The Prelude has a second title, Growth of A Poet's Mind. It is a spiritual autobiography in the tradition of St Augustine's and Rousseau's Confessions, which sets out to show the individual man in all his individuality of nature.
At the same time, Wordsworth also adopts a prophetic, representative, epic voice through which he comments upon the events of his time, such as the French Revolution. The poem lays great emphasis upon nature as the great teacher of the human soul; love of nature leading to love of humankind.
The voice of The Prelude is always accessible and personal, no special notations being needed for the understanding of the reader. The 1805 Prelude is more radical than the revised version of 1850.