Emanuela Kucik on Book Third

William Wordsworth, Book Third

In Book Third of “The Prelude,” William Wordsworth discusses his experience at St. John’s College in Cambridge. Prior to this Book, we had only seen glimpses of Wordsworth as a child, 17 at the oldest, and had heard much of the influence that nature had on his developing mind. However, this Book goes beyond nature and gives us a glimpse of the effects of education and human interaction on Wordsworth’s mind. Although nature is still a prominent figure in this Book, human interaction has one of the larger roles in influencing Wordsworth’s mind. This influence is strongest perhaps in lines 233-236, “yet could I only cleave to solitude / in lonesome places – if a throng was near / that way I leaned by nature, for my heart / was social and loved idleness and joy” (Wordsworth 232-236). In these lines, Wordsworth expresses his newfound desire for human companionship, a desire seldom found in his younger days, the days during which his favorite companion was nature. In the footnote at the bottom of the page, it is noted that Wordsworth wrote a letter in 1794 in which he claimed that he was beginning to strongly desire to be in towns and cities for although nature was good company, it was not always good enough.
In order to make these key lines in Book Third so effective, Wordsworth uses the formal feature of organic imagery to make the words come alive. Organic imagery depicts an internal sensation which, in these lines, is Wordsworth’s newfound desire to be around people. In the first two lines, “yet could I only cleave to solitude / in lonesome places,” we can visualize Wordsworth’s internal struggle that only allows him to be content in his own company when he is the only one around. Through the imagery, we can truly feel Wordsworth’s switch from a being of solitude to a being who no longer desires solitude unless he is already alone.
The aforementioned organic imagery continues throughout the rest of the lines, “…if a throng was near / that way I leaned by nature, for my heart / was social and loved idleness and joy.” The organic imagery in these lines makes it easy to visualize Wordsworth’s internal desire to be around people. The word “leaned,” lends itself well to imagery, for we can almost see Wordsworth literally leaning towards crowds due to his strong wish to be around them.
The organic imagery within these lines makes palpable Wordsworth’s desire to be around people. Throughout “The Prelude,” we have grown accustomed to Wordsworth’s desire to be alone with nature, so his switch is a drastic one. Furthermore, without the use of the organic imagery, we would not be truly able to feel Wordsworth’s internal desires. If the passage possessed only visual or auditory imagery, it would not be as poignant because we would only be envisioning or hearing what Wordsworth was saying, not truly feeling it. Thus, the inclusion of organic imagery allows us to see what a strong influence being in college and constantly being surrounded by people had on the mind of Wordsworth, a mind that apparently was not influenced solely by nature.