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The Prelude Analysis Worksheet

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The Prelude Analysis Worksheet

Read the extract, then complete the questions. Support your analytical answers with short quotations and explain the effects of the poet’s choices.

The extract

William Wordsworth, The Prelude (extract) And in the frosty season, when the sun Was set, and visible for many a mile The cottage lights through the twilight air Were gleaming, and I heard the village bell Tolling among the solitary hills; Not seldom from the uproar I retired Into a silent bay, or sportively Glanced sidelong, leaving the tumultuous throng, To cut across the reflex of a star That fled, and, flying still before me, gleamed Upon the glassy plain...

First impressions

Begin with what the extract shows and how it sounds.

1.Which detail most clearly establishes that the scene takes place after sunset?
  • “the sun / Was set”
  • “the tumultuous throng”
  • “I retired”
  • “a star / That fled”
2.Find the phrase that describes the village bell’s sound. What mood does the sound create in this landscape?
3.In “The cottage lights through the twilight air / Were gleaming”, what contrast does Wordsworth create between the cottages and their surroundings? Explain one possible effect.
4.The speaker leaves the “tumultuous throng” and enters “a silent bay”. What does “tumultuous” mean here, and how does the contrast shape our impression of the speaker?
5.In the second alternative (“or sportively…”), put these actions in the order they happen in the extract: A. He follows the star’s reflection. B. He leaves the crowd. C. He glances sidelong.
6.The star is described as one “That fled, and, flying still before me, gleamed”. What is unusual about this description, and what might it suggest about the speaker’s experience?
7.The phrase “glassy plain” suggests that the water is rough and disturbed.
TrueFalse
8.The sentences continue across several line breaks, and the extract uses no full stops until the ending. How does this enjambment affect the pace or movement of the description?
9.Complete the idea with a quotation: The speaker seems to prefer solitude because “”. Then explain what this choice reveals about his relationship with nature.
10.How does Wordsworth present the speaker’s experience of the natural world in this extract? Write one analytical paragraph using at least two short quotations. Consider imagery, sound or movement.

3 printable pages

  • The Prelude Analysis Worksheet, page 1 of 3: The extract, First impressions

    Page 1

  • The Prelude Analysis Worksheet, page 2 of 3: 3. In “The cottage lights through the twilight air / Were gleaming”, what contrast does…

    Page 2

  • The Prelude Analysis Worksheet, page 3 of 3: 9. Complete the idea with a quotation: The speaker seems to prefer solitude because “

    Page 3

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