A Prelude to Domination

As the sun goes down, my energy goes up
Tonight I've been called to duty
Click the left trigger and hold my breath
A steady hand is key in this game
As another bites the dust
I must flee, or I run the risk
Of giving up my position to the kill cam
Frag out Alpha Squad as the enemy creeps closer
My kill count grows after every checkpoint.

As I wait for the next game
I contemplate all the homework foregone
I must unlock the inner beast within
Feast on my enemy's fear
And revel in my new achieved rank.
Tonight, like every other night, I play God.

By Jonathan P., Jon A., Josh

Once each week, I sit upon my couch;
And spend one hour in front of the glorious television,
Watching the beloved Grey's Anatomy. Where critics rant and rave of repetitive story lines and static,
Melodramatic characters;
I see the emotional angst of the dark and twisty,
As well as the physical torment inflicted by unfortunate and unlikely events.
But no, only a true poet can see that this is much more than a show;
Yet an escape from reality; An awakening that life is never as bad as it seems, or could be. It is a vessel whose purpose is to observe the glass half full,
And more importantly that love is the answer to all?

By Jamison

I close my eyes and drift off to a place
that shows wondrous escape from life's refrain.
boredom that sucks my soul and drains pleasure.
in dreams I am reclined, impeached from real
responsibility. Verily
I climb nowhere and ask for all to come
to me for I have not ambition, born
lazy and stuck in ways mundane, content
with my fine art of working hard achieving
nothing. The bars that cross the screen entice
my mind to think of things that could but will
not really happen. A bear in blue asks me
to help him shine. I grab a snake from a bush
that eats me whole. The bear sheds tears then leaves.
I fall further down the rabbit hole, forget
that all people want in life is the best way out.
My dreams are still better than reality.
Nothing

By Noah, Andy, Rebecca, Quinn

The Prelude to Regurgitation

A pleasant sight it was
My treats upon a shelf
I leaned upon my barstool
And sipped my golden ale,
Nectar of the gods
The buzzing in my forehead
The wobbling of my legs
I approached my young caterpillar
Emerging from her cocoon
She seems so fair now
The love inside of me is brewing
Increasing with each step
I feel it begin to blossom
Opening my mouth to express my love
Projecting my new feelings
It lands upon her feet.

By Leslie, Chris, Kevin, and Dan

The Prelude to Insecurity

The hair comes running down her back
A tumble of black waves, thick as rope
Catching in her shirt, forming sweat on her neck
Every which way she turns, it tangles itself further
Frustrated, she knots it at the back of her head
And sticks a pencil in it for security
But the further she walks, the more strands squirm out
So she gives up, and lets the rope fall down again
Sweating heavily, she curses her waves
And swears one day she will chop them off
But the thought sends chills through her sweating frame
As insecurity courses through her confident veins
For she is fully convinced that every compliment
She has ever received
Has been for her hair,
Never her face.

By Emanuela

The Prelude to Fashion

What wondrous colors spiral in mine eye
From clothing doth expression come
Lofty emotions sway in the folds of silk
Cotton woven of imagination and skill
Lift my spirit from the drab routine of day
Be awakened sleeping intellect!
Find courage in the cut of your skirt
And the seams of your blazer!
Muddy jeans are the humble origin of your style
And from them has grown the sophistication of your attire.

By Mattisha and Kimberly

Prelude to a Swimming Pool

O beloved swimming pool that
I would visit when the sun in summer's
Glory held the world, whose chlorinated
Vapors 'round my head give rise to such sweet
Sentiment! Beneath thy crystal surface,
Peace divine suspends me in the water
Till the lifeguard's whistle calls me to the surface.

By Janie, Jonathan Y., and Kristina

"A Prelude to Lunch"

Shortly before lunchtime it dawned on me,
What I had never noticed before, that
Humble sandwich, the vessel by which life
Is transferred from the cow, the fowl, and the
Lowly chaff of wheat into God-hewn tract,
Hath a power to consecrate—if we
Have tongue to taste—even the dreariest
Workday afternoon. The mayo, mustard,
Savory meats and hearty garden plants
Have flavors in themselves that interact
With the passions of man’s palate, and spur
Mere taste to evolve, by process unclear,
Into the poet’s loftiest genius.

Based on Wordsworth’s Prelude, 1805 version, lines 278-296

The Prelude: Book XII

In the Prelude, Wordsworth emphasizes the concept of nature’s gift. This is seen with the opening of Book XII. In the first two lines, Wordsworth explains how man’s emotions and feeling of internal calmness are the gifts that nature has to offer to the human race. To Wordsworth, these two attributes of nature are seen as two “sister horn’s that constitute her strength”. With lines 5 and lines 6, Wordsworth explains how the sun, the simple rain shower of the spring, or anything seen in nature are the origins of this gift. With the conclusion of stanza 1 of the opening of Book XII, Wordsworth explains how the energy of seeking truth and the happy stillness of the mind are the results of seeking nature. By analyzing Wordsworth use of comparison, enjambment, and what Wordsworth believe are the benefits of seeking nature, one can see how Wordsworth draws his internal strength from nature.

In stanza one of Book XII, Wordsworth uses extensive comparison. In line 4, Wordsworth compares nature’s attributes of providing man with emotion and internal calmness to that of “sister horns”. He also compares nature to having qualities of a human being. This is seen in his extensive use of the pronoun “her” when referring to nature. By using comparison in stanza one, Wordsworth creates the image of nature being “alive”, always placing “her” influence on one’s life.

Wordsworth also uses enjambment with the opening of Book XII. This is seen in the first sentence of Book XII. In this sentence, Wordsworth extensively explains the idea of man’s emotion and the feeling of calmness and how this is directly correlated to finding refuge in nature. This extensive comparison starts at line 1 and ends at line 7, only separated by a comma, a semicolon, and a colon. Wordsworth’s use of enjambment displays the emotional connection he has with nature, and the connection he wants others to have.

With the conclusion of the opening of Book XII, Wordsworth explains the benefits of nature’s gifts (emotion and calmness) in one’s life. These benefits include having the energy to seek truth in life, and happy stillness of the mind. To Wordsworth, these attributes are essential to life, and can only come from seeking refuge in nature.

The Prelude: Book XII

Blog post: Book 12 Response Victoria Sosa
In Wordsworth’s Prelude, Book XII he begins with contrasts of peace and excitation, the city compared to his rural neighborhood, nature and mankind. I believe that he’s saying that Nature emphasizes our self knowledge and experience, yet it is us up to us to acknowledge it. He puts a lot of emphasis on truth with the connection between him and nature and opening his mind. It seems when he escapes to Nature, it’s because he feels a sense of trust and steadiness and consistency of Nature. Wordsworth goes on to criticize society’s politics with “false philosophy… false thought” to expose the greed that we have been succumbed to due to society. He describes wealth as “lodged” into our minds and seems to be deeply disturbed by the city/urban lifestyle. Or that he might just be open to realize the real beauty is in our own world which creates itself, something not man-made yet connected to us.
Wordsworth comments in lines 85-88 about how rare a creature (“one in 10,000?”) is to be more into the spirit or the soul of someone than the superficial, and to not conform to social norms. From here Wordsworth goes on to describe the ultimate goal of man is to achieve “real worth, genuine knowledge and true power of mind.” Which I believe tunes in to his philosophical views throughout the poem. He goes on to describe our bodies as the frame and under our weight lies something deeper, such as our soul. We are more than we can merely imagine. He continues to use a contrast of images throughout the poem that entails intertwining qualities such as “from that great city—else it must have been a heart-depressing wilderness.” Here he puts adjectives that contrast the subject like great in front of city that he’s describing as heart-depressing and the wilderness is related to nature which I believe in his eyes would be positive.
I feel throughout the majority of the poem Wordsworth is venting his dislikes of politics, society, and even cities. He has this back and forth rhythm where he goes into this praising tone of Nature and it’s beauty and vast qualities and then his anger and distaste towards what seems like many social norms and corruptions as well. I believe he makes great points about how nature is right in front of us and yet most people can’t understand its beauty and roles that it plays in our lives and how it can relate to how we live and die. I also like his points on how cities somewhat fuel ignorance like in lines 210-216 “By artificial lights- -how they debase, The many for the pleasure of those few, Effeminately level down the truth, To certain general notions for the sake, Of being understood at once, or else , Through want of better knowledge in the men, Who frame them, flattering thus our self conceit.” Even simply his word choice and syntax make a beautiful yet effective statement that is eloquent and has meaning as well not just pretty words.
Wordsworth wished to connect to man universally by analyze come human character and relations such as child, parent, husband and I think he does a great job in impacting many peoples opinions and views on life itself.

Prelude Book Twelfth

The first third of Wordsworth’s Prelude: Book Twelfth (1805 version) illustrates a constant struggle between Wordsworth’s ideas of Nature vs. Knowledge. Within the first two lines:

“From Nature doth emotion come, and moods
Of calmness equally are Nature’s gift:”

Here Wordsworth is describing the nature of the origin of human emotions and moods, where they come from and what their purpose is. Later in the paragraph he makes references to another well known pairing, “the sun and shower,” further strengthening the idea behind these two concepts. The purpose of capitalizing the “n” in the word “Nature” could also lead the reader to believe that Wordsworth is alluding to God in the same respect as nature. Since God is the reason for the world around us, he is also the reason for the natural development of emotion and moods within the human being.

It is in the next stanza where Wordsworth talks about his experiences within the world that have given rise to his gathering of knowledge. Not surprisingly, he follows his normal manner of questioning how he came to realize things and ends up on the notion:

“Did Nature bring again this wiser mood,
More deeply reestablished in my soul,
Which, seeing little worthy or sublime
In what we blazon with the pompous names
Of power and action, early tutored me
To look with the feelings of fraternal love
Upon those unassuming things that hold
A silent station in this beauteous world.”

This stanza attributes his sense of higher consciousness and smarter being to his original experiences with nature. He again capitalizes the “n” in “nature,” signifying that he could still be crediting God with everything, but it doesn’t seem to be so religious in this paragraph. Wordsworth’s word choices show an admiration for the world around him in an almost “hippie-ish” way that is different from religion. His experiences in the natural world gave him the knowledge and appreciation for things that he might not have previously noticed in his on secular world.

I found the excerpt between lines 82-96 to be the most intriguing within this book. Wordsworth is questioning why are there so few men in the world that have gained the knowledge and state of mind that he has gained. He further prods why are there not more of these people and what has Nature done to restrict this dream? This juxtaposition is an example of a person’s struggle between the spiritual world and the real world. Wordsworth talks about the “animal wants and the necessities which they impose,” meaning that the human mind thirsts for knowledge. He questions why these are or could be boundaries. Though the spirit is constantly searching for answers it is sometimes hindered by the realities of the real world. Should a person not be born into a privileged family during this time it would be extremely difficult to get a proper education in order to foster the mind to grow. There were not many stories of “rags to riches” back in the early 1800s. Thus a person’s spiritual need to develop and mature the mind could be hindered by obstacles faced within the real world. Sadly, often times there is not much that a person can do about it.

Book Twelfth, Lines 313-349

In the lines preceding this section, Wordsworth has described his view of poets as prophets, privileged with a sense that allows them to see the unseen. Beginning with line 313, he proceeds to tell of the one most significant time when he himself felt he had that poetic gift. Through the progression of images in this anecdote, he further develops his view of man’s relationship with nature.
First, the trackless downs and bare roads inspire a vision of ancient Britons in barbaric habit, shaking their spears. Wordsworth notes that the image is not without “majesty,” but there is a sense of restlessness in this first stage of the vision; nature has inspired a vision of man rather than a classic sense of the sublime, which begins to illustrate a relationship, but balance has not yet been reached.
As Wordsworth delves deeper into his own reverie, the ancient barrows lead him to imagine scenes of human sacrifice by the Druids. He seems to hear the groans of the victims echoing through the downs. This is a very dark and gruesome image, inspired by the burial mounds—which are technically an example of man’s collaboration with nature, but it is the wrong kind of collaboration, a twisted form of the relationship.
The final image in the sequence leaves Wordsworth “gently charmed.” It comes about when he sees “lines, circles, mounts, a mystery of shapes” on the ground, again Druid constructs, but in this case in harmony with nature. This example of the Druids’ work represents their love and recognition of the constellations, forming on the earth an image mirroring the stars. In this final scene, man has finally settled into a balance with nature. The restlessness and violence are gone, and man is now inspired by nature, seeking to emulate it. This seems to reflect Wordsworth’s concept of the ideal relationship between man and nature.
Through this progression, Wordsworth traces a curve of man’s interaction and communion with nature—a curve that passes from its incitement through conflict and is resolved in harmony. In the end, the vision is accompanied by “music,” “stillness and a pleasant sound.” Wordsworth’s vision has resulted in a peaceful and harmonious relationship between man and nature, a glimpse of the poetic truth for which the prophet-poets he has described have a sense.

Book XII

[I kind of jumped all over in my references, but my focus will (eventually) be lines 368-379).]

We’re still trying to figure out what the heck Wordsworth means when he talks about “imagination.” And there are a whole lot of dualities that Wordsworth explores in this passage, and really throughout. I selected this passage because, as the concluding stanza, it attempts to summarize many of the main points. Those points feature the couples “right reason” and “knowledge,” the temporal and eternal, and the tangible and intangible.

Wordsworth discusses right reason in the second stanza of this book: “I had been taught to reverence a power/That is the very quality and shape/And image of right reason” (lines 25-26). I am almost afraid to tackle these lines because a certain phrase never means the same thing when you ask two different poets. Milton used the term “right reason” when he discussed the inherent understanding of natural law. Heavy stuff. Basically, he thought that every man had a sort of internal way of “knowing” what was right or wrong, important or not, sacred or secular, etc. This understanding seems to stand well against the way Wordsworth discusses knowledge. He talks about walking down the road and meeting people and learning from them through his conversations (lines 145-184). In these lines, it seems that man gains all of his knowledge through experience. He must be taught, he must read, and he must study. Things that wouldn’t have appeared to the “vulgar eye,” the common eye, in this case the unlearned eye. From this passage, it seems that gaining knowledge is hard work, which is a far cry from the knowledge a man possesses automatically with right reason.

The second juxtaposition, brought to my attention by the use of the word “originates” in line 374, is between the temporal and the eternal. Wordsworth writes that right reason allowed him

“a temperate shew

Of objects that endure…

To seek in man, and in the frame of life

Social and individual, what there is

Desirable, affecting, good or fair,

Of kindred permanence, the gifts divine

And universal, the pervading grace

That hath been, is, and shall be” (lines 35-44).

Right reason has revealed that which is lasting, has sifted the chaff from the wheat to reveal those things on early that will endure. This “shew of objects” will assist the speaker in finding value in his experience. As long as he rightly employs right reason in his everyday life, the more important aspects of life will stand out to him, and he will be able to make a proper investment of his time and attention. On the other hand, the speaker also highlights his experience. He wishes

“To ascertain how much of real worth,

And genuine knowledge, and true power of the mind,

Did at this day exist in those who lived

By bodily labour, labour far exceeding

Their due proportion, under all the weight

Of that injustice which upon ourselves

By composition of society/Ourselves entail.” (lines 98-105)

This description is very much focused on daily toil. The speaker is wondering in this passage if the concerns we have in this world are getting in the way of the exercise of our imaginations. “What bars are thrown/By Nature in the way of such a hope?/Our animal wants and the necessities/Which they impose, are these the obstacles?” (lines 92-95) This also harkens to the dichotomy of the body and soul. Where does the soul exist in the body? Is the soul impeded by the body? How can the two disparate entities exist in such close connection to each other? The speaker seems to equate the imagination to the soul, but cannot ignore the physical needs that our life on earth requires.

This leads directly into the last pair, the tangible and intangible. In this final line, the speaker refers to the excellence, spirit, and power “Both of the object seen, and the eye that sees” (379). The object seen links directly to these human needs. This is the physical world, the tangible world, the world that is related to our body, and to the knowledge that we gain by experience. The eye that sees is, ostensibly, the imagination. This eye sees Nature, it sees grandeur all in one picture, it sees the everlasting in the midst of the temporal, it sees the right through all the wrong. And the speaker credits this eye to the poet: “poets…/Have each for his peculiar dower a sense/By which he is enabled to perceive/Something unseen before” (lines 301-305). I hate to try and boil it down, to reduce it to such a thin mixture, but it seems that the speaker finds that poets possess something in themselves, some form of right reason that empowers their imagination, allows them to see all of nature at once, even that which is not evident to the “vulgar eye.” Unlike the common man, they do not see and appreciate Nature after long study and through hard-earned knowledge, but through some divine gift that always has been, and always will be.

A Brief Concordance to Book XI

The word imagination is used (in some form or another) at lines: 45, 252
The word “reason” is used at lines: 43 (“intellectual power”), 70, 83 (“logic”), 86, 123
The word “nature” is used at lines: 31, 99, 138, 146, 162, 178, 213, 255, 393
The word “mind” is used at lines: 46, 118, 128, 151, 169, 188, 263, 270, 369

Book XI (1805)

One of the most interesting passages of Book XI of The Prelude comes in lines 346 to about 383. Here the reader is presented with the death of Wordsworth’s father. In very typical “Prelude” fashion, Wordsworth looks back on a particular event, this time the death of his father, and remembers all that came with the event in his life. He gives a detailed account of his sensual perceptions as well as his philosophical or moral renderings of the situation.

The sensual perceptions of the funeral day are very specific and haunting. He describes the “wind and sleety rain,” “the single sheep and the one blasted tree,” and “the bleak music of that old stone wall.” The words sleety, single, blasted and bleak all help present imagery that agrees with the mourning and devastation of losing his father. There is no sunshine, or pleasant days in this description. We are told that he was “straining” his eyes, and it was a “stormy, and rough, and wild” day. The climate sets up perfectly the bitter end to his father’s life and allows a time for Wordsworth to reflect.

We receive this lofty imagery experience in lines 368 to 374. We find a struggle for Wordsworth that he at one point felt the death was maybe a chastisement, and produced an “anxiety of hope.” Maybe he tried to reason that his father was in a better place by the line “with trite reflections of morality.” I could see this meaning he told himself that his father was a good person and probably was in heaven. But then we see that in his “deepest passion,” God “corrected his desires.” I am not sure as to what his desires are corrected towards, and maybe that is intentional. But nevertheless we are presented with this image of God helping him deal with the loss of his father in the midst of a dim and depressing scene.

This follows Wordsworth’s pattern of looking back on things that happened earlier in life, and adding meaning to them by mulling over them using his current perspective.

Book Sixth Lines 55-79

Book Sixth

Analysis by: Sarah Phillips

Wordsworth’s Book Sixth of The Prelude takes us further through his journey to manhood as he crosses the Alps, but more important than this literal journey is his spiritual journey and the pursuit into his reminiscence. However, more specifically the section of this particular book that I chose to look at more closely was the 4^th stanza, lines 55 through 79. I found these lines particularly interesting because I felt that they really told the story of Wordsworth’s internal drive to decide to write The Prelude and The Recluse.

This section of Book Sixth was written at a time when Wordsworth had decided again to put off writing the main portion of The Recluse and to extend The Prelude upwards from its original 5 –book form. This can be seen in lines 57 – 60 when he writes “A thousand hopes were mine, a thousand tender dreams, of which no few have been since realized, and some do yet remain, hopes for my future life. “ This stanza really takes us through his decision to write both books and the impact that he thought they would have on the world. “Those were the days which first encouraged me to trust with firmness, hitherto but lightly touched with such a daring thought, that I might leave some monument behind me which pure hearts should reverence.” These lines show us that the reason why he wanted to write The Recluse was to put the meaning of life within verse for all of those who were “pure hearts” and cared to know it. He was hoping that this would give people the key to utopia that the French Revolution was not able to accomplish. However, despite all of this vast insight into Wordsworth’s mind that is gained through this stanza, I also chose to study this poem more closely for selfish reasons, it’s my very favorite that we’ve read so far!

This stanza really is written beautifully and flows effortlessly. It is probably my favorite part of Book Sixth because it’s so easy to read and it sounds the most soft and "poetic" of the surrounding stanzas. It is also my favorite stanza in this particular book because it contains my favorite "quote" of lines form all of what we have read of the prelude this far. "I loved and I enjoyed - that was my chief and ruling business, happy in the strength and loveliness of imagery and thought." These few lines really set a positive tone for this Book Sixth while at the same time giving us an insight into the mind set of Wordsworth in his approach to poetry in general, but more specifically to his view of writing the Prelude and The Recluse.

The Prelude (1805), Book XI – William Wordsworth

Book XI of William Wordsworth’s Prelude talks about the imagination, and is split up into two parts, how it’s “impaired” and how it’s “restored.” Throughout this passage, Wordsworth explains the things that pollute and abuse our creative minds, and the remedies to these ailments, at least for Wordsworth himself.
One of the things that Wordsworth claims is detrimental to the imagination is filling it up with negative attitudes and letting “human sufferings...and inaptitude of the mind” infiltrate it. The prime culprit he points to is being judgmental. When being judgmental in a contemplative way toward nature and one’s deeper, inner emotions, it is acceptable, but to harvest it within oneself in a critical manner is a “degradation” of the mind.
Another thing he says can affect your imagination is using it in ways other than for the appreciation of Nature. There is really no need to dream of things that are “more grand, more fair, (or) more exquisitely framed” than that of the sights and sounds of Nature, and when in the presence of Nature, one can ultimately become “a sensitive, and a creative soul.” Nature is the only thing that can truly arouse the imagination and help aid in its growth and development, and Wordsworth makes this point by stating in lines 143-145 that he “roamed from hill to hill, from rock to rock, still craving combinations of new forms, new pleasure, wider empire for the sight…”
In order to properly “restore” imagination to its respectable state of being, one must utilize all their senses to their utmost ability, and not neglect one in favor of the others. Wordsworth says in lines 144-145 that “all eye…and…all ear…ever with the heart” and in lines 270-273 that “we (humans) have had deepest feeling that the mind is lord and master, and that outward sense is but the obedient servant of her will.” Allowing ourselves to use our outer senses, which are connected to our inner being, to get absorbed in Nature’s presence gives us a rich cognitive experience and helps to strengthen us. The perfect example of what Wordsworth is trying to express exists between lines 199-222 in his story about the young maid he knew. He explains in this long excerpt that “she was Nature’s inmate.” She didn’t allow “intermeddling subtleties perplex her mind,” and by doing this, she achieved the “delight” of God and a blessed life.
As far as formal features within this passage, I particular enjoyed Wordsworth’s two analogies in lines 76 and 80 when he talked about the “war against himself.” The two examples he used were “like a monk who hath forsworn the world” and “…by simple waving of the wand, the wizard instantaneously dissolves palace or grove.” These sentences both provoke vivid images in my head and I think were intended to be used a little comically.