Wordsworth’s The Prelude as an autobiographical Poem
Are you IGNOU M. A. English student and looking for study notes for MEG -1 British poetry? You're in the right place. This post explores The Prelude by William Wordsworth — one of the most iconic autobiographical poems in English literature.
William
Wordsworth, one of the most important Romantic poets
William Wordsworth was one of the most
important Romantic poets in English literature. William Wordsworth was born at
Cockermouth, Lake District in 1770. Wordsworth's fame as a poet spread after his publication
of The Lyrical Ballads in 1798 in collaboration with Coleridge. This book was
an official manifesto of Romantic poetry. This book set the tone for the 19th
century romantics. Wordsworth wanted to be a teacher and poetry was for him a
platform for spreading his message. His views on life and society were moulded
by his faith in pantheism. In his poem "The World is too much with
us" the poet laments the disappearance of regard for human values. The
quest for material prosperity and pleasures seemed to have prevailed everywhere
in the mind of the English people. Wordsworth was a great lover if Nature. He gave
a clarion call for return to Nature. The simple joys of life in the lap of
nature can only give man peace. In 'Tintern Abbey' and The Prelude Wordsworth
discovers in Nature a vitalising force , a living spirit. His other noted poems are “Tintern Abbey”, “Ode on The
Intimations of Immortality”, “Resolution and Independence”, “Michael” , “Lucy
Poems”, “The Old Cumberland Beggar”, “The Solitary Reaper”, etc.
The Prelude
The preset poem The Prelude or Growth of a Poet's Mind; An Autobiographical Poem,
whose subject was the poet's development from his childhood to maturity. It is
the psychological account of the growth of his own mind that came under and
absorbed the significant influences. Although it narrates personal experiences
the poem transcends the personal boundaries and holds light to universal
issues. Wordsworth began to write the poem The Prelude in 1798 when was 28
years old and continued composing throughout his life. Wordsworth never chosen
it a title, but called it the "Poem
(title not yet fixed upon) to Coleridge" in his letters to his younger sister
Dorothy. The poem was anonymous to the overall public until the
ultimate version was published three months after William Wordsworth's
death in 1850. Its present title was given by his widow Mary.
The
poem “The Prelude” is an autobiographical
The poem “The Prelude” is an
autobiographical and also philosophical, like ‘Tintern Abbey’. Stephen Gill says “It (The Prelude) takes us unavoidably
to the biographical matrix of the poem", But the poem is not an
autobiography in the traditional sense. It is not a recital of past experiences
in the ordinary sense of the term. It is accidentally an autobiography and the
facts of life it supplies must always be questioned unless confirmed from other
sources. Wordsworth has never said that the poem is an account of his life, that the
facts, dates mentioned in the poem are right. But it is true that the poem is a
fascinating source of information about the poet. The sub-title of the poem, ‘The
Growth of a Poet's Mind confirms that the poet was not primarily interested
merely in facts.
‘The Prelude can be considered an autobiography,
it is a subjective autobiography tinged and tinted with an illusion of
objective autobiography. The names, dates and places that occur in the poem , give an illusion of objective autobiography. The
Poem is primarily designed as an account of the growth of Wordsworth's poetic
mind. Though ‘The Prelude’ cannot be described as an autobiography in the
truest sense, the empirical facts there in the poem cannot be obliterated. The
poet does refer to many incidents of his life. In the poem Wordsworth refers to
the sufferings of his early life in the poem:
"How
strange that all
The terrors, pains, and early miseries,
Regrets, vexations, lassitudes, interfused …
The
calm existence that is mine when I
Am
worthy of myself".
While composing these lines the poet had in
mind the sad memories of the sufferings of his early life . The sad incidents
of the poet’s early life were the death of his parents, his unpleasant life at
Penrith , separation from Annette, failure of the French Revolution , the death
of his brother etc. The references of Hawkshead School and cottages at
Hawkshead have been made in the poem on and often. Wordsworth also mentions his disappointed
over the violence and cruelty of French Revolution. The obvious reference to
his frustration and disillusionment is seen in the lines “
“ If in my youth I have been pure in heart
If , mingling with world , I am
content
The gift is yours ; if in these
times of fear
This melancholy waste of hopes
o’erthrown ‘
The village referred to in the above
passage is Hawkshead were Wordsworth was sent to receive his early education at
the local Grammar school. The poet remembers the cottages in which the boys of
the Hawkshead School, the sons of poor villagers were made to stay. The poet with
his brothers lodged in cottage with Anne Tyson and her husband. Coleridge was
Wordsworth's bosom friend. The name of Coleridge has been mentioned more than once:
So The Prelude is subjective autobiography and objective autobiography fused in
one.
Conclusion
Thus it can be concluded that ‘The
Prelude’ is an autobiographical poem but it is not only the poet’s
personal confessions; it is an account of the growth of a poet’s mind. Geoffrey
Durrant justly writes, in this regard, about The Prelude: “The reader should
not expect to find in this poem a frank account of Wordsworth's personal life;
it is the life of his poetic personality that is recorded.”
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