Commentary on Preludes 9, 10, 11

            Within Prelude Book Ninth, Wordsworth describes his arrival in France during the French Revolution, his journey throughout France, and his subsequent transformation into an ardent supporter of the revolution.  When he arrives, Wordsworth is heading to Orleans as a place of rest.  He first stays in Paris though, and while there surveys sites of recent Revolutionary activity such as Mont Martyr.  In Orleans Wordsworth finds the town crowded with many people of many dispositions and emotions.  He goes on to describe his state as an outsider, his reading of papers concerning the Revolution, and his emotional state of limbo brought on by the sights.  The book ends with Wordsworth describing his withdrawal from “polite” society to become a patriot.

            Prelude Book Tenth takes place after the second wave of violence within the Revolution, when Wordsworth has returned to Paris.  He surveys the mass slaughter, distraught at what he has seen, and now conscious that he could very well be construed as a target of the mob.  Wordsworth cannot sleep during the night as he is tormented by his imagination’s reconstruction of the massacres and fear.  He is able to finally put his thoughts at ease despite feeling wary of his situation.  He soon has to return to England as he has run out of money, musing that he might have been executed along with the Girondins had he possessed more money.  In Britain he expresses his dismay that Britain has taken up arms against France, likening his position to one of a bluebell uprooted and tossed about in the wind.  He then tells of his delight in the defeat of the English and his feelings of unease in the midst of those who support British intervention.  Wordsworth then switches his attention back to France to condemn the Reign of Terror, describing the terror leaders as children fascinated with a toy, albeit a destructive and inhumane one.   After this he describes his nightmares and internal conflicts, ending by taking solace in his last refuge, his soul.

            The ecstasy and revulsion evoked in the two aforementioned Preludes are dissected and examined in Prelude Book Eleventh; Wordsworth begins by examining his youthful naiveté and his generation’s enthusiastic support for the French.  He then discusses the impact that Britain’s military campaign against France had on him, saying that while it angered him he still expected time to set things right.  He then explores his growing disenchantment with the French cause; they have broken their constitution and corrupted their own stated values.  It is then that Wordsworth starts to delve into abstract political theories.  His breakdown occurs when he attempts to explain to himself the reasoning behind British and French actions using his theories, breaking down after concluding that Reason was being neglected where needed most.  His sister then comes to live with him, nursing him back to good mental health and his original frame of mind.  This allows him to make the final observation that for all the good that he saw in the Revolution, the French have returned to their old ways by making Napoleon emperor.