The Prelude (1805)

The Prelude(1805) in its content of 13 books reveals itself as a poem of maturity. The overall gist og this poem that the author is finally out of captivity. To support this theme, the author states that he is coming home from the city wall's bondage. Because the Prelude can be interpreted in a philosophical way, "bondage" can be mental, physical, or emotional stress from city life. There is a clear and concise admiration displayed by the author in the first lines of this poem. The poem reads "there is a blessing in the gentle breeze that/ blows...and so fourth through the 5th line. He gives something as simple as a breeze human like qualities. This aspect is known as personification. His deep fascination with the when allows him to expound upon it in such a way that it comes to life right before the readers eyes on the page. Overall he is displaying his love for nature and its physical features.

As a result of being a free man in essence, the author then goes into a self evaluation of what he should do next. This comfort of freedom is foreign to him and he realizes that now he has some decisions to make. The poem takes a turn here when it switches from nature appreciation to curiosity of decision making. He is now a free man, and the possibility of what he can do is endless. This aspect made me revert to many prison shows on television. After being a prisoner for so long, one does not know what to do. They are so deeply embedded into being under captivity that they don't know how to live any other life other than that of a prisoner. And the author exemplifies these similar characteristics. He questions where he will reside and slumber?

1805

The Prelude of 1805 in Thirteen Books seems like a coming of age poem. In the poem, the speaker says that he is coming home from the city wall’s bondage, “A captive greets thee coming from a house| Of bondage, from you city’s walls set free”(Line 5). The main idea of this poem is that the speaker is finally out of bondage, whether that be physical or emotional hard times in the city life, and is about to experience the world beyond the city. The speaker’s child-like descriptions give this poem both an abstract and concrete quality.

In the first set of lines, the speaker is admiring the physical features of nature. The “gentle breeze that | blows from the green fields… seems half conscious of the joy it gives” (Lines 1-4) for instance, is a significant description because it shows the speaker’s observance and admiration of one of the simplest occurrences in nature, a breeze blowing. In addition, the speaker also notes that although this simple happening in nature can be admired, the act itself is one that brings him joy and happiness simply because it happens. This clear-cut description and admiration of nature is the first indicator of abstract qualities in this poem. Instead of just saying that the breeze is nice or feels good, the speaker takes four lines to admire it and ultimately personifies it to convey his shear observance and appreciation.

The speaker then goes on to note all of the options that are available to him and the decisions he now has to make since he is “free from bondage”. “Now I am free, enfranchised and at large” (Line 9) begins the transition of being thankful about nature’s simple pleasures to realizing all that he can do and appreciate now that he is free from the toils of harsh city life. Afterward, the speaker lists all of the questions that he is going over in his mind such as where to live and sleep (Lines 10-13) Asking these questions give the poem concrete qualities because he is actually considering this things realistically.

In line 14, the speaker again begins to personify earth; however, this time he is making a comparison to his personal situation, “The earth is all before me – with a heart joyous, nor scared at its own liberty”. This comparison illustrates that the speaker is trying to convince himself that the earth is not afraid of freedom so he should not be either. This is one of the most important parts of the poem because it emphasizes the wonders of nature both physically and emotionally and the freedom that it has to do what it wants when it wants. In realizing all of this, the speaker is beginning to understand the transformation that he will have to undergo as he sets out on a new life beyond the bondage of the city.

Optional Don Juan Blog Post

There is one special excerpt at the beginning of Don Juan that has caught my attention. Lord Byron seems to write endlessly about pleasure. Pleasure is....a mental state that humans or other animals aim to seek. Everybody strives to find pleasure, whether it be in woman like Juan, or in love like Julia. Byron states that "man is a strange animal" because of the endeavors we will go through just to find pleasure. In Don Juan, Juan has just laid with Julia, the wife of Don Alfonso. It is interesting how the two were seeking pleasure and acted immediately upon it rather than thinking about the consequences. Humans tend to do this often, thinking with their hearts rather than their minds.

A phrase that stuck out to me was  "Pleasure's a sin and sometimes Sin's a pleasure". This is very interesting not only because it is true, but the fact that we as humans forget this often. When we are young we are taught what is right and wrong, but as we grow older we tend to realize that some of the stuff we thought was wrong feels good. I don't know if its the rush we get from doing something bad or the actual effect of the sin, but it feels good, it is pleasure. Byron is claiming that choosing pleasure is a sin because to achieve this pleasure you must sin. Juan and Julia found pleasure in each other but at the cost of Julia cheating on her husband, committing adultery. Sinning can sometimes be a pleasure, but no matter the pleasure it usually doesn't measure up to the risks associated with it. For example, Julia may have slept with Juan for a night, but she risked her lasting marriage with Alfonso. Pleasure is a basic need in life, but how we obtain it separates us from the animals.

Maybe our life's goal is to obtain pleasure while we are alive, because few mortals know what the end will hold. The speaker tells the reader that even he does not know what to expect in the afterlife so during his time alive he wishes to seek out pleasure. Does pleasure exist in the afterlife?

A Prelude to Lunch

Shortly before lunchtime it dawned on me,
What I had never noticed before, that
Humble sandwich, the vessel by which life
Is transferred from the cow, the fowl, and the
Lowly chaff of wheat into God-hewn tract,
Hath a power to consecrate—if we
Have tongue to taste—even the dreariest
Workday afternoon. The mayo, mustard,
Savory meats and hearty garden plants
Have flavors in themselves that interact
With the passions of man’s palate, and spur
Mere taste to evolve, by process unclear,
Into the poet’s loftiest genius.

Based on Wordsworth’s Prelude, 1805 version, lines 278-296

Map of 19th-Century London

The Prelude 1805 (lines 230-273)

In these lines, Wordsworth expresses his desire to capture the beauty of everyday life in his writings. But at this point in his life, he sees it is wiser for him to wait to gain life experience before trying. Until then, he has to live like everyone else who doesn't share these aspirations, feeling stupid. He says that "humility and honesty" serve as a "cloak to a more subtle selfishness." In other words, he says he sadly must wait to write fully and suffer til he is ripe with age, but saying such things only elevates him. It's as though he's saying things - simple truths - to make us pity and admire him, and so humble and honest expressions come to self-serving ends. This realization is very introspective on Wordsworth's part. He gives us multiple layers to explore in his philosophical work: what he's saying, what he means, what he will mean, and who he is. He focuses largely on nature, but analyzes his writing and what it will be in the future, and then he delves into the effects of what he's saying on our view of him and his view of himself. He wants to have a simple eye but his human desires for possessions and power remain within him. They beat him down. He can see these cravings at work and how their satisfaction does nothing to slow the trip to the grave. Wordsworth seems to be emphasizing the pointlessness of succumbing to materialism. Clearly, he thinks there is something better to spend one's limited life on, such as enjoying each day, as the beginning of this set of lines points out.

Optional Blog Post

Wordsworth attempts to capture the importance of nature to daily life in Book 1. Within the first 30 or so lines Wordsworth speaks of nature in a way that allows the reader to understand the spirituality that can be grasped from the subtle things in nature. He begins by providing examples of these natural subtleties he is enjoying, explaining how it feels to be back in touch with nature instead of being caught in the hustle and bustle of civilization. While he doesn’t seem to be condemning city-life, he makes it clear that it cannot provide the same insightful teachings that nature can when more one on one with it. “escaped From the vast city, where I long had pined A discontented sojourner: now free” summarizes his relief to be away from the city and the freedom that can be felt from enjoying the outdoors and all that it provides. This idea of being free takes him through the next few lines of the poem in which he essentially explains that the world is his, and is asking where he will decide to live by wondering which piece of nature can coax him into settling there or what will point him in the direction he decides to go; a clear stream, wandering cloud, trackless field, something floating in the river, are some of the ways he predicts nature may show him the way. Wordsworth submits to us that this way of living is a great way to free oneself from responsibility and really unlock creativity and optimism that can be locked away by life. He understands this and recognizes his ability to grab this by the horns and take full advantage of the creative potential that is being provided. It is interesting to look at things through this epistemology that Wordsworth provides. How this relationship between man and nature can create such harmony and evoke such a spiritual response that can provide creativity and passion never felt before. Being bogged down by the daily grind of life can really take away a person’s ability to appreciate the subtleties of nature than can provide these uplifting feelings. Within the first few lines he mentions a breeze, once as a gentle breeze then as a soft breeze; this becomes a great example of something that can be very enjoyable when allowed the time to relish it. This lesson of nature and appreciating the subtleties of it is a great lesson that Wordsworth seems to be providing to readers in this book. Starting the beginning like he does then going on to provide examples and anecdotes from his life that show learning experiences of morality from nature.