaker’s psychological growth. Wordsworth describes two streams in his consciousness–one past and one present–to illustrate the speaker’s changing reactions to natural events.
Wordsworth sets the passage somewhere in nature that is isolated from the rest of the world to enable the speaker to feel a sense, or self-awareness, on his own. The speaker is transfixed by the beauty and wonder of nature after serendipity led him to a boat and he set sail at dusk. A speaker who is fascinated by the natural world finds it fascinating, and he speaks with reverence as if at a mercy of some greater force. Wordsworth presents Wordsworth’s story from the first person, which gives the reader an insight into the speaker’s thoughts, feelings, and thoughts. This view reveals the speaker’s changing consciousness and how he reacts to the natural world.
Wordsworth arranges the passage to look like a cycle. He uses imagery and diction first, then switches to suggest that the speaker has encountered a crisis. Then he makes the speaker feel better and helps him to become more aware of his surroundings. The whole passage becomes a complete circle before the speaker realizes “[the] problem to [his] dream” (Wordsworth Line 44). This is how he becomes self aware and also recognizes his relative smallness in the natural environment.
The speaker goes through the same cycle, going from enlightenment and disenchantment. Ironically, it is the speaker’s disenchantment that makes him self aware. Wordsworth suggests using tone, imagery and diction to suggest that the speaker’s initial love for nature was based on its positive influence on his development as an artist and person. Despite the fact that he is often confronted with unknown aspects of nature it nonetheless satisfies, transforms and enriches him. The natural world is the source of solace for the speaker. It allows him to look back on his life and transcend it.
Wordsworth introduces a change of tone throughout the passage to indicate that Wordsworth’s views on nature have changed. This duality of meaning–of switching from one end to the next–indicates that the speaker has different views on nature. Wordsworth used the whole passage to show that nature’s unfamiliar elements serve as metaphors for his own growing consciousness. To overcome his past, the speaker must have an unknown experience. The speaker will become more aware of the nature’s power over him and his humanity after this process.
Wordsworth conveys that the speaker has a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Wordsworth’s diction highlights this fact by using diction. Wordsworth’s hubris (or excessive pride) blinds him to the truth. Wordsworth’s indications emphasize the importance of the speaker separating himself from his surroundings to gain self-awareness. This passage occurs “One summer night” (line 1). The sky is neither clear nor bright during this unpredictable hour. Wordsworth explains that, much like the sky tonight, the way the natural world appears to humans changes constantly.
The speaker’s change in attitude towards the natural world mirrors that of the transient nature of nature. Mother Nature guides the speaker as he comes across “A small boat tied to a tree of willow” (line 2), and decides that he will take the boat out into the sea. He calls it “an act de stealth / and troubled enjoyment” (lines 5-6). This tells the reader that while he knows about his offense, he doesn’t care as his desire to experience adventure outweighs his fear of losing the boat. Wordsworth’s use of “stealth” or “troubled enjoyment” reflects the speaker’s wrongdoing. The paradoxical image of “troubled joy” is created by the oxymoron. It shows the reader how the speaker views stealing the boat.
He is both aware of his transgressions as well as the potential consequences. However, he also knows that nature will give him refuge from the real world. Therefore, he takes a chance.
The speaker also hears the “voice/of-mountain-echoes”, which he uses as a metaphor to describe his own consciousness as he starts to row a boat.
Wordsworth’s use of personification highlights the importance imagery plays in conveying the unfamiliarity of nature to the speaker. Nature offers endless possibilities. Wordsworth’s description, “The horizon’s absolute boundary” (line 15,) is one example. Wordsworth introduces irony in his description of the Horizon. This implies that while the speaker can speak confidently and knows his goals, his efforts to achieve them will fail. The horizon symbol is the speaker’s immaterial goal. Like his goal, it will never be as close to him as he makes it.
His hubris prevents the speaker from achieving his goal. He says that he fixed his view “With an unwavering line” (lines 13-14). He is so confident in his abilities that his arrogance overrides his rationality. He is confident that he can overcome all the difficulties presented to him by the natural environment. Wordsworth uses diction to describe the speaker’s prideful and self-centered nature.
Wordsworth’s development section is used by Wordsworth to emphasize the speaker’s need to be adventurous and to also show that he considers nature a source of both enjoyment and comfort. Wordsworth describes the feeling of freedom as the ability to do whatever he likes, without the interference of others.
Wordsworth starts to change his tone as the passage progresses. Wordsworth is implying that the crisis will soon come. Wordsworth states that the speaker’s lack of self-awareness has caused him to lose sight of reality. Wordsworth wrote, “lustily/I dipped my toes into the silent water” (lines 17-18). This tone contrasts with the speaker’s new tone when he faces the crisis. The beauty of natural world continues to fascinate the speaker at this stage. Wordsworth uses diction to emphasize the speaker’s love for nature and connotes “lustily”.
Wordsworth also uses the literary technique known as enjambment. This is a way for Wordsworth to delay his intention and express his emotions toward the natural world. This enjambment creates a duality in the meaning of the phrase and is directly related to the speaker’s evolving consciousness. It suggests that the speaker still retains his hubris. However, the speaker begins to lose his hubris when the passage hits its pivotal turning point. The tone shifts from one of confidence and anxiety to one of uncertainty and trepidation. He describes the terrifying figure he’s approaching as “The ho/rizon’s/ bound/a / massive peak,/black and/great” (lines 22).
Wordsworth makes use of repetition to emphasize Wordsworth’s omnipotence. Wordsworth also uses caesuras to indicate the change of tone. He adds this medial Pause to emphasize the importance the peak has on the speaker’s outlook towards the natural environment. To emphasize the peak’s size and diverge from the verse structure, he also adds a terminal half foot to the line. This line adds an extra syllable, which emphasizes power and the figure of the peak.
Wordsworth also uses the definite Article “the” to refer to the Horizon, which is a fixed location. This fixed horizon is the symbol of the speaker’s unattainable goal. His future is limited to one goal. This indicates that his hubris prevented him from achieving this goal. The speaker adds that the grim shape of his future is “[t]owered/up be / between me / and/stars, and/still” (lines 25-26). Wordsworth adds another terminal half-foot at this line to change the passage’s structure and emphasize the peak. The verb “towed”
The peak is portrayed by him in an intimidating and powerful way. To describe the peak, he also uses diction (line 23, line 28). Its size makes it an enemy that the speaker must defeat.
Wordsworth further confirms this shift in tone by writing, “For it seemed to have a purpose / And measured action like a living creature / Strode following me” (lines 26-29). The speaker has lost his hubris. He sees the natural environment as unconquerable and instead views it as the ultimate supernatural force. Wordsworth suggests that while he initially feels content and happy, his feelings change to trepidation and that he believes he can subject nature to his will and it will yield to him.
Wordsworth concludes the passage by expressing despair and fear. He is now seeing the natural world in a new way.
Wordsworth says that the speaker has become self-aware after realizing that nature is superior to man. The speaker recovers from the crisis by “[b]acking to the coverts of the willow trees” (line 31). The willow tree was initially an unremarkable symbol, but the speaker began to view it with concern after the crisis. The speaker is able to reflect on the experience in the natural environment upon his return to it. He states that he saw / The spectacle for many more days and my brain / Worked / With a dim, undetermined sense / of unknown modes. (lines 34 through 37). The speaker’s perception of his own life has changed dramatically after his encounter with nature. Now, he reminisces about his encounter in the natural environment and feels helpless and isolated. He begins to feel more aware of his own abilities and the nature forces that are greater than him. He says there are “[n]o familiar forms / no pleasant imagery” (lines 39-40).
The speaker’s initial feelings of fear, followed by a feeling that he or she felt of foreboding, then he or she begins to feel more confident and realizes the power of the natural world over humans. Wordsworth uses diction in this section to express the feeling of despair felt by the speaker. To convey a feeling of loneliness and hopelessness, Wordsworth uses words like “dim”, line 36, and “solitude”, lines 38. The speaker experiences a sudden realization or epiphany after his exposure to the natural world. He realizes that “huge and great forms, that do no live/ Are like living men” (lines 44-43). The simile reminds us of our weakness relative to nature. He understands the importance of nature in all forms of existence and this helps him to lose his self-importance.
The Prelude uses William Wordsworth’s natural world metaphor to describe the speaker’s evolving consciousness. It suggests that the speaker needs to experience something new in order for him or her become self-aware. Wordsworth alters the tone of the passage as he emphasizes the speaker’s loss of hubris. In the end, he becomes more aware and in touch with his surroundings. Wordsworth used the entire passage to show that, while nature is majestic and beautiful, it also has omnipotent and unforgiving qualities. He believed this duality of meaning was necessary for him to overcome his past. The speaker gains self-awareness through an understanding of nature’s supernatural power by the end.
