Extract from ‘The Prelude’, by William Wordsworth Lesson plan Introduction What’s the most impressive natural sight you have ever seen? For example, a huge mountain, a powerful storm, a vast desert, a scary animal in the wild. How did it make you feel? In the Bible, God tells the first man and woman to ‘have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’ (Genesis 1:28) Do you think mankind does have dominion over nature? Development 1) Introducing the poem – You are going to read an extract from a long narrative poem called ‘The Prelude’, by an English poet named William Wordsworth, who lived in the 19th century. In this extract, Wordsworth describes a powerful experience he had with nature when he was a boy. 2) Reading the poem – Distribute the poem (available below with footnotes, and in a separate PDF without footnotes). Students read it individually, then aloud as a class several times. 3) Understanding the poem – Ask students the following questions, having them cite line(s) of the poem to justify their answer where necessary: -­‐ What time of day is it? Evening – ‘One summer evening’. -­‐ Who is the speaker with? No-­‐one. -­‐ Does the speaker wish to be seen? No – ‘It was an act of stealth’. -­‐ Where does the speaker go? How does he travel? He finds a boat and rows out onto a lake. -­‐ Does the speaker row well? Yes – ‘my boat / Went heaving through the water like a swan’. -­‐ Is the boat large? No – ‘an elfin pinnace’. -­‐ How does the speaker make sure he rows a straight course? He fixes his view ‘Upon the summit of a craggy ridge’. -­‐ What unsettling sight does the speaker see as he is rowing? A ‘huge’ figure appears to rise above the ridge he is staring at, grow progressively larger and then come towards him. -­‐ How does the speaker react to the unsettling sight? He rows back to where he began – ‘With trembling oars I turned, / And through the silent water stole my way / Back to the covert of the willow tree’. -­‐ How did the sight affect the speaker in the days following the incident? It troubled him greatly. A ‘darkness’, or ‘solitude’, hung over him; and he could find no pleasure in familiar sights, such as trees. He saw huge inhuman figures moving through his mind by day, and in his dreams at night. © Education Umbrella, 2016 4) Descriptions – Students complete the ‘Descriptions’ worksheet (available in a separate PDF). 5) Iambic pentameter – How many syllables are in the first line of the poem? Ask a student to read the line emphasising the odd-­‐numbered syllables (One summer evening, etc.). Ask another student to read the same line emphasising the even-­‐numbered syllables (One summer evening, etc.) Which sounds better? How many stressed syllables are there in total? Five. The rhythm of five alternately stressed syllables in a line of verse is called iambic pentameter. 6) Sentence length and punctuation – Lines 24-­‐44 are composed of three sentences. How do these long sentences complement the speaker’s emotions? What punctuation marks does Wordsworth use to structure the sentences? 7) Secrecy – This extract from ‘The Prelude’ reads as if Wordsworth is revealing a secret. This complements the fact that the incident he describes occurred during a secret boat ride. In his descriptions of beginning the brief voyage and returning, how does Wordsworth create a sense of secrecy? How does this desire to be alone backfire on him? 8) Write about it – Imagine the giant figure that Wordsworth believes he saw is real. It is a friendly giant that lives alone in the wilderness. Tell the same story of the Extract from the giant’s perspective. Try to write in non-­‐rhyming iambic pentameter, as Wordsworth does in his poem. © Education Umbrella, 2016 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 One summer evening (led by her1) I found A little boat tied to a willow tree Within a rocky cove, its usual home. Straight2 I unloosed her3 chain, and stepping in Pushed from the shore. It was an act of stealth And troubled pleasure, nor without the voice Of mountain-­‐echoes did my boat move on; Leaving behind her still, on either side, Small circles glittering idly in the moon, Until they melted all into one track Of sparkling light. But now, like one who rows, Proud of his skill, to reach a chosen point With an unswerving line, I fixed my view Upon the summit of a craggy4 ridge, The horizon’s utmost boundary; far above Was nothing but the stars and the grey sky. She was an elfin pinnace5; lustily6 I dipped my oars into the silent lake, And, as I rose upon the stroke, my boat Went heaving through the water like a swan; When, from behind that craggy steep till then The horizon’s bound7, a huge peak, black and huge, As if with voluntary power instinct, Upreared its head. I struck and struck again, And growing still in stature the grim shape Towered up between me and the stars, and still, For so it seemed, with purpose of its own And measured motion like a living thing, Strode after me. With trembling oars I turned, And through the silent water stole my way Back to the covert of the willow tree; There in her mooring-­‐place I left my bark8, – And through the meadows homeward went, in grave9 And serious mood; after I had seen That spectacle, for many days, my brain Worked with a dim and undetermined sense Of unknown modes of being; o’er my thoughts There hung a darkness, call it solitude Or blank desertion. No familiar shapes 1 Nature 2 Immediately 3 The boat’s: it is traditional to refer to ships as female. 4 Uneven 5 Small boat 6 In a strong, healthy, vigorous way 7 Boundary 8 Boat 9 Giving cause for alarm © Education Umbrella, 2016 40 Remained, no pleasant images of trees, Of sea or sky, no colours of green fields; But huge and mighty forms, that do not live Like living men, moved slowly through the mind By day, and were a trouble to my dreams.
© Education Umbrella, 2016 © Education Umbrella, 2016