Edited now for the first time by Duncan Wu, it provides students and general readers alike with an approachable introduction to Wordsworth's greatest work.

This book contains all three versions of Wordsworth's most famous poem, 'The Prelude'. Wordsworth revised and partially rewrote the poem on three occasions and the layout of the book allows direct comparison of other versions.

William Wordsworth's poem 'The Prelude' is a fascinating work, both as an autobiography and as a fragment of historical evidence from the revolutionary and post-revolutionary years. This volume gathers together 13 essays on 'The Prelude', and is useful as a companion for students and general readers of Wordsworth's greatest poem.