WORDWORTH'S THE PRELUDE
The Prelude; or, Growth of a Poet's Mind
is an autobiographical, "philosophical" poem
in blank verse,
laden with imagery of nature and self
by the English poet William Wordsworth,
one of the most prominent poets
of mid-19th century British poetry.
Question:
‘The prelude is really a narrative of an idle and wayward
man who overcomes his worldly disappointments and
unemployment by making himself out to be an epic poet and
hero. His delusions about himself and the world are apparent
in his verse and language which no one can understand’
Do you agree? Discuss with supporting evidence from the
text of the poem.
The Prelude is a partly autobiographical narrative
infused with private lyrical moments that steps into the
social dimension raising some significant issues of the
society. The didactic significance is that the innate
potency of specific memories and subliminal imagination can
restore and lift our spirits – ‘A grandeur in the beatings
of the heart’ (XIII.442). The splendour of nature -
‘oh there is blessing in this gentle breeze’ (I.I),
is the fertile milieu for our inherent dormant
‘higher consciousness’ and it is here, this sacred haven,
that we can intimately sense the closeness of the divine.
The ‘growth of the poet’s mind’ which is the focus of The
Prelude traces the delusions of the society and the
disappointments of the poet that eventually lead to
restoration of the human spirit. Through significant
events in his childhood, a spiritual moment in the
Alps, the industrialized London, his disillusion
with the French Revolution; as well as the
criticisms of Wordsworth being an escapist
and egoist, we will relive his ultimate dream
– the cultivation of one’s mind.
Wordsworth, an orphan who has lost the nurturing love of his
parents did not degenerate instead learn to seek nature as his
teacher. Nature rewards him with the sheer joy of freedom:
‘Bask’d in the sun, and plunged’ (I. 296) into a stream, ‘As a
naked Savage’ (I. 305). However, Nature also disciplines him
when he is bad , once when he steals a bird’s nest, he hears
‘Low breathings coming after me’ (I. 330), and nature ‘employ
severe interventions, ministry’ (I.370-1) in dealing with his
bad behaviour. His intimate relationship with nature is
described as such:
‘I held unconscious intercourse
With the eternal Beauty, drinking in
A pure organic pleasure …” (I.590-2)
Rarely, a young orphan can inspire us with such insight.
Once, the young Wordworth experienced a spiritual, mystical
moment in the Alps which is immortalized as a 'spot of time’.
It conveys a philosophical viewpoint – the power of
transcendence residing in the untapped potential of imagination
and selected memories. At first,Wordsworth was greatly
disappointed -‘grieved’ to see a ‘soulless image’ (VI.453-4)
- at his first sight of Mount Blanc which was far from what he
had anticipated. Next he experienced yet another
disappointment when he thought he had missed the
exhilaration of reaching the pinnacle and had to make
a pointless diversion uphill. However, later, Wordsworth
realized that he had actually crossed the Alps without
realizing it! At this climatic moment, for an instant,
he feels the sense of uplifting rush of exaltation. Something
profoundly mystical happened. He suddenly experiences
strange reversals in this phenomenon. With the lights flash
out and in the absence of light, we see invisible worlds to
discover ‘our destiny, our nature, and our home’ (VI. 538).
We might not be aware of our innate heightened
consciousness that has been buried by the worries of
our daily life.
Imagination can sometimes be disproportionately adorned with
fantasies that results in great disappointments. This type of
imagination derives not from nature but from the fantasies of
our mind. However, imagination inspired by nature transcends
our brute senses, reveals our higher consciousness and raises us
from disappointment to exhilaration. With a single thought one
can travel the universe of infinite possibilities. Memories-
‘spots of time’ should not be kept in a dusted mind but rather
function as an impetus for imagination in the present, sealing
up the fragmented gaps, redefines our world and experiences;
presenting us with a new message of clarity. Imagination is the
intimate liaison between the individual, nature and the divine:
‘as if a voice were in them’ (VI. 564),
‘were all workings of one mind’,
‘of the same face, blossoms upon one tree’ (VI. 568-9).
Here, the divine seems so close to him, that he could almost
touch the face and feel the breath of the divine. It is in
these intimate moments, that we can rise above our present
sufferings and disappointments.
In another episode - London, which started as an allure
turned out to be another great disappointment. Glamorous
advertisements dressed-up the city with delusion while
politics and preaching were embellished in theatrical
displays. All images seemed impenetrable and unreadable.
‘the face of every one
That passes by me is a mystery! (VII. 598).
Industrialisation has robbed people of their souls. No one
knows anyone anymore and no one should believe in anything
anymore and man becomes the loneliest in a crowd.
One day, Wordsworth saw a blind beggar with a written story of
his life on his chest. Wordsworth suggests that we are like
this beggar clinging on to our little story, isolated and know
nothing about others, the world or the divine.Even though
endowed with sight, we are blind, for we see without our mind,
we magnetize the superficial, we thrive on, striking, shallow
and worthless sight. We do not see meaningful sights that are
subtle and profound. For instance, no one really notice the subtle
charm of the night:
‘Sky, stillness, moonshine, empty streets, and sounds’
(VII. 634-5).
‘The whole creative powers of man asleep!’(VII. 655).
Wordsworth has been accused of evading contemporary
problems and escaping into a world of unreality and
isolation. Initially, Wordsworth supported the lofty ideals
behind the French Revolution, later he became greatly
disillusioned by the events of ‘The Terror’ and the
dictatorship of Robespierre. The French Revolution gradually
betrayed and buried hopes of the people, it is reasonable
that the disillusioned Wordsworth chose to lead a tranquil
life. However, he did not spend his seclusion entirely in
idleness. Idleness is not restricted to physical activity. In
terms of mental activity, we cannot claim that Wordsworth
lived his life in idleness. The good news of Robespierre’s
death was short-lived, when Napoleon asked the Pope to
crown him, France had again returned to its corrupted ways
- ‘the dog returning to its own vomit,’ (XI.934-5). A flea
that lives in the decay will soon forget its foul. Wordsworth
chose to step out of this decay. Wordsworth chose not to
focus on the pain of the contemporary diseased society which
he was not in any position to restore. However by stepping
out of the decay and choosing another path of inspiration, he
learns to alleviate his pain. Hence, he gives a torch of
imagination to the common men, to help them redirect their
gaze away from the darkness of decay into the
light of new consciousness: the ability to infused
our imagination with nature. With a single profound thought,
we can conquer oppression of the ‘weary labyrinth’ (XI.922)
and fly into the wings of liberty.
Though Wordsworth advocates the use of simple, common
language;he has been criticized for using ‘uncommon’
evocative language. To Wordsworth, simple, common
language means spontaneous language: not artificial,
gaudy language that is tainted with social vanity or the
structured intellect language of wit, irony and satire.
However, due to limited vocabulary in ordinary prose,
Wordsworth may sometimes use ‘uncommon’
vocabulary to expressed himself succinctly. For example,
‘Bring with it vernal promises, the hope’ (I.50) ‘Vernal’
is used instead of ‘spring’ because ‘vernal’ promises
uniquely conferred by nature are ‘uncommon’, unwavering
and steadfast unlike the ‘common’ everyday promises
or promises of the society that can be easily broken.
At times, Wordsworth might be mistaken for being self-centred
and egoistic. However, he has not written much about his
personal love life neither the death of his parents which must
have been traumatic for him. This indicates that the focus was
not on him but on his experiences of significant moments. He may
seem egoistic in some verses like:
‘Prophets of Nature, we to them will speak
A lasting inspiration’ (XIII.442-3)
‘Prophets of Nature’ refers to the poets and ‘them’ refers to
others who are not poets ‘yet’. Wordsworth is acutely aware
that most people, especially a largely illiterate population,
had lost their ideals in the revolution and their souls in
industrialization. He is claiming here that it is the poets’
mission to give hope – although society may rob us physically,
we may not be robbed mentally as no one can assess our
‘divine-given’ consciousness and we are in complete control
of it. When one cannot help by offering bread to the massive
poor, when one cannot give a sword to the oppressed to fight,
one can at least gives an inspiring philosophy to help elevate
the pain and confusion. The only revolution that can
restore us is the revolution of our minds.
Wordsworth, is indeed wayward (defiant, strong-willed) in the
feat of seeking a haven for the weary soul, yet he cannot be
described as idle for he is not mentally idle in his constant
search of answers and inspiration. Amidst his disappointments,
he was never in unemployment with his mind. It is hard to
understand his delusion about himself and the world because we
do not live in the times of insecurity, terror and great
tremulous changes. We need to read his message not only
with our eyes but with our mind to understand his
language. He made himself a hero in his poem to make
a point that we do not need to dip our hands in blood or
create epic wars to become a hero. A hero is one who
is able to revolutionize and cultivate his mind to
transcend fear, pain and disenchantment.
(1588 words)
Bibliography
Bygrave, Stephen. Romantic Writings. The Open University, 1998.
Owens, W. R. and Johnson Hamish. Romantic Writings: An Anthology. The
Open University, 1998.
Tutor comment:
Dear Cheryl,
An excellent essay which shows your engagement with the poem
as well as issues raised in the course book.
You must make your stand on the question in the introduction.
Keep up the good work, Cheryl and best wishes for the coming
exams.
Grade- 86/100
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