7.1.2
Personification & Imagery
Personification of Nature - Gentle
Personification of Nature - Gentle
Wordsworth explores the power of nature in The Prelude. Here is how Wordsworth personifies (gives human characteristics to) nature as kind and gentle:
“one summer evening (led by her)”
“one summer evening (led by her)”
- Although nature is powerful, indicated by the verb “led”, it is also benevolent and gentle.
“I unloosed her chain, and stepping in / Pushed from the shore”
“I unloosed her chain, and stepping in / Pushed from the shore”
- This reinforces the idea that nature is kind and gentle.
- The enjambment (sentence flowing over a line) could reflect the sense of freedom felt by the poet as he takes off across the lake in the boat.
Personification of Nature - Powerful
Personification of Nature - Powerful
Wordsworth explores the power of nature, presenting it as untameable and awe-inspiring.
Menacing and frightening
Menacing and frightening
- “The horizon's bound, a huge peak, black and huge, / As if with voluntary power instinct, / Upreared its head.”
- This is different from earlier on in the poem, where nature was characterised as benevolent (all loving).
- Nature is now personified and characterised as something menacing and frightening.
- “Black” is associated with ideas of power and death.
Mountain
Mountain
- "For so it seemed, with purpose of its own / And measured motion like a living thing, / Strode after me."
- The personification here suggests the mountain is powerful.
- The alliteration of “measured motion” highlights the mountain’s control.
Imagery in The Prelude
Imagery in The Prelude
There are contrasting images of beauty and darkness to show the two sides of nature.
Beauty of nature
Beauty of nature
- The poet creates positive images of beauty at the start of the poem. This presents nature as awe-inspiring and magical:
- “Small circles glittering idly in the moon, / Until they melted all into one track / Of sparkling light”.
Haunting effect of nature
Haunting effect of nature
- “There hung a darkness”.
- This dark imagery highlights the haunting effect of the experience on the speaker.
- The verb “hung” indicates that the narrator was unable to get rid of these disturbing thoughts and feelings.
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
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