William Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey describes a return to a location the speaker has not been to for 5 years. The focus of Wordsworth’s poem is to show memory, more specifically memory of a unity with nature. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Locksley Hall similarly describes a return to a location. This location provides particular sentimental value to the speaker as he spent his childhood there and, importantly to this poem, the place where he fell in love. Analysis of the two poems provides insight into the two different eras they represent, as they are written on a similar subject matter with a varying message. Wordsworth uses this meditation on a formerly significant place to discuss romantic ideals of proximity to nature and how childhood allows for a closer connection to nature. Tennyson on the other hand uses his feelings on Locksley Hall to draw light on failures in society. The focus of this essay is to show how memories of the past show romantic ideals of connection to nature through Wordsworth’s poem and the Victorian aim of critiquing materialism through Tennyson’s poem. In William Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey and Alfred Tennyson’s Locksley Hall childhood memory is used to reflect changing mindsets of poets that represent different generations.
The forms of these two poems reflect trends seen at the time of their publishing. Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey is written in unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, otherwise known as blank verse. Blank verse can be read easily as it bears resemblance to prose. In addition to this, iambic pentameter is commonly used to mimic natural speech patterns making it simple to read, an ideal of the romantic period. Locksley Hall is a dramatic monologue with 97 rhyming couplets. The dramatic monologue was...
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... upon when reminded of his youth.
Childhood memories allow the speakers in both Tintern Abbey and Locksley Hall to meditate on the past, present and future. Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey uses memory in order to discuss themes of connection to nature and aging. This is done by the previously mentioned bringing forward of past feelings and comparisons to his younger sister. This theme of connection to nature is indicative of the romantic era in which it was written in and which Wordsworth was at the forefront of. Tennyson’s Locksley Hall presents ideas typical of the Victorian era through the speaker’s dramatic monologue. The speaker uses the dramatic monologue form to speak his thoughts on his past love who left him, and what this says about society. Through memory both of these poems illuminate ideas which are typical of the respective eras in which they are written.
(ll. 19-24) Wordsworth’s famous and simple poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” expresses the Romantic Age’s appreciation for the beauty and truth that can be found in a setting as ordinary as a field of daffodils. With this final stanza, Wordsworth writes of the mind’s ability to carry those memories of nature’s beauty into any setting, whether city or country. His belief in the power of the imagination and the effect it can have on nature, and vice a versa, is evident in most of his work. This small
In the poem Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth nature’s is portrayed to its readers. The speaker says,
Rebecca Wordsworth was, as many writers have pointed out, distressed at Wordsworth’s refusal to hold a full-time job—like many a youth after him, Wordsworth was living the carefree life of the artist. Rebecca wanted him put to rights. He should become an adult now. “Tintern Abbey” is Wordsworth’s attempt to explain himself to Rebecca, but also, in crucial ways, to himself.
Wordsworth visualized scenes while he was away, a way for him to feel a spiritual connection until he was able to return. Wordsworth states, “As a landscape to a blind man’s eye: But opt, in lonely rooms, and mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them” (Wordsworth 25-27). Wordsworth gives a sense of conformity and loneliness while being in the towns and cities. That he had his memories of when he was younger to keep him hopeful to return to nature and all the memories he had grasped the memories of. As the society today focuses merely on what they can profit from cities, Wordsworth understood the true meaning of memories. Memories today are mostly captured through social media, and in return being taken for granted. Wordsworth had nostalgic bliss as he replayed his memories, and knowing that in the future he could look back on that day and have the same feeling again. Social media today is destroying our memories and what we can relive in our minds as memories. We can know that when things are posted within social media it will get likes and be shared. However, there are not many people in society today that will remember the true essence of what nature has given to
‘It is often suggested that the source for many of William Wordsworth’s poems lies in the pages of Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal. Quite frequently, Dorothy describes an incident in her journal, and William writes a poem about the same incident, often around two years later.’ It is a common observation that whilst Dorothy is a recorder – ‘her face was excessively brown’ – William is a transformer – ‘Her skin was of Egyptian brown’ . The intertextuality between The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals and ‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’ allows both Dorothy and William to write about the same event, being equally as descriptive, but in very differing ways. Dorothy writes in a realist ‘log-book’ like style, whereas William writes in a romantic ballad style. This can be very misleading, as it gives William’s work more emotional attachment even though his work is drawn upon Dorothy’s diary, which in its turn is very detached, including little personal revelation. When read in conjunction with William’s poetry, Dorothy’s journal seems to be a set of notes written especially for him by her. In fact, from the very beginning of the journals Dorothy has made it quite clear that she was writing them for William’s ‘pleasure’ . This ties in with many of the diary entries in which she has described taking care of William in a physical sense. In a way this depicts the manner in which William uses his sister’s journal to acquire the subject of his poetry, which makes it seem as though Dorothy is his inspiration.
What does Wordsworth see when he 'sees into the life of things?'; Remember that in the lines leading up to his portrayal of the 'blessed mood'; that gives him sight, Wordsworth has been pointing to the power of human memory and reflection. And the importance of memory and reflection are made plain by the shifting time perspectives in the poem. The poem begins with the speaker on the banks of the Wye for the first time in five years. At first the poet emphasizes the way in which his present experience is similar to that of five years ago. More than once he tells us that 'again'; he has certain experiences in this secluded spot, a place that is evidently a refuge for him. He then tells how he has though of 'these beauteous forms' at many difficult times since he was last at this spot, five years before. At these moments, his recollections of his time on the banks of the Wye seems to lift his spirits and restore him. He then points to what might, at first glance, seem to be impossible: 'unremembered pleasures.'; How can it make sense to say that we recall 'unremembered pleasures';? If they are unremembered, how can we be thinking about them? This strange phrase might point to some vague pleasant experience in the past, one that we cannot clearly name. But it could also mean that we can now remember pleasures that previously not only unremembered but actually unnoticed. The thought of an unnoticed pleasure might seem strange as well.
Wordsworth begins the journey into "Tintern Abbey" by taking the reader from the height of a mountain stream down into the valley where the poet sits under a sycamore... ... middle of paper ... ... together even after his death. Over two hundred years after it was written, "Tintern Abbey" continues to uphold the essence of William Wordsworth's beliefs and continues to touch the emotions of its readers. Even though, here in the twenty-first century, the term real-world has a connotation of life in the fast-lane, the real world - the natural world - of Wordsworth's time still holds a place of eminence both in literature and in the hearts of its readers.
Wordsworth's Poetry A lot of literature has been written about motherhood. Wordsworth is a well known English poet who mentions motherhood and female strength in several of his poems, including the Mad Mother, The Thorn, and The Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman. This leads some critics to assume that these poems reflect Wordsworth's view of females. Wordsworth portrays women as dependent on motherhood for happiness, yet he also emphasizes female strength.
Primarily in Lines composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey the mortality of creativeness and imagination is expressed by Wordsworth. This is a poem about the beauty of an old cathedral called Tintern Abbey. He hasn’t been there in five years and he brought his sister along. Even though imagination isn’t immortal, there is a way to reclaim it, “That time is past, / and all its aching joys are ...
In the sestet he tells us of his personal responses to the scene. The poem uses an alternate line rhyming to create the effect of order. It is written in a sonnet using iambic pentameter. This device brings attention and emphasizes the meanings of the words. Wordsworth's shows his feelings for London in a figurative way.
Wordsworth's 'Tintern Abbey'; is the poetry of consciousness and becoming aware of this state, and the understanding of where one fits into the scheme of everything within the world. Wordsworth looked into life as an active participant ready to grasp all knowledge and understanding that was available to him. So although he missed the abbey and lost some of his youth, he had gained ten-fold by being able to interpret his feelings through his own perception and knowledge. He had found a way to console himself, he had found a basis for hope in 'Tintern Abbey';. Wordsworth had become more thoughtful and saw the abbey in a different way than in his youth. He had learned how to appreciate things and wanted to instill those values in his sister/';Dear Friend';. Wordsworth had found the true comfort in nature and had incorporated that respect for nature in his life.
When a man becomes old and has nothing to look forward to he will always look back, back to what are called the good old days. These days were full of young innocence, and no worries. Wordsworth describes these childhood days by saying that "A single Field which I have looked upon, / Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream? " (190) Another example of how Wordsworth uses nature as a way of dwelling on his past childhood experiences is when he writes "O joy!
William Wordsworth has respect and has great admiration for nature. This is quite evident in all three of his poems; the Resolution and Independence, Tintern Abbey and Michael in that, his philosophy on the divinity, immortality and innocence of humans are elucidated in his connection with nature. For Wordsworth, himself, nature has a spirit, a soul of its own, and to know is to experience nature with all of your senses. In all three of his poems there are many references to seeing, hearing and feeling his surroundings. He speaks of hills, the woods, the rivers and streams, and the fields. Wordsworth comprehends, in each of us, that there is a natural resemblance to ourselves and the background of nature.
The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is about the poet’s mental journey in nature where he remembers the daffodils that give him joy when he is lonely and bored. The poet is overwhelmed by nature’s beauty where he thought of it while lying alone on his couch. The poem shows the relationship between nature and the poet, and how nature’s motion and beauty influences the poet’s feelings and behaviors for the good. Moreover, the process that the speaker goes through is recollected that shows that he isolated from society, and is mentally in nature while he is physically lying on his couch. Therefore, William Wordsworth uses figurative language and syntax and form throughout the poem to express to the readers the peace and beauty of nature, and to symbolize the adventures that occurred in his mental journey.
Wordsworth wrote about nostalgia in place he loved, but unlike Dylan who wrote about nostalgia for the childhood. In “Lines Composed a Few Miles above the Tintern Abbey” (1798), which also know as Tintern Abbey”, Wordsworth reflects the feeling that he feels visiting the same place. In “Fern Hill” (1945), Thomas’s looks back to his childhood, and how he misses the naïve and carefree child. Wordsworth, who known as the Romantic poet, expresses his emotion clearly in the first visits the Wye River above Tintern Abbey in early ages, and when he revisits it again. Comparing the two sensations is the structure of the “Tintern Abbey.” Wordsworth remembers the feeling from the last visit where there was passion and enjoyment of the nature around “In hours of weariness, sensations sweet”, and how he changes since then “learned, to look on nature, not as in the hour”. On the other hand, Thomas recalls himself as child in Fern Hill, where he was happy, carefree, selfish, and no worrying about the