Understanding 'Excerpt from The Prelude' | Starter Quiz | Oak National Academy

If something is autobiographical, what does that mean?

• that it is entirely based on the writer's life

• that it is purely fiction

• that it is partly-based on the writer's life

Answer explanation

If something is semi-autobiographical, it is partly based on the writer's life and partly fiction.

What might the word 'rapture' mean?

• intense anger and disappointment

• intense stress and anxiety

• intense pleasure or joy

• intense peace and tranquility

Answer explanation

Wordsworth uses the word "rapture" to show his euphoria in the excerpt from 'The Prelude'.

If someone is 'bellowing', they are ...

• laughing

• whispering

• yelling

• crying

Answer explanation

Wordsworth describes the noise he and his friends make as "bellowing", showing their youth and excitement in the excerpt from 'The Prelude'.

What kind of mood is created here in the opening to Wordsworth's 'The Prelude': "And in the frosty season, when the sun/ Was set, and visible for many a mile"?

• a dangerous, sinister mood

• an exciting and fun mood

• a calm and peaceful mood

Answer explanation

The mood here reflects the very rural and domestic setting.

What method is used in the following quotation from Wordsworth's 'The Prelude': "We hiss'd along the polish'd ice"?

• rhetorical question

• alliteration

• pathetic fallacy

• onomatopoeia

Answer explanation

Arguably, the word "hiss'd" could reflect the sound of skates on the ice.

To feel nostalgic is to ...

• feel intense disappointment

• long or yearn for the past

• imagine a brighter and more hopeful future

• ignore or repress one's feelings and emotions

Answer explanation

Wordsworth's poem 'The Prelude' is arguably characterised by a sense of nostalgia.