Name and explain some of the themes of Wordsworth the Prelude? How are these themes affected by the cultural context both at the time of their composure, and in the modern world?
Name and explain some of the themes of Wordsworth the Prelude? How are these themes affected by the cultural context both at the time of their composure, and in the modern world?
The Prelude (1805) by Wordsworth is an autobiographical poem described by him as being 'the poem of my life', and deals with a variety of themes such as, Nature, and Freedom. These themes are influenced both by personal aspects of Wordsworth's life, but moreover by the context in which they were written in. There are many more, just as important themes mentioned throughout such as loneliness and time, however I will not be able to go through them due to a lack of time.
Wordsworth is a pantheist and therefore believes that God resides in Nature, thus nature takes on a kind of divine quality. Burgess says on Wordsworth's view of nature 'Nature is the great teacher of morals, and the prime bringer of happiness, but much more then that: in Nature resides God' English Literature (1974). This is helpful in explaining his unique way of looking at nature, wanting to 'drink wild water, and to pluck green herbs' perhaps by doing so he may becomes closer to God? To Wordsworth nature and the spirit are linked, nature is the expression of a spiritual truth, and this truth can only be attained through a unity with nature. Wordsworth's unique way of looking at nature as if seeing it for the first time is understandable as he lives through the Industrial Age, an age where man destroyed nature to make way for factories and mills. He talks of the sadness of seeing nature violated by man, and talks of seeing 'sparrows in the gutters'. His admiration of nature, and anger at mans senseless destruction of it are shared by all of the Romantic poets, Tennyson saying 'The Woodmen with their axes: lo the tree!' in verse 12 of The Princess. This respect of nature can also be found today with ideas ingrained firmly in some groups of society, for example vegetarianism, or even more famously the campaign to stop the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest.
The Prelude (1805) by Wordsworth is an autobiographical poem described by him as being 'the poem of my life', and deals with a variety of themes such as, Nature, and Freedom. These themes are influenced both by personal aspects of Wordsworth's life, but moreover by the context in which they were written in. There are many more, just as important themes mentioned throughout such as loneliness and time, however I will not be able to go through them due to a lack of time.
Wordsworth is a pantheist and therefore believes that God resides in Nature, thus nature takes on a kind of divine quality. Burgess says on Wordsworth's view of nature 'Nature is the great teacher of morals, and the prime bringer of happiness, but much more then that: in Nature resides God' English Literature (1974). This is helpful in explaining his unique way of looking at nature, wanting to 'drink wild water, and to pluck green herbs' perhaps by doing so he may becomes closer to God? To Wordsworth nature and the spirit are linked, nature is the expression of a spiritual truth, and this truth can only be attained through a unity with nature. Wordsworth's unique way of looking at nature as if seeing it for the first time is understandable as he lives through the Industrial Age, an age where man destroyed nature to make way for factories and mills. He talks of the sadness of seeing nature violated by man, and talks of seeing 'sparrows in the gutters'. His admiration of nature, and anger at mans senseless destruction of it are shared by all of the Romantic poets, Tennyson saying 'The Woodmen with their axes: lo the tree!' in verse 12 of The Princess. This respect of nature can also be found today with ideas ingrained firmly in some groups of society, for example vegetarianism, or even more famously the campaign to stop the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest.
