This woman, an innkeeper's child known to all for her modesty and charm, had been tragically tricked into a bigamous marriage with a deceptive man. One play was based on the true story of a woman whom the speaker and Coleridge, his addressee, had been raised with. At the Sadler's Wells theater, he witnessed larger-scale entertainment in theatrical renditions of both familiar and new stories. He also witnesses all kinds of artistic work taking place, especially tiny scale models of famous places, painstakingly portrayed in miniature. The speaker sees people of every nationality and race. Elsewhere, advertisements and pamphlets hang from walls. There are exotic animals on display, vendors calling out their wares, and stately homes. The overwhelmed speaker turns onto a quieter street, but still he sees a vast array of people and places. The buildings loom like the title pages of books, announcing their contents. Now, he sees them in person, and describes the sheer chaos and busyness of the city streets, packed with people, carriages, and a heady mixture of poverty and luxury. At the time, his imagination ran wild with images of London's neighborhoods, the Thames river, and landmarks like St. Most of all, he was baffled by how urban neighbors could live so close to each other but never know each other. The speaker pushed him to describe London's wonders and was met with noncommittal answers.

When he was a child, a schoolmate visited London, and the speaker remembers feeling surprised and disappointed when his classmate came home looking unchanged by the metropolis. There was a time when every fantastical setting described in stories or history paled beside the speaker's imaginary version of London. He decided, he explains, to move to London-a place he had previously visited but never settled in. Now, in the morning, he prepares to launch back into the story of his life beginning with the period just after he left Cambridge and finished his time in the Alps. But, one night ago, a group of singing birds inspired him to take up the story again.

He explains that he began five years ago, but has worked in fits and starts, only recently stopping work on the Prelude for several years. The speaker begins by reflecting on his writing process so far.

The prelude by william wordsworth