The Prelude was composed over a period of some forty years in different versions, none of which was published during the poet’s lifetime. It came to life out of a germ, an untitled sketch of a hun- dred and fifty lines, which was known for its 1798 incipit «Was it for this...?» (later shortened by criticism as the acronym WIFT): a suspended, cryptic question. By 1799 it had developed into two books, or Parts; it then expanded enormously into the thirteen books of the 1805 text, to amount, after further elaboration, to fourteen books in the 1850 version, which was published only af- ter Wordsworth’s death. The Prelude constitutes therefore a sort of palimpsest, made up of various manuscripts, none of which was submitted for publication by the author: a work in search of a final shape for its readership and undergoing continuous reconfig- uration.
Secret epiphanies in Wordsworth's _Prelude_
DELLAROSA, Franca
2006-01-01
Abstract
The Prelude was composed over a period of some forty years in different versions, none of which was published during the poet’s lifetime. It came to life out of a germ, an untitled sketch of a hun- dred and fifty lines, which was known for its 1798 incipit «Was it for this...?» (later shortened by criticism as the acronym WIFT): a suspended, cryptic question. By 1799 it had developed into two books, or Parts; it then expanded enormously into the thirteen books of the 1805 text, to amount, after further elaboration, to fourteen books in the 1850 version, which was published only af- ter Wordsworth’s death. The Prelude constitutes therefore a sort of palimpsest, made up of various manuscripts, none of which was submitted for publication by the author: a work in search of a final shape for its readership and undergoing continuous reconfig- uration.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
