Reflection of The Sublime in Wordsworth’s The Prelude

The Prelude is an epic poem consisting of 13 Books that charts his growth from adolescence into adulthood that was molded through various encounters with nature. This analysis is focused on Book 1 lines 1-19 and correlates to a sublime experience that resonates religious undertones. For example, line 1 through 3 depicts a scenery that occurs in a green field with a “gentle breeze. ” This breeze is symbolic of a spiritual breath of divinely inspiration. When the speaker addresses “Messenger” and “Friend” in line 5, this suggests that the speaker is addressing a higher being. Furthermore, lines 6 through 8 resonate with the Biblical verse Exodus 3: 14 when the speaker states, “A Captive greets thee, coming from a house / Of bondage, from yon City’s walls set free, / A prison where he hath been long immured. ” The echo of Exodus 3: 14 is a reference of the religious aspect of Wordsworthian sublime, which demonstrates that nature is a teacher and religious guide.

Additionally, the speaker exclaims, “Now I am free, enfranchised and at large,” which highlights that he is free from the shackles of bondage (9). Newfound freedom, however, results in homelessness of the old world. A search for a new resting place goes underway in lines 10 through 14: May fix my habituation where I will. What dwelling shall receive me? In what Vale Shall be my harbor? Underneath what grove Shall I take up my home, and what sweet stream Shall with its murmur lull me to my rest? The speaker is perplexed on finding a new dwelling; yet, it is important to note that his search for rest is within nature itself. Nature serves as a parental role because the natural world instructs and provides refuge. Seeing what is before him, the speaker declares the following in lines 15-19: The earth is all before me: with a heart Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty I look about, and should the guide I chuse Be nothing better than a wandering cloud I cannot miss my way. These last few lines portray that the earth in all its grandeur guides even the lonely wandering clouds in the world and through this guidance, serves as an instructor and offers a religious encounter for other people.

The sublime in the poem supports that an individual cannot miss their way if guided by the hand of Mother Nature. The Romantic poets were deeply connected with nature and believed that the natural world itself is the greatest instructor, escape, and wonder because they were continually left in contemplation. Wordsworth rebelled against the standards and expectations of literary writers before him with the other Romantic poets because reason and systematic thinking are not as essential as emotions and imagination. Therefore, the sublime laid the foundation of Romantic thought to reveal the unification of inward happiness and lifelong lessons that often contains religious undertones.