The Prelude: The Four Texts (1798, 1799, 1805, 1850) by William Wordsworth

The Prelude: The Four Texts (1798, 1799, 1805, 1850) Reviews

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  Anna Miles

  I bought this book for a Year 11 pupil that I had supported for 6 years. She, over time developed a real love for poetry and this was a gift to expand her mind and use later on in life.
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  John Lingard

  Anyone who shares my belief that The Prelude is the best long poem in English should buy this text. It replaces the two version Prelude published earlier by Penguin. With this version, and the two volume complete shorter poems (also in Penguin Classics), a reader can now own everything Wordsworth wrote in verse. This 1995 edition is the first, to my knowledge, to include the short first draft with its title, Was It For This. This is followed by the Two Part Prelude of 1799. The 1805 and 1850 versions are then printed as a parallel text, with the 1805 text on the left hand page, and the 1850 text on the right. This means you can compare the versions as you read the poem, or simply select one. Jonathan Wordsworth's introduction and notes are excellent. In his introduction, he demonstrates how Wordsworth's revisions of the poem between 1805 and 1850, often leads to padding. The notes favour the 1805 version, but also refer to the longer 1850 text when changes made by Wordsworth are of interest.. Occasionally, Wordsworth did improve some lines, but most readers now prefer his 1805 Prelude. This is an invaluable volume for lovers of English Romantic poetry. The paperback edition is a handsome one with an attractive detail from Cloud Study, painted by the Norwegian artist Johan Christian Dahl, on the front cover.
• 
  Demelza

  Das Werk der englischen Romantik in einer sehr übersichtlichen Ausgabe: die 4 Versionen des Mammut Gedichtes. Die Texte von 1805 und 1850 sind sich gegenübergestellt, sodass man gut die Abweichungen/Ergänzungen sieht. Dazu eine Introduction sowie eine Chronologie von Wordsworth's Leben und Werken.
• 
  Cameron

  A terribly convoluted style this 'poet' has. In no way should this be counted among the great works of the romantic poets. Wordsworth is a shallow, abstracted man with a propensity for supreme laziness in his style: the frequent repetition of phrases seems just simply for the sake of it. When speaking on his childhood he manages to display flourishes of emotion; it was when reaching his ramblings on the French Revolution that my urge to throw this book against the wall reached fever pitch no clarity of position, just endless circumlocution and incongruent talk of 'nature'. Perhaps I am missing something, though I don't think I shall ever try reading again in the hope of getting it.
• 
  Christopher J. Sharpe

  Besides being a wonderful poem, "The Prelude" gives us a unique insight into the life of the poet through his own words. The four versions give us a chance to appreciate how the poet grows and develops and how his views change over time. In many cases, changes to the 1805 manuscript appearing in the final 1850 publication do not seem to be improvements at all, but attempts to cover up previous indiscretions or to subdue outbursts of passion. The sentiment of the newer portions is often far from that of the earlier drafts. The two much shorter initial drafts, "Was It for This" and the Two part Prelude of 1799, are very different to the later books and show a superb command of language.Not surprisingly, Wordsworth's relationship with nature is a major theme throughout the poem. The direct effect of growing up in the countryside is perhaps revealed plainly than in his other poems and a quasi religious philosophy is evident.This Penguin version seems to me to offer as much as one could want for a non academic reader. The 120 odd pages of notes are quite sufficient to understand the poem thoroughly.This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys romantic poetry, nature or autobiography. Not a book to be rushed though. Highly recommended.