In the stichistic passage of William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem, The Prelude, the speaker, who represents Wordsworth himself, encounters unknown aspects of the natural world. The passage is a verse bildungsroman, a coming-of-age poem that chronicles the speaker's psychological growth. In this passage, Wordsworth discusses two distinct streams of consciousness – one ancient and one current – ​​to highlight the speaker's changing responses to his experiences in the natural world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. Wordsworth places the passage in an isolated part of nature to isolate the speaker, allowing him to develop a sense of conscience or self-awareness. his. After finding a boat by chance and setting sail on the lake at dusk, the beauty of nature transfixes the speaker. The speaker's fascination with the natural world leads him to speak in a tone of reverence, as if he is at the mercy of a force greater than himself. From the first person perspective, Wordsworth creates the speaker who presents the story of Wordsworth's elder. oneself, giving the reader direct insight into the speaker's thoughts and feelings. This view highlights the development of the speaker's consciousness and his changing responses to his experience in the natural world. Wordsworth structures the passage so that it takes the form of a cycle; he first develops the story through diction and imagery, then uses a shift in tone to suggest that the speaker is encountering a crisis, and finally, the speaker recovers from this crisis and finally becomes self-aware itself and its environment. The passage forms a complete cycle before the speaker realizes "[the] problem of [his] dreams" (Wordsworth, line 44), meaning that he becomes aware of himself, while at the same time recognizing its relative insignificance in the natural world. This cycle parallels the speaker's own consciousness, which also moves from enlightenment to disenchantment. The irony of this process is that it is the speaker's disenchantment, not enlightenment, that ultimately makes him self-aware. Through the use of diction, imagery, and tone, Wordsworth suggests that the speaker's initial admiration for nature comes from the positive impact it has on his developing consciousness, both aesthetically and emotionally. Even if the speaker encounters unknown aspects of nature, it nevertheless satisfies and transforms him through the feeling of unity and contentment that it brings him. The speaker sees the natural world as a comfort, a place where he can reflect and transcend his past. As the passage progresses, Wordsworth uses a shift in tone to suggest that the speaker's attitude toward nature is changing dramatically. This duality of meaning – the transition from one extreme to the other – indicates the speaker's different responses to nature. Wordsworth uses the passage as a whole to indicate that the unknown aspects of nature serve as a metaphor for the development of the speaker's consciousness, and that in order for the speaker to overcome his past, he must experience something of unknown. After enduring this process, the speaker will realize the true power of the natural world over humanity and therefore become self-aware. Wordsworth uses diction to convey that the speaker's initial relationship with nature is harmonious, which highlights the fact that he is still naive because he has not yet realized the domination of the natural world over the humanity; his pride, or excessive pride, makes him blind to reality, and through this indication, Wordsworthemphasizes the importance of the speaker isolating himself in order to gain self-awareness. The passage takes place “A summer evening” (line 1). At this uncertain time of day, the sky is neither sunny nor dark. Wordsworth indicates that, just like tonight's sky, the appearance of the natural world to human beings is constantly changing. Nature corresponds to the speaker's changing attitude toward his or her experience in the natural world. Led by Mother Nature, the speaker comes across “A small boat tied to a willow” (line 2) and decides to put it in the water. He describes this decision as "an act of stealth / And troubled pleasure" (lines 5-6), revealing to the reader that he knows his offense, but he does not care because his desire for adventure prevails about the potential risks of stealing the item. boat. The vocabulary Wordsworth uses – “stealth” and “disturbed pleasure” – connotes the speaker’s wrongdoing. The oxymoron of “disturbed pleasure” creates a paradoxical image in which the reader can see the speaker's contradictory attitude toward the theft of the boat. On the one hand, he is aware of his transgression and its possible repercussions, but on the other hand, he knows that the natural world will bring him comfort in the face of the real world and therefore decides to take a risk. Rowing the boat, he hears the "voice / Of mountain echoes" (lines 6-7), which serves as a metaphor for his own consciousness. The personification Wordsworth uses emphasizes the importance of imagery and how it conveys the unfamiliarity of the natural world to the speaker. Nature offers an infinite range of possibilities that the speaker is not accustomed to, and his description of "the extreme limit of the horizon" (line 15) symbolizes exactly that. Wordsworth creates irony in describing the horizon, suggesting that although the speaker speaks confidently and knows what he wants, his goal is elusive and therefore his efforts to achieve it will ultimately be in vain. The horizon symbol represents the speaker's intangible goal. Just like his goal, no matter how close he gets to the horizon, it will always be that much further away from him. The speaker's pride prevents him from achieving his goal. This hubris is evident when he says, “With steadfast line I fixed my gaze / On the summit of a craggy ridge” (lines 13-14). The speaker is so confident in himself that his arrogance overrides his rationality. He is assured of his abilities to overcome the challenges presented to him by the natural world. Wordsworth's use of diction, particularly the word "steadfast" (line 13), delineates the speaker's excessive pride and selfishness. Wordsworth uses the development portion of the passage to emphasize the speaker's need for adventure and to also indicate that he views nature as a source of both excitement and comfort. In this part of the passage, Wordsworth associates the speaker with the feeling of freedom – the ability for the speaker to do what he wishes without outside influence – that the natural world provides. As the passage progresses, Wordsworth uses a shift in tone to suggest that crisis is imminent; through this crisis, Wordsworth indicates that the speaker's pride has made him blind to reality and that for him to become aware of himself, he must experience a crisis that will destroy his pride and make him aware of himself. Wordsworth writes, "with vivacity / I plunged my oars into the silent lake" (lines 17-18) to contrast this tone with the speaker's change in tone after encountering the crisis. At this point in the passage, the beauty of the natural world still fascinates the speaker. The word “vigorously” evokes a sexual reference, as Wordsworth further emphasizes the speaker's infatuation with nature through his use of diction. Wordsworthalso uses the literary technique of enjambment to delay the intention of the speaker's emotion toward the natural world by dividing the sentence in two. This enjambment gives the phrase a duality of meaning and relates directly to the speaker's developing consciousness, suggesting that he still innately possesses pride. The speaker loses his hubris, however, when the passage reaches its crucial turning point as the tone shifts from a feeling of confidence to uncertainty and apprehension. The speaker describes the sinister figure he approaches as “The ho / rizon / bound, a / huge peak, / black and / enormous” (lines 22). Wordsworth uses repetition to emphasize the omnipotence of the peak. It also uses a caesura to indicate the change in tone; by adding this medial pause, he emphasizes the importance of the peak and how it directly alters the speaker's attitude toward the natural world. Additionally, he adds a terminal half foot to the line, which contains five iambs, to again emphasize the size of the peak and depart from the blank verse structure of the passage. This addition of an additional syllable underlines the powerful figure of the peak by repeating the word "enormous" and varies the structure of the passage by making this line eleven syllables instead of the usual ten. Additionally, Wordsworth refers to the horizon with the definite article. “the” instead of the indefinite article “a”, meaning that the horizon is a fixed place. This fixed horizon symbolizes the speaker's unrealistic goal. He only sees his future in terms of one goal, indicating that his hubris ultimately prevented him from achieving this elusive goal. To further emphasize his apprehension, the speaker says that the sinister shape "[t]rised / between me / and the / stars, and / again" (lines 25-26). Wordsworth again adds half a terminal foot to this line to change the structure of the passage and emphasize the height peak The verb “turned” personifies the peak in a powerful and intimidating way He also uses diction when talking about “willing power” (line 23). and “measured movement” (line 28) to describe the peak Its great stature becomes an adversary that the speaker must overcome. Furthermore, to confirm the change in tone, Wordsworth says: “For it seemed to have a purpose to it. is clean / And measured movement like a living being, / Walked after me” (lines 27-29) He no longer views the natural world as a conquering world, but rather. as the greatest of supernatural forces His initial feeling of pleasure and contentment turns to apprehension and, through the change in tone, Wordsworth suggests that even if the speaker thought he could subdue nature to his purpose and that. 'she would give in to him, in reality, this would not be the case due to his domination. on humanity. Wordsworth ends the passage with an overwhelming tone of desolation and despair to indicate that the speaker's initial perception of the nature has completely changed; he now views the natural world with fear and contempt, and through this change in perspective, Wordsworth suggests that the speaker is finally self-aware because he realizes that nature dominates humanity. After confronting the crisis, the speaker returns “[back] to the secret of the willow” (line 31). Initially, the speaker viewed the willow without regard, but following the crisis, the willow transforms into a symbol of security and protection for the speaker. Upon returning to the willow, the speaker has time to reflect on his experience of the natural world. He states: “But after seeing / This spectacle, for several days, my brain / Worked with an obscure and indeterminate sense / Of unknown modes of being” (lines 34-37). The way the speaker meditates on his own life changes completely after meeting him ».