Wordsworth
William Wordsworth existed in a time when society and its functions were beginning to rapidly pick up. The poem that he "Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye..." gave him a chance to reflect upon his quick paced life by taking a moment to slow down and absorb the beauty of nature that allows one to "see into the life of things" (line 49). Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" takes you on a series of emotional states by trying to sway "readers and himself, that the loss of innocence and intensity over time is compensated by an accumulation of knowledge and insight." Wordsworth accomplishes to prove that although time was lost along with his innocence, he in turn was able to gain an appreciation for the aesthetics that consoled him by incorporating all together, the wonders of nature, his past experiences, and his present mature perception of life. Wordsworth begins his poem by describing the landscape of the abbey as unchanged during the past five years. He emphasizes the lapse of time by stating, "again I hear,""again do I behold", and "again I see". He seemed to be overwhelmed with emotions that he, though up on a very far away cliff, was certain that a hermit was
At the end of the poem there is a surprise to his readers. He introduces the fact that his sister had been in his company the whole time. She had a vital role in his deep thought because he sees so much in her that reminded him of himself. He addresses her as his "dearest Friend" (115). He seemed to be able to read that his sister was grasping the same pleasures of his "former heart" (117) but through her own "wild eyes" (119). He wanted her to also remember the moment because it was "full of blessings" (134). And if she ever happened to be alone, scared, in pain or in grief, Wordsworth wanted her to look upon these "healing thoughts" (144) and think of him. Nature played a major role in this poet's life but it was not all about his physical senses that he took as reality. It was because he was a "worshipper of Nature" (152) and he knew that "nature never did betray" (122) him. And those thoughts were what had comforted and encouraged him to connect with nature through his mind. He wanted to affirm to his readers that his mind not only receives sensation and knowledge from the outside world (nature) but it also "half creates" by its (minds) own perception "of eye, and ear" (106). One example is when he had previously described returning to the Wye and how it had brought him in a "blessed mood" it was not because he had actually returned to a location, it was how Wordsworth's mind had shaped the experience. Although there had been a "long absence" from the abbey, the memories of his hurried time in the Wye had consoled him "
Some common words found in the essay are:
Tintern Abbey, Banks Wye, Friend Wordsworth, Abbey Wordsworth, William Wordsworth, tintern abbey, wordsworth's tintern abbey, Wordsworth's Tintern, life wordsworth, returning wye, own perception, wordsworth's tintern,
Approximate Word count = 1047
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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