In contrast the Boat – Stealing Episode shows how nature can have a negative influence ‘it was an act of stealth’. The Boat – Stealing Episode is again about the force of nature pulling Wordsworth in, an uncontrollable force ‘They guided me: one evening led by them’ In comparison to I wandered lonely as a cloud the image are all in his head ‘the huge cliff, Rose up between me and the stars’. These things could not possible have happened but the influence of nature on Wordsworth is too powerful, that his conscience plays tricks on him ‘like living men moved slowly through my mind By day, and were the trouble of my dreams’
I wandered lonely as a cloud is a very beautiful poem, it has a steady flow and steady structure of A,B,A,B,C,C,. I wandered lonely as a cloud, version 1 has three verses, whereas the Boat Stealing Episode is a stanza and has no particular structure. The different structures for me, change the way I look at the poem when I first saw Boat Stealing Episode I thought it’s properly a long boring poem whereas I wandered lonely as a cloud is neat and steady, this caught my attention! When reading the poems, the different structures change the way I read them. I wandered lonely as a cloud is a lighthearted poem I didn’t put much effort into reading it. Whereas when reading Boat Stealing Episode I concentrated hard to get the feel of the poem.
Wordsworth uses personification to give the poems I’m comparing a more realistic approach. He does this by changing the scenery/objects around him similar to what people say and/or do ‘Ten thousand dancing in the breeze’ and in the Boat – Stealing Episode ‘ a huge cliff As if with voluntary power instinct Upreared its head’
I wandered lonely as a cloud is a poem about truth and beauty whereas the Boat Stealing Episode is more about the electrical force of nature guiding Wordsworth to the lake causing him to steal the boat.
In I wandered lonely s a cloud Wordsworth uses personification to give his work life ‘Ten thousand dancing in the breeze’ he uses old fashioned words like ‘shew’ and ‘oft’ to make the poem seem like a walk in the country! Wordsworth uses metaphors to give effect to his work ‘In such a laughing company’. Wordsworth uses similes to great effect to compare his walk on a spring day to nature, creating strong imagery.
In Boat Stealing Episode Wordsworth use’s oxymoron’s to bring the fear and anxiety in what he’s doing to life, so we go through the same thoughts and emotion’s that he does ‘ It was an act of stealth And troubled pleasure’. There is the repetition of S’s in the poem to give a spooky effect. Wordsworth uses similes to compare his experience through nature to commenting a serious crime! (I think the title is also debatable it’s more of a borrowing than a theft) ‘with measured motion, like a living thing’. Wordsworth slips a couple of metaphor in the poem ‘the huge cliff Rose up between me and the stars’ to show that his conscience is playing tricks on him.
The rhythms of the two poems are very varied I wandered lonely as a cloud starts as it begins and has a very regular beat to it giving it a steady flow. In comparison The Boat - Stealing Episode is very different it has a very erratic rhythm with no particular flow. The effects of the two poems are very different on the reader, in Boat Stealing Episode the poem makes me think about what is wrong and what is right ! Whereas I wandered lonely as a cloud tends to make me smile !
I decided to compare I wandered lonely as a cloud to The Boat – Stealing Episode from the Prelude as they are my favourite pieces of Wordsworth work that I’ve studied.
I like I wandered lonely as a cloud as it passes over sensations ‘Outdid the sparkling waves in glee’ I find the poem very bright and happy ‘ And then my heart with pleasure fills’. In The Boat – Stealing Episode I like the fact it’s a very narrative and informative poem. It’s autobiographical, which I enjoy as I can put myself in Wordsworth shoes. I also compared the two poems as they have a big contrast. They’re both about the forces of nature but with different effects. But I believe it’s also about life and the positive and negative effects we receive. The Boat – Stealing Episode has a negative effect on Wordsworth whereas I wandered lonely as a cloud had a positive effect on him. For me it’s like life and it’s up’s and down’s, it’s high’s and low’s, right and wrong and what’s fair and just.
