Wordsworth compares his infancy to a 'visible scene on which the sun is shining'. How true is this quote? Refer to books I and II of the Prelude.

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Wordsworth compares his infancy to a 'visible scene on which the sun is shining'. How true is this quote? Refer to books I and II of the Prelude.

Wordsworth's infancy was indeed an inspiration to him, and references to his youth can be found throughout his poems, but most obviously in Books I and II of the Prelude. Here he compares his youth to a 'visible scene on which the sun is shining' and this is apparently so. It was also during his infancy where the seeds of Pantheism and his unique view on nature where planted. In order for us to investigate the validity of the above quote we must first look into accounts of his early life, and then into Books I and II of the Preludes and see how Wordsworth presents the facts of his earliest years.

Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland, an area of the Lake District situated close to the River Derwent. Indeed this scene on the great river is immortalized in his poetry, and so is evidence of the 'visible scene' that is Wordsworth's infancy. Growing up in the 'eye of nature' also did have a profound effect on