- William Wordsworth was born in 1770 in Cumbria, England. Both of his parents died before he was 15, leaving him and his siblings in the care of relatives. - As a young man, he studied at Cambridge University and became interested in the ideals of the French Revolution during a trip to France and Switzerland. - His most famous work, The Prelude, published in 1850 after his death, is considered one of the greatest works of English romantic poetry. An extract from The Prelude describes a formative experience Wordsworth had as a boy on a lake at night. - In the extract, Wordsworth recalls stealing a boat from under a willow tree and being terrified by the

1. Extract from, the Prelude
WilliamWordsworth:
WilliamWordsworth was born 7th of April 1770 in Cockermouth in Cumbria.His Father was a lawyer but
unfortunately both his parents died before he was aged 15. He also had 4 siblings and they were all leftin the
careof various relatives alongwith Wordsworth. These early experiences may have shaped some of his work.
Whilestudyingat CambridgeUniversity, Wordsworth spent a summer holiday on a walkingtour in Switzerland
and France. He became an enthusiastfor the ideals of the French Revolution. He began to write poetry while
he was at school,but none was published until 1793. Wordsworth’s earliestpoetry was published in 1793 in
the collections An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. Whilelivingin France,Wordsworth conceived a
daughter, Caroline,out of wedlock. However Wordsworth left Francebefore Carolinewas born.He later
returned to the country approximately a year later in order to visithis daughter on a four week trip. Later that
year, he married Mary Hutchinson,a childhood friend,and they had five children together. In 1812, while
livingin Grasmere,two of their children(Catherineand John) died.
Extract from,the Prelude
Wordsworth’s most famous work, The Prelude (1850), is considered by many to be the crowning achievement
of English romanticism.The poem marks the birth of a new genre of poetry. When the poem was fully
published,Williamwas dead and left the responsibility of publishingthepoem to his wife, Mary. This extract
describes how Wordsworth went out in a boat on a lakeat night. He was aloneand a mountain peak loomed
over him. Its presence had a great effect and for days afterwards he was troubled by the experience. The
sequence of ideas within the extract is very simpleas Wordsworth recalls a boy stealinga boattied beneath an
old willowtree, and takingitout on a lake. However a mountain peak towered over him and created quite a
“grim shape”. This towering mountain peak seemed to terrify himas he trembled in fear as he turned around
and returned to the willowtree, where he firstcollected the boat. The rhythm throughout the piece is quite
slowand sedate, much likea story tellingpace. This is created by the enjambment and fairly longlines in the
poem. The poem is also written in the pasttense and firstperson because it is autobiographical as
Wordsworth recalls an experiencehe had as a boy. In the firstline we can see personification:“(led by her)” I
think this is a personification of nature. Wordsworth was a big believer in nature as he grew up in a very
beautiful environment and shared pantheist views.This means his god is nature. Nature is described in a very
comforting way and its beauty is also described in detail in thesefirstfew lines. As the poem progresses and
the boy travels through the lake, his perspectivechanges as the mountainous peak comes into view.
Repetition of the adjective“huge” emphasizes its sheer size. Furthermore the use of the adjective“black”
implies itis somethingmenacing. The mountain is again personified and it“Upreared its head” This makes the
mountain become an enemy and it is lookingdown upon the boy. In reaction to this the boy “struck and struck
again”the repetition of this emphasizes his terror and panic as hestrikes the water with his oar,desperately
trying to run away. The mountain also strides after himand in the imagination of the boy, is literally chasing
after him. After this the boy returns to the willowtree and returns home through the meadows. As he returns
he is described in ” grave and serious mood.” So this visionary experiencehas had a really profound effect on
him and is not forgotten as “that spectacle,for many days,my brain worked” this shows that the event was
not forgotten and haunted him for a significantamountof time afterwards.Furthermore through his waking
hours he wasn’t ableto see nature’s beauty as clearly anymore.