Chapter Ch C hap aptte er 1 . Topic Top opiicc 1 When prepositional phrases are used, they often help you answer the key questions of where, when, how, what, which and whose. By identifying the prepositional phrases, you can often work out key ideas – especially when dealing with an unseen text. 7
Look at the following extract from the poem ‘Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth. Answer the questions in the annotations by focusing on the information in the prepositional phrases, which have been highlighted for you.
Daffodils I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, 1
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How does this prepositional phrase connected to time show the impact the daffodils make on Wordsworth?
When all at once 2 I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 3
3 How do these prepositional phrases help you to imagine the quantity of daffodils in the landscape?
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 4 Continuous as the stars
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1 What type of cloud does Wordsworth want you to picture?
4 How is a sense of movement created and what sort of movement do you imagine?
that shine
5 How does this help us picture the number of flowers?
And twinkle on the Milky Way, 6 They stretched in never-ending line 7 Along the margin of a bay:
6 How does this add to the beauty of the image?
Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 8
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Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
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William Wordsworth
What sense is created here?
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What speed is conveyed here? How does this help us see Wordsworth’s message about natural beauty? 9 How does he capture the innocence and beauty of the flowers here?
Develop the skills Adverbials and adverbial phrases A further way of helping us to get a sense of time, place or manner in a text is through the use of adverbials.
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AQA GCSE English Language and English Literature: Advanced Student Book
6071_AQA_English_Adv_Book.indb 10
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