Background In many of his poems, Wordsworth describes a specific setting and conveys his thoughts and feelings about it. In Tintern Abbey, he captures an outdoor scene in the Wye River valley, near the ruins of a Gothic abbey. “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” expresses his feelings on seeing the city of London early one morning from a bridge spanning the river Thames. In I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, Wordsworth describes the scenery of England’s picturesque Lake District, near his home in Grasmere.
Five years have passed; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur. Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage ground, these orchard tufts,
Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves
’Mid groves and copses. Once again I see
These hedgerows, hardly hedgerows, little lines
Of sportive wood run wild; these pastoral farms,
Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke
Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!
With some uncertain notice, as might seem
Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods,
Or of some Hermit’s cave, where by his fire
The Hermit sits alone[185].
These beauteous forms,
Through a long absence, have not been to me
As is a landscape to a blind man’s eye;
But oft, in lonely rooms, and ’mid the din
Of towns and cities, I have owed to them,
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration—feelings too
Of unremembered pleasure; such, perhaps,
As have no slight or trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust,
To them I may have owed another gift,
Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burthen of the mystery,
In which the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,
Is lightened—that serene and blessed mood,
In which the affections gently lead us on—
Until, the breath of this corporeal frame
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul;
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things[186].
If this
Be but a vain belief, yet, oh! how oft—
In darkness and amid the many shapes
Of joyless daylight; when the fretful stir
Unprofitable, and the fever of the world,
Have hung upon the beatings of my heart—
How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee,
O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer through the woods,
How often has my spirit turned to thee![187]
And now, with gleams of half-extinguished thought
With many recognitions dim and faint,
And somewhat of a sad perplexity,
The picture of the mind revives again;
While here I stand, not only with the sense
Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts
That in this moment there is life and food
For future years. And so I dare to hope,
Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first
I came among these hills; when like a roe
I bounded o’er the mountains, by the sides
Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams,
Wherever nature led—more like a man
Flying from something that he dreads than one
Who sought the thing he loved. For nature then
(The coarser pleasures of my boyish days,
And their glad animal movements all gone by)
To me was all in all.—I cannot paint[188]
What then I was. The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion; the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,
Their colors and their forms, were then to me
An appetite; a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, nor any interest
Unborrowed from the eye.—That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this
Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur; other gifts
Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,
Abundant recompense. For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still, sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue. And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye, and ear—both what they half create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognize
In nature and the language of the sense
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my moral being.
Nor perchance,
If I were not thus taught, should I the more
Suffer my genial spirits to decay:
For thou art with me here upon the banks
Of this fair river; thou my dearest Friend,
My dear, dear Friend; and in thy voice I catch
The language of my former heart, and read
My former pleasures in the shooting lights
Of thy wild eyes. Oh! yet a little while
May I behold in thee what I was once,
My dear, dear Sister! and this prayer I make,
Knowing that Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her; ’tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy: for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
Shall e’er prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings. Therefore let the moon
Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;
And let the misty mountain winds be free
To blow against thee: and, in after years,
When these wild ecstasies shall be matured
Into a sober pleasure; when thy mind
Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms,
Thy memory be as a dwelling place
For all sweet sounds and harmonies; oh! then,
If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief
Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts
Of tender joy wilt thou remember me,
And these my exhortations! Nor, perchance—
If I should be where I no more can hear
Thy voice, nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams
Of past existence—wilt thou then forget
That on the banks of this delightful stream
We stood together; and that I, so long
A worshiper of Nature, hither came
Unwearied in that service; rather say
With warmer love—oh! with far deeper zeal
Of holier love. Nor wilt thou then forget,
That after many wanderings, many years
Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,
And this green pastoral landscape, were to me
More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!
After Reading
Comprehension check: Recall and Interpret
1.Describe the setting (see page R14) of the poem. What sights and sounds does the speaker mention in lines 1–22?
2. How many years have passed since the speaker’s first visit to the countryside overlooking Tintern Abbey?
3. In what ways has the speaker changed since his first visit? How does he look upon nature now?
4. Who accompanies the speaker on his return visit?
5. How does the speaker feel the visit will affect his companion in the future? How will the visit affect him?
Literary analysis: Evaluate and Connect
6. Draw ConclusionsIn lines 1–22, what is the speaker’s attitude toward the sights and sounds around him?
7. Make InferencesWhy has the speaker so often “returned in spirit” to these peaceful scenes since his first visit?
8. Make InferencesHow does the speaker feel about the changes he sees in himself since his first visit?
9. Clarify IdeasHow does the presence of a companion enhance the speaker’s pleasure in returning to this particular place?
10. Clarify IdeasWhy does the speaker believe his companion’s thoughts will return to this place in future years?
11. Clarify IdeasIs the poem about nature, about human nature, or about both? Explain your opinion, citing lines from the poem to support your ideas.
12. Clarify IdeasIn line 152, the speaker says that he is “a worshipper of Nature.” In your opinion, does the speaker worship nature only, or does he worship something more? Give examples to support your opinion.
13. Draw Conclusions In what ways is the poem like prose? What elements are “poetic”?
14. Analyze Stylistic ElementsIn his famous preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth defines poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Review the list of Wordsworth’s stylistic elements. In what ways do the stylistic elements help him achieve this effect in Tintern Abbey?
15. Examine Romantic PoetryFor each convention of romantic poetry listed below, provide an example from the poem. What overall effect do these conventions help create?
• interest in the individual
• emphasis on the commonplace
• expression of emotions
• ordinary language
• love of nature
• mysterious, exotic, or supernatural elements
Literary Criticism
16. Critical InterpretationsSome literary critics have argued that Wordsworth presents an idealistic, and therefore unrealistic, portrait of childhood. Based on Tintern Abbey, do you agree with this argument? Support your opinion with details from the poem.
17. Writing About LiteratureThe speaker in Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey says that he loves “all the mighty world / Of eye and ear.” Review the poem, taking notes on all the sights and sounds that are described. Then, in a few paragraphs, explain how these descriptions help readers picture the setting of the poem and, as the speaker says in line 49, “see into the life of things.” Be sure to quote specific lines from the poem to support your ideas.
18. Personal WritingIn Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, the speaker recalls a place that was special to him and describes how his perceptions of that place have changed over time. Describe in your journal a place from your childhood. How have you changed since last seeing it? How might this place be different to you today? Why might it seem different?
Reading Focus IV: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
KEY IDEA The famous expression “like an albatross around my neck” stems from Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” It is often used to describe feelings of guilt that weigh heavily on a person. Have you ever felt burdened by guilt?
