The Prelude by Wordsworth question

[Ruben Meijerink]

Somewhere early in The Prelude there's: The earth is all before me. With a heart Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty, I look about; and should the chosen guide Be nothing better than a wandering cloud,

Does "With a heart Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty", has a bit the same idea as Kiplings line "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;" or why else would he say that he is neither Joyous nor scared

Also I'm not so sure about "and should the chosen guide Be nothing better than a wandering cloud,"
My guess would be that he doesn't need some weighty authority

Thanks a lot! :)

[JanVanHogspeuw]

I could be wrong, but I read it as him saying that he is joyous (in the first few lines he talks about a visitant that fans his cheek and brings him joy), and that his use of the word "nor" is an anachronistic way of saying "and not". Again, I could be wrong

And the "wandering cloud" to me is him saying that he feels so free he can follow anything, no matter how airy. He's looking to be taken on flight of fancy.

[Ruben Meijerink]

I could be wrong, but I read it as him saying that he is joyous (in the first few lines he talks about a visitant that fans his cheek and brings him joy), and that his use of the word "nor" is an anachronistic way of saying "and not". Again, I could be wrong

And the "wandering cloud" to me is him saying that he feels so free he can follow anything, no matter how airy. He's looking to be taken on flight of fancy.

Thanks! That must be it.

For the rest, since I've opened a thread for this, why is this poem pretty high in the canon, at least being considered Wordsworth's highest achievement? Is it the complexity, the form, or just the accomplished manner of conveying emotions? I guess it's a combination

[cacian]

why is that be spelt Be?

[Ruben Meijerink]

Because he jumps to a new line with Be, which I didn't do in my post

[Iain Sparrow]

Somewhere early in The Prelude there's: The earth is all before me. With a heart Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty, I look about; and should the chosen guide Be nothing better than a wandering cloud,

Does "With a heart Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty", has a bit the same idea as Kiplings line "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;" or why else would he say that he is neither Joyous nor scared

Also I'm not so sure about "and should the chosen guide Be nothing better than a wandering cloud,"
My guess would be that he doesn't need some weighty authority

Thanks a lot! :)

I think both Wordsworth and Kipling are saying, is "come what may", take life in equal measures.

At least that's what I get from those lines.