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Wordsworth's The Prelude is a masterpiece of Romantic confession.
The first chapter tries to clarify the definition of confessional literature,
and to confirm the status of The Prelude in the western tradition of confessio
nal literature. In the second chapter, classification of
the confessional content of The Prelude is made on the basis of the poet's
conscious "spots of time." Such "spots of time," in accordance with Wordswort
h's idea of good poetry,can be regarded as the confessions of
his genuine feelin
gs.In the third chapter, emphasis is placed on the explication of the transfor
mations of the mind in nature and society. The fourth chapter tries to justif
y the existence of a double voice in the poet's confessing of the "spots of ti
me." The last chapter concludes that The Prelude is a genre ofself-representa
tion with the employment of new subjects, new moral attitudes, and a new kind
of vision. A confessional piece of this sort puts forth anew cultural system
of values for the later confessional creators to abide by.
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