Starter quiz
- What type of poem is 'Extract from The Prelude'?
- biographical
- autobiographical ✓
- fictional
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- How does Wordsworth show his naivety in the line from 'Extract from the Prelude': ''I fixed my view upon the summit of a craggy ridge, the horizon's utmost boundary''?
- he is scared of a small mountain
- he believes a small cliff is the highest point of nature ✓
- he thinks he can row without being restricted by the craggy ridge
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- What marks the volta of 'Extract from The Prelude'?
- Wordsworth sees a weak animal in the water
- Wordsworth nearly drowns
- Wordsworth sees a huge mountain peak ✓
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- How does Wordsworth view nature after the volta of 'Extract from The Prelude'?
- tranquil
- dominant ✓
- beautiful
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- Which quote from 'Extract from The Prelude' best illustrates Wordsworth's reflection on experiencing the sublime?
- ''Huge and mighty forms that do not live like living men'' ✓
- ''no colours of green fields''
- ''with trembling oars I turned''
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- ''But huge and mighty forms...moved...through the mind by day, and were a trouble to my dreams.'' Why might Wordsworth have been ''troubled'' by his experience in 'Extract from The Prelude'?
- he believed nature was going to hurt him
- it was an uncomfortable existential thought that nature was superior to man ✓
- he did not know how to tell his family about what he had seen
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Exit quiz
- Which type of poem is 'Extract from The Prelude'?
- sonnet
- dramatic monologue
- epic poem ✓
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- What technique is used in the quote from 'Extract from The Prelude': ''small circles glittering idly in the moon, until they melted all into one track of sparkling light''?
- onomatopoeia
- repetition of monosyllabic words
- imagery ✓
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- Before the volta in 'Extract from The Prelude', how does Wordsworth describe nature?
- tranquil ✓
- magical ✓
- dominant
- powerful
- subdued ✓
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- After the volta in 'Extract from The Prelude', how is Wordsworth changed?
- He worships nature
- He is humbled by his existential epiphany about nature's power ✓
- He realises he is not a good rower
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- Why does Wordsworth use monosyllabic words after seeing the mountain peak in 'Extract from The Prelude'? Choose the most sophisticated interpretation.
- it shows his inability to articulate the sheer power of nature ✓
- it shows he was tired
- it shows he was scared
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- Which technique does this line from 'Extract from The Prelude' use and what does it show? ''...of sea or sky, no colours of green fields; but huge and mighty forms''?
- Assonance to show the harmony of nature
- repetition to show confusion about his own position in the world
- cacophony to show discord between Wordsworth and his relationship with nature ✓
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Initially, Wordsworth presents himself as a hero, later nature is presented as an extraordinary presence.
- Imagery of man’s arrogant efforts to dominate nature are repeated across the poem, warning of his inferiority to nature.
- Pretty aural and visual imagery early in the poem contrasts with cacophony after the volta.
- The monosyllabic description of the mountain shows how nature transcends the world of man.
- The poem explores both power and conflict: man's conflict with himself after learning the true power of nature.
Common misconception
The use of the epic form is just to show Wordsworth's adventure.
The use of epic form may suggest how nature is a heroic or legendary presence worthy of the epic poem form.
Keywords
Epic poetry - a long poem narrating the deeds of legendary or heroic figures
Cacophony - a harsh discordant mixture of sounds
Volta - sudden shift in emotion
Awe - a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder
Monosyllabic - consisting of one syllable
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