The Prelude: Stealing the Boat- William Wordsworth Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in The Prelude: Stealing the Boat- William Wordsworth Deck (36)
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1
Q

describe what is happening

A
  • extract begins on a summer evening when narrator finds boat tied to tree. He unties boat and takes out on lake
  • initially narrator seems happy and confident, and he describes a beautiful scene. Mountain appears on horizon and he afraid of its size and power
  • turns boat around and goes home, but view of nature changed
2
Q

describe the form

A
  • first-person narrative
  • sounds personal and describes turning point in poet’s life
  • use of blank verse makes it sound serious and important
  • regular rhyme scheme makes sound like natural speech
3
Q

describe the structure

A
  • 3 main sections
  • 1st section tone fairly light and carefree
  • distinct change when mountain appears-tone becomes darker and more fearful
  • final section, narrator reflects on how experience has changed him
4
Q

describe the beautiful language

A

poem begins with series of pretty, pastoral images of nature

5
Q

describe the confident language

A

narrator appears sure of himself at first - almost arrogant in his view of himself and his place in the world. He gives impression of feeling powerful

6
Q

describe dramatic language

A

initial glimpses of threatening language become more intense after mountain appears. Narrator comes to understand how powerful nature is

7
Q

describe fearful language

A

narrator far less confident at end of extract, he troubled by the “huge and mighty forms” of nature he glimpsed. Experience has lasting, haunting effect on him

8
Q

describe the feeling and attitude of confidence

A

narrator feels comfortable and in control to start with, but his confidence in himself and world around him is shaken by one event

9
Q

describe the feeling and attitude of fear

A

nature shown to be more powerful than human being. Narrator left with a feeling of awe and respect for nature, but he’s also scared by it

10
Q

describe the feeling and attitude of reflection

A

poem ends with narrator reflecting on how he been changed by the event. His thoughts and dreams are still troubled by what he’s experienced

11
Q

“(led by her)”

A

unclear who ‘her’ is. An earlier part of poem suggests it’s nature, personified

12
Q

“a little boat tied to a willow tree”

A

happy, rural image

13
Q

“its usual home”

A

seems familiar to him

14
Q

“straight I”

A

narrator appears confident

15
Q

“act of stealth”

A

narrator knows he’s doing something wrong- this is first clue tat something isn’t quite right

16
Q

“troubled pleasure”

A

oxymoron hints at narrators guilt

17
Q

“Leaving” “still” “small” “until” “melted all” “light”

A

succession of “l” sounds helps poem flow, like the boat moving gently across the lake

18
Q

“proud of his skill” “with an unswerving line”

A

again, narrator seems confident, maybe a bit arrogant. This contrasts with mood later in poem

19
Q

“The horizon’s utmost boundary; far above was nothing but the stars and the grey sky”

A

this emptiness contrasts with line 22, when he looks at horizon again. This makes appearance of mountain more shocking

20
Q

“she was an elfin pinnace”

A

metaphor of ‘a fairy boat’ makes scene seem magical and otherworldly, but still not threatening

21
Q

“like a swan;”

A

natural simile shows that he’s confident and in control- enhances contrast with next line

22
Q

“when,”

A

turning-point (Volta) introduces a complete change in tone. Simple word emphasised by being at start of line and by the caesura

23
Q

“the horizon’s bound, a huge peak, black and huge,”

A

a mountain appears on horizon. Very different language now- darker and more threatening

24
Q

“Upreared its head”

A

mountain personified. Ugly image- contrast to earlier beautiful images of the boat

25
Q

“i struck and struck again, and growing still in stature”

A

as narrator rows away from mountain, more and more of it comes into view. This means it seems like mountain is getting bigger, and makes this sound like a nightmare

26
Q

“stars” “still” “so” “seemed”

A

the repetition of sibilant sounds creates a sinister mood

27
Q

“purpose of its own” “measured motion” “strode after me”

A

mountain is calm, powerful and in control- contrasts with narrators fear

28
Q

“stole” “covert”

A

he’s afraid and guilty, and wants to hide away- he feels like an intruder

29
Q

“in grave and serious mood”

A

event has big impact on him- ‘grave’ means serious, but may also be reminder of his own mortality

30
Q

“for many days”

A

the impact was log lasting

31
Q

“dim and undetermined sense of unknown modes of being”

A

vague language shows that narrator doesn’t understand what he’s seen- he’s struggling to describe it

32
Q

“there hung a darkness, call it solitude

A

the narrator is left feeling alone and unsettled

33
Q

“no pleasant images of trees of sea or sky”

A

narrator no longer thinks of nature in terms of pretty images- he’s learnt there’s more to it than that

34
Q

“but huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men”

A

nature is described as a powerful, conscious being that can influence our lives

35
Q

“trouble to my dreams”

A

unsettling image- helps us to empathise with him. Huge contrast to tone and mood at start

36
Q

context

A

is an extract from first of fourteen books that make up Wordsworth’s poem, ‘The Prelude’. Book is entitled ‘Introduction-Childhood and School-Time’. Wordsworth was ‘Romantic’ poet. extract explore connection between nature and human emotion, and way human identity and character shaped by experience