RYDAL MOUNT, July 13th, 1850.

This “advertisement” to the first edition of ‘The Prelude,’ published in 1850—­the year of Wordsworth’s death—­was written by Mr. Carter, who edited the volume.  Mr. Carter was for many years the poet’s secretary, and afterwards one of his literary executors.  The poem was not only kept back from publication during Wordsworth’s life-time, but it remained without a title; being alluded to by himself, when he spoke or wrote of it, as “the poem on my own poetical education,” the “poem on my own life,” etc.

As ‘The Prelude’ is autobiographical, a large part of Wordsworth’s life might be written in the notes appended to it; but, besides breaking up the text of the poem unduly, this plan has many disadvantages, and would render a subsequent and detailed life of the poet either unnecessary or repetitive.  The notes which follow will therefore be limited to the explanation of local, historical, and chronological allusions, or to references to Wordsworth’s own career that are not obvious without them.  It has been occasionally difficult to decide whether some of the allusions, to minute points in ancient history, mediaeval mythology, and contemporary politics, should be explained or left alone; but I have preferred to err on the side of giving a brief clue to details, with which every scholar is familiar.

‘The Prelude’ was begun as Wordsworth left the imperial city of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, where he spent part of the last winter of last century, and which he left on the 10th of February 1799.  Only lines 1 to 45, however, were composed at that time; and the poem was continued at desultory intervals after the settlement at Grasmere, during 1800, and following years.  Large portions of it were dictated to his devoted amanuenses as he walked, or sat, on the terraces of Lancrigg.  Six books were finished by 1805.

“The seventh was begun in the opening of that year; ... and the remaining seven were written before the end of June 1805, when his friend Coleridge was in the island of Malta, for the restoration of his health.”

(The late Bishop of Lincoln.)

There is no uncertainty as to the year in which the later books were written; but there is considerable difficulty in fixing the precise date of the earlier ones.  Writing from Grasmere to his friend Francis Wrangham—­the letter is undated—­Wordsworth says,

  “I am engaged in writing a poem on my own earlier life, which will
  take five parts or books to complete, three of which are nearly
  finished.”

The late Bishop of Lincoln supposed that this letter to Wrangham was written “at the close of 1803, or beginning of 1804.” (See ’Memoirs of Wordsworth,’ vol. i. p. 303.) There is evidence that it belongs to 1804.  At the commencement of the seventh book, p. 247, he says: