Nature–value of nature to gain knowledge, spots of time as moments of clarity and wisdom, nature as teacher and mentor.

Imagination–how to develop it? what is it’s importance?.

A few of my favorite ideas and questions include the following: These themes show why so many scholars consider this poem Wordworth’s magnum opus. This poem is a beautiful exploration of many themes and ideas that resonate with Wordsworth’s other works. Initially inspired by Coleridge’s exhortation that Wordsworth write a work upon the French Revolution, The Prelude has ultimately become one of the finest examples of poetic autobiography ever written a fascinating examination of the self that also presents a comprehensive view of the poet’s own creative vision.

The great Romantic poem of human consciousness, it takes as its theme ‘the growth of a poet’s mind’: leading the reader back to Wordsworth’s formative moments of childhood and youth, and detailing his experiences as a radical undergraduate in France at the time of the Revolution. Makes me want to reread that epic poem sometime in the next few years.Īccording to Goodreads, “ First published in July 1850, shortly after Wordsworth’s death, The Prelude was the culmination of over fifty years of creative work. So many allusions to other famous poems and works, especially Paradise Lost which was inspiration for the poem in many ways.I enjoyed the asides to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the ways he obviously influenced Wordsworth’s poetry and his ambitions.

I love both these places so much! Because of my love for the lakes, I completely agree with Wordsworth’s beautiful verses about the power of Nature to shape the imagination and build knowledge and wisdom. Dove Cottage is cozy, quaint, and everything you imagine an English cottage to be, and there are no gardens to rival those surrounding Rydal Mount. I have visited Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount multiple times and seeing those locations has helped me understand Wordsworth’s deep love of the lakes. One day, I would love to live there at least for a little while. In fact, there is something special, almost magical about those lakes and I feel so much peace, happiness, and pure joy when I am there. I’m lucky to have visited that beautiful part of England three times. Reading this poem reminds me of everything that I love about the Lake District.

The prelude by william wordsworth