Two-Part Prelude of 1799: Part One

William Wordsworth's "Two-Part Prelude of 1799" is a study of the relationship between the intellect or mind and Nature. It is through impressions of nature that new perspectives, thoughts, and 'feelings' are created in the mind. This is depicted in the story of the boy commandeering a row boat and coming upon the gigantic cliff, where he was impressed with the fear of nature, and during his escapades into stealing birds eggs, when he gained new perspective by hanging upside down. Wordsworth recounts many more memories of things past, which instill in him new appreciations for nature.The second dimension of the intellect/nature relationship is that of memory. For Nature is a silent worker whose impressions may take time and a mature intellect to properly evaluate. It is through the ever lasting memory of our experiences with nature that we are able to truly come to terms with her in a deeper morally and spiritually significant way.

Wordsworth uses three significant tools in his poetry to depict this interaction between nature, memory, and the mind. Firstly, almost every stanza is broken up into two distinct sections. Once section is of deep thought or pondering, and one is of action, the action being of course a memory. In this way active contemplation is brought together with involuntary memory. In some stanzas it is the thought which bring out the memories, while in others it is the memories that create the thought. This depicts the circularly and complicated mechanics of the mind, which the second tool of Wordsworth capitulates.

The open rhyme scheme imitates the flow of thought in the mind. Thoughts are not restricted by any rules, but rather flow where is their wont. And yet there is an elegant sense to the mind that is reflected in the lyrical cadences of the poem.Although it lacks rhyme, the words sound poetic when spoken and flow gently and steadily together.

Lastly, Wordsworth uses the arch of the entire part one to actively show how the mind creates images and memories of nature that in later years may be decoded by the adult person by beginning part one with a series of boyhood remembrances and finishing the poem almost exclusively with evaluation and contemplation. This arch over part one is a plot of imitation of the activities of the mind, it's ability to traverse time and create something new from Nature's bountiful offerings.