First published in July 1850, shorlty after Wordsworth's death, The Prelude is the great Romantic poem of human consciousness. It takes as its theme 'the growth of a poet's mind,' leading the reader back to Wordsworth's formative moments of childhood and youth, and detailing his experiences as a radical undergraduate in France at the time of the Revolution. The Prelude has become one of the finest examples of poetic autobiography ever written; a fascinating examination of hte self that also presents a comprehensive view of the poet's own creative vision.

The library's new edition of The Prelude contains the brief first draft, Was It For This, composed in 1798; The Prelude in two books, completed in 1799; and The Prelude in its 1805 and 1850 versions, printed in parallel texts. The introduction sets the poem in its historical context, while detailed notes, significant textual vartiants and a biographical table of dates further clarify the work.