Prompt 01
"Stealing the Boat" — Excerpt from The Prelude by William Wordsworth
AP LiteratureIB EnglishA Level English LitAQA
In the "Stealing the Boat" episode from The Prelude (Book I), William Wordsworth reflects on a childhood act of mischief that leads to a significant moment of moral and spiritual awakening. In a well-organized essay, discuss how Wordsworth employs nature as a moral teacher in this passage. Your essay should explore how specific literary and poetic devices — including personification, sublime imagery, tone shifts, and the speaker's retrospective voice — work together to illustrate the idea that nature plays an active role in shaping human conscience and self-awareness.
Guiding Questions to Consider as You Draft
- How does Wordsworth give human qualities to the natural landscape, and what impact does this have on the speaker's feelings of guilt or wonder?
- How does the tone change before, during, and after the boat theft? What does this reveal about the speaker's moral growth?
- What significance does the "huge peak" have as a symbol, and how does Wordsworth's portrayal of the sublime strengthen his main argument about nature's influence?
- How does the adult speaker's reflective narration enhance the reader's understanding of the childhood experience?
Requirements
- Create a clear, arguable thesis in your introduction.
- Back up your argument with direct textual evidence and a close analysis of poetic language.
- Examine at least two literary/poetic devices in depth.
- Conclude by linking Wordsworth's ideas to a broader Romantic theme or philosophical perspective on the relationship between humanity and the natural world.