Time stamps ~ 4:50 key themes and ideas 5:29 Romanticism summary 8:03 overview surrounding the poem 11:23 form 16:28 structure 17:48 language looking through the whole extract 40:45 the ending message
Watching this again after my GCSE’s last month, as I’ve been given the opportunity to teach a year 10 class for work experience. I wouldn’t be able to do all this without you, so thank you Mr Bruff!
someone in my class asked my teacher would the people at the times actually get any of this and she was like honestly probably not but we have to imagine they did😂
if you don't have enough time and you are looking for something more specific. Here you go: about the author: 1:00 summary of the story: 9:00 form: 9:00 and 11:22 context: 12:12 structure: 16:28 theme: 29:11 going over the whole poem and doing language, structural analysis and also talks about context: 17:49 (sorry if the last bit wasn't specific enough i didn't have enough time either)
I've always despised this poem as i thought it was really dull but you've completely changed my opinion , I didn't realise there was so much you could analyse ! thanks so much
hi Mr Bruff i have an exam coming up on the comparison of this poem and storm on the island, is there any significant similarities or differences that you can spot in these two poems? I can only think of the similarites/differences between the poems' uses of language, but kinda struggling on the structure and context. Thx anyway, this video is very helpful, hope u can reach 1 million subs soon. ^_^
I think watching this video in 1.75x actually made me appreciate this poem a lot more, when listening at such speed, we pay more attention to what it being said so we don't miss out any important information, and by doing so, I understood the poem and its meaning. Thank you Mr.Bruff.
As a trainee teacher, these explanation and analysis videos are superb for grasping an overview before exploring the poetry with a class. I also recommend students seek out your videos if they want a complete and thorough understanding; offering more in depth analysis than we can get through in a classroom.
This is fabulous! You have enhanced my understanding of this poem tenfold without me having to do the the 15 hours of research I would normally have to have done! Huge thanks!
I have just moved schools a few months ago in the middle of my GCSE and was studying love and relationships and now I have to do power and conflict and your channel helps me so much thank you!
I saw a comment saying that you should watch it at 1.25x the speed, and I'd just like to add onto that, because yeah, it's actually super helpful for speed revision. To actually speed to video up, you want to go into the video settings (the gear on laptop/desktop or three dots on mobile), speed, and choose what you want. 1.25x speed just to get it over quicker is easy to understand still, 1.5x speed for those of you in a rush, or, if you're used to watching fast videos, it's completely possible to understand 2x perfectly if you're used to it or use subtitles for help and get the video and notes done in less than 2 hours (personally it took me ~1 hour 15 mins). GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
I apologise if this is wrong but while listening and taking notes I came up wih a few ideas for certain parts of the poem and wondered if they could be considered correct: 1. Lines 22-24 when talking about the lack of personification. As described, the lack of personification shows the loss of power and lack of power of man. Could it also be said that the lack of personification is to show how he can no longer describe what he sees as he cannot comprehend it and it could show how little he really does know about nature. It could show how he has been molded by society to believe the limitations and powerlessness of nature and how he has just realised how wrong this is. The way he describes everything he does earlier on in certainty and arrogance could contrast with how he is unable to confidently describe what is before him due to his fear. 2.Lines 30-31. When talking about Steal and Stealth. I saw this as the use of stealth emphasising his pride and arrogance hiding the fact that he stole the boat but then once he gets back after being scared and intimidated by nature, he realises what he has done wrong and this could show how he is beginning to open his eyes to the bigger picture of nature and how powerless he is compared to nature. These are worded badly but I would love to know what anyone thinks
I was going to compare it to exposure as they both focus on the power of nature, but potentially also Remains as it deals with how a single event in your life can have a huge impact on how you view the world:) Hope this helps - I loved your analysis by the way!
Just wondering could the idea of referencing to nature as 'her' emphasise a link to religion as in greek mythology nature is viewed as feminine due to the goddess gaia (gaea) or 'the idea of'mother nature' as this was still widely believed during the 18th century?
I was thinking that too. Also, nature is portrayed as a force that nurtures and provides for life (seen in the extract by how it leads him, and how the mooring place belongs to "her" so it's as if nature has provided a safe place for the boat through the willow tree) which also links into ideas of femininity, as women are given the role of nurturing children.
The fact that it is written in blank verse also reflects on how Wordsworth felt as a young boy rowing through the lake. It wasn’t predictable, he didn’t know what was going to happen next. Much like the lack of Rhyme Scheme. It is not the same it is different and unknown to the reader.
@mrbruff could the blackening mountain symbolism how city life(industrial revolution) has bought damage to nature which angers the mountain to be furious at Wordsworth as human society has already done enough to nature
Thank you for this video! I am revising poetry by watching these full analysis videos and making notes on flash cards. You really helped me understand The Prelude, The Emigree and Tissue which I didn’t really understand before
I came across this video as I'm doing summer revision , I have to revise the poems of the cluster power and conflict sector and the video you've uploaded has tremendously helped. Thanks for the upload as the great notes . Hope to do all of them from these .
i've just finished watching this and it helped sooo much,thanx for that. Also i thought of a point while watching this alot of the themes abandon him and so you could llink in context with this and the quote 'unloosed her chain' could suggest freedom for him too. good luck everyone:)
Thank you. Your hard work is very much appreciated by myself. Got through the whole video and made annotations. Just have to try and memorise the key bits now :).
Thank you so much for this! I am a year 10 student who's teacher really isn't great (she doesn't know what a metaphor is to begin with😂) anyways we just "covered" this poem and with her very little knowledge I really didn't get it, now I'm starting to understand it a lot better! I just made 4 pages of notes and hope it pays off and helps me progress in this section of English literature as I really want to secure a good grade next year in my GCSE's. Just thought I'd add an analysis I think is quite important you missed out, the use of oxymoron on line 6 "troubled pleasure" could hint at the narrators guilt for stealing the boat. Just thought that was quite a nice language point to pick out, anyways thanks once again for this and I hope to buy your e book soon as I literally find myself teaching myself everything in my English lessons😂
mrbruff no problem :) I hope to eventually watch all your power & conflict poem videos and also any to do with: The Inspector calls, a Christmas carol and Romeo and Juliet you may have :)
Thank you so much Mr Bruff! I’ve recently started in the English dept taking intervention groups for GCSE. I’ve lost count of the positive comments among the staff whenever I mention your name! Your 12 to 15 hours certainly pays off (and yes, I have bought your e-books too 😜👍🏼) - Peta
My gcse's are coming soon and I'm watching all your videos on the poems and you're honestly a great teacher and make so many valid points which no one would even think about. THANK YOU
I went into this video the extract from Prelude being my least favorite poem in the anthology (mostly because of my lack of understanding) but now it's genuinely one of my favorites. I swear your videos are going to save my GCSE. Thank you so much, your channel is so helpful!
Thank you once again for your fantastic videos. I have used them for extra learning/revision to help with my upcoming exam and have recommended them also! 👍🏾
Paragraph that I made using one of Mr. Bruff's first points on Language (would be great if you could feedback just wanna know what I can improve) When the young Wordsworth takes the “boat tied to a willow tree”, it is described as an “act of stealth”. This shows that he is sneaky and sly, and shows that he has no care for the consequences for his actions. This prideful attitude is repeated in the poem when the boy feels “proud of his skill” with the boat. The repeated use of this prideful attitude may show the poet’s representation of not only this child but society as whole, and possibly that society feels they are superior to nature, which can be seen with the glorified noun “skill”, and that it can take away from nature what it wants without fear of consequences. However, the arrogant imagery of the boy is halted when he sees the mountain. It is described as “a huge peak, black and huge”. The use of a basic word, “huge”, and the repetition of it shows how speechless the child is when seeing the full power of nature. As a Romantic, Wordsworth may have been trying to emphasize something precious and far more powerful than humans and used the little boy’s naiveness as a satirical attack on the self-absorbed nature of society. The reader may feel empathy towards the child but also admire the effect that nature had on him.
I have my literature exam tomorrow and I still don't know what's going on in this poem. However, your video has really helped me to understand it.Thank you so much!!
I also feel like when he says "with trebling oars I turned" he is diverting focus on his anxiousness that is made visible by his shaky hands, he doesn't want to accept his fear of nature and the impact it has had on him physically so therefore diverts the focus and attention to the oars, as he feels as if his pride is being challenged.
On the topic of repeating "no" (41:59), another interpretation of it could be that he is repeating the various ways in which there is no colour or light in his world. There are no "pleasant images" or "colours of green fields", linking back to the "darkness" he feels. This darkness acts as a metaphor for how he has been left in the dark after having his ignorance and naivety revealed.
Before I watched this video I didn't understand the prelude at all, but now I do and this analysis is amazing! Thank you so much for making it easier for me to understand! 👌🏽
'towered up between me and the stars'-the tower is a metaphorical wall, the fact that it is metaphorical means that it can be broken, it shows how man always breaks the boundaries. Walls are also a form of protection, man is complacent even though nature is like a 'mother'
Through subverting the typical SVO sentence structure - ie by spreading it across 4 lines from "When" to "Upreared its head" - Wordsworth highlights how difficult he as a child has found this situation. The long winded subverted, sentence form represents how he struggles to comprehend the hidden "peak"; the pride he feels throughout the extract until now represents the power man feels it has, but at this moment Wordsworth comes to the realisation that nature is the one with true power. Moreover, the fact that this sentence is replete with enjambment could suggest that this view runs through society linking to another of his ideas that man is arrogant with its supposed power. Finally, to complete this sentence, he leaves us with the personification found in "upreared its head": by leaving the sentence on this note, he almost metaphorically says that nature will have the last laugh, that although we as a species believe we are truly powerful, a divine omnipotent force dictates the ways of the world not us - the divine side associated with this analysis links to the ideology Wordsworth would have followed as it is an integral part of creating an epic poem.
I got your copy for the translation for Romeo and Juliet for the Junior Cert. you have helped me a lot, thank you 🥰 You are the main reason I was able to answer the Romeo and Juliet question in the paper as I had an issue understanding the Shakespearean language. Every time when studying and had an issue with the language I would open it up to help me out ❤️
Sat down with my anthology and wrote out a lot of good annotations another two pages full! Helped to inspire a lot of my own interpretations too thank you!!
This poem reminds me of bat out of hell by meatloaf. The way he refers to his motorbike as "you" and how Wordsworth refers to nature as "her". Meatloaf refers to the bike in the 2nd and 3rd person which I believe Wordsworth also does
Dear Mr Bruff, you could also talk about phallac imagery for the oars and what they symbolize: that in this point in the poem, Wordsworth thinks that he is dominating nature (who is female in this context) supported by the boat on top of the water.
additionally, if you do include this in a video, may I please have a shout out? I'm a huge fan of your work, which btw, has helped me to excel in my studies.
@mrbruff what is your opinion on this!! Ok so the prelude, before being called the prelude was called "the poem to Coleridge". Coleridge (one of wordsworth's close friends) was an opium addict. There was a point where he didn't see his kids for like 8 years becasue of it. ANYWAY. things pointing towards addiction: (led by her ) -> taken there by the addiction, forced into it. Willow tree -> Aspirin, an opiate is extracted from the willow tree's bark act of stealth// and troubled pleasure -> Not wanting to be caught, understanding of it hurting him but still doing it. Sounds very much like addiction next few lines of imagery could be taken to be being high From "Upreared its head" -> this could be taken to be coming down from the high. Or could be symbolic of the addiction itself. "undetermined sense// of unknown modes of being" -> talking about an altered state of conciousness, like being high "There hung a darkness, call it solitude" -> beautiful personification. Psychology links addiction as a symptom of lonliness and isolation. "No pleasent images of trees.... green feilds" -> talking about how after he has come down he feels miserable. Wants to be back out there. "troublke to my dreams" -> the addiction is never leaving him alone
