Rydal Water in the foreground, with Windermere beyond, viewed from Loughrigg Crag. In 1799, William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy left their house in Somerset, near the home of his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), and moved to Dove Cottage at Grasmere in the Lake District, the better for William to devote himself to a career as a poet. He married Mary Hutchinson in 1802, and in 1808 William, Mary and Dorothy moved the short distance to Rydal Mount. To ensure financial security, in 1813 Wordsworth accepted the post of Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland, at £400 per annum. On the death of his near-neighbour Robert Southey, Wordsworth was accorded the honour of Poet Laureate in 1843.
Introduction
William Wordsworth wrote The Prelude: or, Growth of a Poet’s Mind to account for his decision in 1799 to bury himself in Cumbria’s Lake District and devote himself to poetry. Here, Wordsworth reflects on the way that the disharmonies of our past life — our regrets and pains and disappointments — form a melody that would be less beautiful without them.
DUST as we are, the immortal spirit grows
Like harmony in music; there is a dark
Inscrutable workmanship that reconciles
Discordant elements, makes them cling together
In one society.* How strange that all
The terrors, pains, and early miseries.
Regrets, vexations, lassitudes interfused
Within my mind, should e’er have borne a part,
And that a needful part, in making up
The calm existence that is mine when I
Am worthy of myself! Praise to the end!
Thanks to the means which Nature* deigned to employ;
Whether her fearless visitings, or those
That came with soft alarm, like hurtless light
Opening the peaceful clouds; or she may use
Severer interventions, ministry
More palpable, as best might suit her aim.
Extract
From ‘The Prelude: Or, Growth of a Poet’s Mind: An Autobiographical Poem’ (1799-1805, published 1850) by William Wordsworth (1770-1850).
* For similar musical analogy for the better and worse times of life, see also John Ruskin (1819-1900) on The Rests in Life’s Melody.
* Wordsworth later in this poem writes of Nature that she is ‘the breath of God, or his pure Word by miracle revealed’. In Biblical terms, Nature is Divine Wisdom, what the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon calls “the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty”. See Wisdom 7:25. The passage is applied to the Son of God in Hebrews 1:1-4.
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Précis
In the course of his autobiographical poem ‘The Prelude’, William Wordsworth mused on Nature’s mysterious power to take negative experiences from one’s past and, rather like a composer of music, work them by deft touches (and some more heavy-handed) into a life whose overall melody is the more pleasing for the presence of discord. (54 / 60 words)
In the course of his autobiographical poem ‘The Prelude’, William Wordsworth mused on Nature’s mysterious power to take negative experiences from one’s past and, rather like a composer of music, work them by deft touches (and some more heavy-handed) into a life whose overall melody is the more pleasing for the presence of discord.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, if, just, since, unless, whereas, whether, who.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Cloud. Discordant. May.
2 Harmony. Mind. Together.
3 Alarm. Which. Workmanship.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Good. 2 Dark. 3 Discordant. 4 Endless. 5 Mean. 6 Better. 7 Used. 8 Softer. 9 Early.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Part. 2 Suit. 3 Bear. 4 Spirit. 5 Use. 6 Make. 7 Alarm. 8 Light. 9 Cloud.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
frst (6)
fairest. fieriest. first. forest. freest. frost.
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