Compare Storm on the Island and The Prelude: Grade 9 Thesis & Quotes (AQA)

Quick Comparison Grid (The “Ninja Cheat Sheet”)

1. The Presentation of Nature: Militarized vs. Sublime

Storm on the Island:

• Heaney uses militarized language to present nature as an active enemy. The wind “strafes” and “salvos” the island, while the sea is “exploding comfortably.”
• Nature is invisible but lethal. The “empty air” is the weapon, suggesting that the threat is inescapable because it cannot be seen or fought.
• Elite Link: The oxymoron “exploding comfortably” suggests that nature is indifferent to human suffering; its violence is natural and routine, which makes it more terrifying.

The Prelude:

• Wordsworth presents nature through the concept of the Sublime—something that is both beautiful and terrifying. The mountain “upreared its head” and “strode after” the boy.
• Nature is physical and monumental. The “huge peak” is a solid, inescapable presence that dwarfs the boy’s “small circles” in the water.
• Elite Link: The mountain is personified as a living being with “purpose,” suggesting that nature has a conscious intent to correct human behavior.

Explore: Both poets show nature overpowering humanity, but while Heaney focuses on nature’s violent indifference, Wordsworth focuses on its moral dominance.

2. The Humbling of Human Pride: Preparation vs. Stealth

Storm on the Island:

• The poem begins with collective confidence: “We are prepared: we build our houses squat.” The community believes their engineering can withstand the storm.
• By the end, this confidence has vanished. They “sit tight” while the wind “bombards” them, realizing their “preparation” is useless against a “huge nothing.”
• Elite Link: The shift from the solid “rock” and “slate” of the opening to the “empty air” of the end mirrors the collapse of human material certainty.

The Prelude:

• The boy begins with individual arrogance. He takes the boat in an “act of stealth” and rows with “unswerving line,” feeling like a master of his environment.
• The appearance of the mountain causes a “trembling” retreat. His pride is replaced by a “dim and undetermined sense of unknown modes of being.”
• Elite Link: The boy’s “stolen” boat symbolizes his attempt to take power from nature, a move that nature immediately and decisively punishes.

Explore: Both poems depict a journey from confidence to humility, showing that human ego is a fragile shield against the natural world.

3. Structure: Relentless Pressure vs. Epic Revelation

Storm on the Island:

• The single, compact stanza mirrors the “squat” houses and the community’s attempt to “sit tight.” There is no room for the reader to breathe, reflecting the relentless pressure of the storm.
• The use of blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) gives the poem a conversational but serious weight, grounding the metaphorical storm in a “real” experience.
• Elite Link: The heavy use of enjambment mimics the continuous battering of the wind, suggesting that the storm is a single, unbroken event.

The Prelude:

• Also written in blank verse, but in an epic style. This elevates a simple childhood memory to the level of a great myth or heroic journey.
• The continuous flow of the narrative reflects the way the memory has stayed with the poet, “working” in his mind for years.
• Elite Link: The shift in pace—from the rhythmic rowing to the panicked retreat—enacts the speaker’s psychological shock through the poem’s movement.

Explore: Heaney uses structure to enact physical pressure, while Wordsworth uses it to enact psychological transformation.

Context Comparison (AO3 Power Move)

Elite Insight: Heaney’s storm is a threat to survival, while Wordsworth’s mountain is a threat to the ego. Both poets argue that humans must acknowledge their place in a world they do not control.

Exam Sentence Starters

1. “While Heaney presents nature as a militarized aggressor that assaults a community, Wordsworth depicts it as a sublime authority that humbles the individual…”
2. “Both poets utilize personification to give nature power: Heaney through the ‘bombarding’ wind, and Wordsworth through the mountain that ‘upreared its head’…”
3. “The ‘huge nothing’ in Storm on the Island serves as a chilling parallel to the ‘huge peak’ in The Prelude, as both represent forces that dwarf human understanding…”
4. “Heaney’s compact, single-stanza structure mirrors the community’s physical resistance, whereas Wordsworth’s epic blank verse reflects the spiritual scale of his revelation…”
5. “Contextually, Heaney’s metaphorical exploration of political conflict parallels Wordsworth’s Romantic belief in nature as a teacher, as both poets reject the idea of human supremacy…”

FAQs

What is the best poem to compare with Storm on the Island?

The Prelude is excellent for the power of nature. You can also compare it to Exposure for nature as an enemy or London for hostile environments.

What is the best poem to compare with The Prelude?

Storm on the Island works well for human insignificance. Alternatively, compare it to Ozymandias for the fall of pride or Exposure for the “pity” of nature.

What is the best theme linking Storm on the Island and The Prelude?

The Power of Nature and Human Insignificance—specifically, how nature acts as a force that corrects human arrogance and exposes our vulnerability.

What quotes should I compare between Storm on the Island and The Prelude?

• “Exploding comfortably” (Storm) vs. “Strode after me” (Prelude)—nature’s active, threatening presence.
• “We are prepared” (Storm) vs. “It was an act of stealth” (Prelude)—the initial human confidence.
• “It is a huge nothing that we fear” (Storm) vs. “A trouble to my dreams” (Prelude)—the lasting psychological impact.

How do I compare structure in Storm on the Island and The Prelude?

Both use blank verse, but Heaney uses a single, dense stanza to mirror physical containment, while Wordsworth uses a long, narrative flow to mirror psychological reflection. Both use form to show how nature dominates the human experience.

What is a Grade 9 thesis for Storm on the Island vs. The Prelude?

“While Heaney presents nature as a relentless, militarized aggressor that assaults a community’s defenses, Wordsworth depicts it as a sublime, moral authority that humbles the individual’s ego, revealing that human pride is futile against elemental power.”

Read Next

• Storm on the Island Revision Sheet
• The Prelude Revision Sheet
• Power & Conflict Comparisons Hub