The Prelude 1805 (Lines 1-32)

In “The Prelude” (1805) by William Wordsworth, we can observe the strong relationship between man (the speaker) versus nature all throughout. On lines 1-32, the speaker makes a deep connection with Nature; his relationship with nature evolves and strengthens. As we begin to read, the first stanza of “The Prelude of 1805” shows how the speaker’s relationship with nature develops. Wordsworth uses several literary devices along with a profound sense of sincerity and realization to express how nature makes him feel. Through the use of various clever figures of speech, descriptive imagery and sincere tone, Wordsworth demonstrates his intent of expressing his personal experience with nature while strongly stressing the relationship between man versus nature.  Wordsworth shows readers that nature is the best option; he claims that nature will save us.

Wordsworth strengthens his point—to insist on the beneficial relationship that arises between man and nature—through the use of alliteration, enjambment, repetition and parallelism, to mention a few. When using repetition, Wordsworth instigates that it is important we listen to his mind speaking to us because to him—who is also the speaker in the poem—it is important that we realize the vital role nature has played in his life. It is thanks to nature that he has found the inner peace we all seek. We can see repetition on line 5, “O welcome messenger! O welcome friend!” He is repetitively welcoming nature into his life. The repetitive pattern continues on but becomes stronger; we see it in the form of parallelism—sentences that start off with the same structure. Lines 12, 13 and 14 all start with “shall”. Once again, this reinforces the welcoming of nature into his life and leads way to how his life is already changing because of nature.

Two other key literary elements used in the introductory stanza of “The Prelude 1805” (book first) are alliteration and enjambment. Wordsworth carefully applies alliteration to beautify his poetic introduction to his “greatest discovery yet”. This “beautification” symbolizes Wordsworth’s visualization of nature in his life. This beautiful sounding stanza portrays how nature has enlightened and enhanced the speaker’s life. “Trances of thought and mountings of the mind” (20) is one of the most beautiful lines in the entire stanza and it is a line with not only one, but two examples of alliteration. We hear “traces” along with “thoughts” then move on to “mountings” and “mind”. The beauty and attention this line draws grasps the attention of readers and keeps them engaged. Furthermore, what enhances the harmony of these first thirty-two lines is the continuous usage of enjambment. The employment of enjambment allows his ideas to be clearly communicated to readers. In fact, there are more sentences that continue onto the next line than those that finish or have punctuations. This, once again, is a clever tactic that gives readers a deeper desire to connect with the speaker and with the speaker’s message. With these two strong literary devices—alliteration and enjambment—Wordsworth achieves his purpose, which is to enamor his audience with the gifts and blessings nature has to offer.

All the literary elements used by Wordsworth in the poem come together to create a great visual picture on the audience. Imagery is extremely important in this poem. Not only does Wordsworth tell us how nature is enhancing his life—as he finally lets it in, he also shows us how beautiful this nature through detail and description. Wordsworth does not just tell the audience, he shows them—which makes fortifies the delivery of his message. Wordsworth allows us to be in the scene with him: “Oh there is blessing in this gentle breeze, That blows from the green fields and from the clouds; And from the sky . . .” (1-3). The connection Wordsworth attempts to make with the audience is significantly important because it allows the audience to step in Wordsworth’s shoes for a brief moment, to feel what he feels when he befriends nature and allows it to come into his life. Imagery lets readers place themselves in the scene with the speaker, experience what he feels and accept the message he communicates to his audience.

Regardless of the lack of rhyme scheme, Wordsworth carefully writes the first stanza so that it still flows and sounds beautifully; this is also due to sincerity in the speaker’s tone. Wordsworth purposely uses his sincerity so that readers develop a deeper sense of pathos and so they connect easily with the intended message—the importance nature plays in our lives. The speaker lets us in his most intimate thoughts, inside of his mind, thus we feel more intimate and closer to him. While Wordsworth shares his thoughts all throughout the first stanza, lines 6-10 show us exactly how open the speaker is being with this audience: “A captive greets thee, coming from a house; Of bondage, from yon city’s walls set free, A prison where he hath been long immured. Now I am free, enfranchised and at large, May fix my habitation where I will” (6-10). Wordsworth sincerely tells us he felt imprisoned, and now, nature has freed him from the chains and walls of living encapsulated in the city. Nature helped the speaker discover his inner piece.  

While he may have not felt accomplished in writing “The Prelude”, he did a beautiful job in writing it. He intentionally expresses the autobiography of his intellect—he shows us his great poetic abilities. Wordsworth keeps readers moving in only one direction, forward. The first thirty-two lines have a funnel effect: there are tons of things and thoughts running through his mind yet he tries to straighten them out. His reasoning—or solution—to the walls and imprisonment he talks about is nature. Nature brings him the peace and happiness he had been seeking all his life. The opening stanza of “The Prelude of 1805” goes directly to the point Wordsworth wishes to share—he wants the world to know the power nature holds in saving a human soul.