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''The Prelude or, Growth of a Poet's Mind; An Autobiographical Poem '' is an autobiographical poem in blank verse by the English poet
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...
. Intended as the introduction to the more
philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...
poem ''The Recluse,'' which Wordsworth never finished, ''The Prelude'' is an extremely personal work and reveals many details of Wordsworth's life. Wordsworth began ''The Prelude'' in 1798, at the age of 28, and continued to work on it throughout his life. He never gave it a title, but called it the "Poem (title not yet fixed upon) to
Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Po ...
" in his letters to his sister
Dorothy Wordsworth Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ...
. The poem was unknown to the general public until the final version was published three months after Wordsworth's death in 1850. Its present title was given to it by his widow Mary.


Versions

There are three versions of the poem: * The 1799 ''Prelude'', called the ''Two-Part Prelude'', composed 1798–1799, containing the first two parts of the later poem. * The 1805 ''Prelude'', which was found and printed by Ernest de Sélincourt in 1926, in 13 books. * The 1850 ''Prelude'', published shortly after Wordsworth's death, in 14 books. ''The Prelude'' was the product of a lifetime: for the last part of his life Wordsworth had been "polishing the style and qualifying some of its radical statements about the divine sufficiency of the human mind in its communion with nature".''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'' 323.


Structure: ''The Prelude'' and ''The Recluse''

The poem was intended as the prologue to a long three-part epic and philosophical poem, ''The Recluse''. Though Wordsworth planned this project when he was in his late 20s, he went to his grave at 80 years old having written to some completion only ''The Prelude'' and the second part ('' The Excursion''), and leaving no more than fragments of the rest. Wordsworth initially planned to write this work together with
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
, their joint intent being to surpass
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and politi ...
's ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, ...
'' . If ''The Recluse'' had been completed, it would have been about three times as long as ''Paradise Lost'' (33,000 lines versus 10,500). Wordsworth often commented in his letters that he was plagued with agony because he had failed to finish the work. In his introduction to the version of 1850 Wordsworth explains that the original idea, inspired by his "dear friend" Coleridge, was "to compose a philosophical Poem, containing views of Man, Nature, and Society, and to be entitled the ''Recluse''; as having for its principal subject, the sensations and opinions of a poet living in retirement".''The Poems of William Wordsworth'' 237. Coleridge's inspiration and interest is evident in his letters. For instance, in 1799 he wrote to Wordsworth: "I am anxiously eager to have you steadily employed on 'The Recluse'... I wish you would write a poem, in blank verse, addressed to those who, in consequence of the complete failure of the French Revolution, have thrown up all hopes of amelioration of mankind, and are sinking into an almost Epicurean selfishness, disguising the same under the soft titles of domestic attachment and contempt for visionary philosophies. It would do great good, and might form a Part of 'The Recluse'." (STC to WW, Sept. 1799). Wordsworth pays tribute to Coleridge in his introduction to the edition of 1850: "work saddressed to a dear friend, most distinguished for his knowledge and genius, and to whom the author's intellect is deeply indebted."


Literary criticism of ''The Prelude''

According to Monique R. Morgan's "Narrative Means to Lyric Ends in Wordsworth's ''Prelude''," "Much of the poem consists of Wordsworth's interactions with nature that 'assure him of his poetic mission.' The goal of the poem is to demonstrate his fitness to produce great poetry, and ''The Prelude'' itself becomes evidence of that fitness." It traces the growth of the poet's mind by stressing the mutual consciousness and spiritual communion between the world of nature and man.


Books of the 14-book ''Prelude''

#Introduction – Childhood and School-Time #School-Time (Continued) #Residence at Cambridge #Summer Vacation #Books #Cambridge and the Alps #Residence in London #Retrospect – Love of Nature Leading to Love of Man #Residence in France #Residence in France (Continued) #Residence in France (Concluded) #Imagination and Taste, How Impaired and Restored #Imagination and Taste, How Impaired and Restored (Concluded) #Conclusion


Content

The work is a poetic reflection on Wordsworth's own sense of his poetic
vocation A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious ...
as it developed over the course of his life. Its focus and mood present a sharp and fundamental fall away from the neoclassical and into the Romantic. Milton, who is mentioned by name in line 181 of Book One, rewrote God's
creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...
and
The Fall of Man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * The doctrine of the ...
in ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, ...
'' in order to "justify the ways of God to men," Wordsworth chooses his own mind and imagination as a subject worthy of epic. This
spiritual autobiography Spiritual autobiography is a genre of non-fiction prose that dominated Protestant writing during the seventeenth century, particularly in England, particularly that of Dissenters. The narrative follows the believer from a state of damnation to a ...
evolves out of Wordsworth's "persistent
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
hat life isa circular journey whose end is 'to arrive where we started / And know that place for the first time' (
T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biog ...
, ''
Little Gidding Little Gidding is a small village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. It lies approximately northwest of Huntingdon, near Sawtry, within Huntingdonshire, which is a district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county. A small ...
'', lines 241-42). ''The Prelude'' opens with a literal journey uring his manhoodwhose chosen goal ..is the Vale of Grasmere. ''The Prelude'' narrates a number of later journeys, most notably the crossing of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
in Book VI and, in the beginning of the final book, the climactic ascent of
Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (histori ...
. In the course of the poem, such literal journeys become the metaphorical vehicle for a spiritual journey—the quest within the poet's memory ...


See also

* 1799 in poetry * 1805 in poetry *
1850 in poetry — From Cantos 27 and 56, '' In Memoriam A.H.H.'', by Alfred Tennyson, published this year Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * May (late) &nda ...


References


External links


Complete text of 1850 Version of ''The Prelude''
at Bartleby.com
Enfolded version of the 1805 and 1850 texts of ''The Prelude''
at global-language.com
Large selection of excerpts from the 1805 ''Prelude''
*
''The Prelude''
BBC Radio 4 discussion with Rosemary Ashton, Stephen Gill & Emma Mason (''In Our Time'', Nov. 22, 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prelude, The Poetry by William Wordsworth 1799 poems 1805 poems 1850 poems Philosophical poems Samuel Taylor Coleridge Books published posthumously