Critical Appreciation - Tintern Abbey Revisited - William Wordsworth - Asad Imran Notes

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General Introduction

Tintern Abbey is a famous poem written by the famous Romantic poet, William Wordsworth. The poem is based partly on Wordsworth's personal experiences as well as his new policy of making poetry capable to be read by laymen. The poem features Wordsworth's visit to Tintern Abbey with his sister when he was twenty-three years old in 1793 (after his escape from the revolutionized France). He also visited the very place after five years. He included this poem as a final poem in Lyrical Ballads. The complete title of this poem is: "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798".

Development of Situation

The poem begins when the poet uses his cells of memory to recall his visit to Tintern Abbey. The speaker can recollect almost everything from his early visit.

Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs

The speaker asserts that it was the memory of this beautious place that kept him sane in "the din/ Of towns and cities". He thinks that he will change from a child to a man of maturity. He has learnt to see nature from a larger perspective. In the past, he could only enjoy Nature. Now he has the ability to understand its deep meaning.

We also find Wordsworth's sister along with him in his journey. The poet suggests that although his sister sees Nature the way he used to in his childhood, yet she shall be able to get a clear idea of the connections between different elements of Nature with each other.

Themes

This large poem carries different themes each relating to the power of Nature. The first theme of this poem is the restoring power of Nature. According to the speaker, Nature is a healer. It heals the wounds of weariness caused by the hustle and bustle of city life. The poet uses many negative phrases to describe city life like "din", "evil", "lonely" and "dreary". It is the beauty of Nature that keeps the spirit of the poet alive and restores his status as a man of instinct rather than the man of pursuit.

It is worth noting that Romantics were in search of discovering the awe-inspiring powers of Nature and this poem tries to do exactly that. The power that unites Man with his Natural World seems truly in works when the poet is overwhelmed by his second visit of the Tintern Abbey.

The third prominent theme of this poem is the connection between Nature and imagination. Romantic Poets were linking and painting Nature through their imagination. They believed that humans only saw a half of Nature while their minds filled and added the rest of the beauty to the particular scene of Nature through imagination. The poem also favours the idea of "half creation" through the human "eyes and ears". But our mind consistently works back and forth to fill in the blank of beauty.

Although Nature plays a dominant part in explaining the themes of the poem. However, time and growth are two other important themes of the poem as well. The poet suggests that as a person grows up with the passage of time, he gets a better understanding of life but at the cost of a loss. The poet visits his cherished place after a period of five years and he notices a change. For instance, he has lost the energy of his youth but he has been blessed with ample understanding to unleash different layers of the awe-inspiring Nature.

Symbols and Allusions (Figurative Analysis)

Lines Written Above Tintern Abbey boasts some serious work of symbols that extends the meaning of the poem. The first symbol we encounter is Hermit. Hermits are the religious people who live in isolation to devote their lives for their religion. Here, a Hermit might be used as a symbol of spiritual quest in the peaceful lap of nature.

The poet also uses a metaphor when performing a comparison of his sister's mind with a mansion. But this can be taken as a symbol of wealth as well.

The (assumed) title of the poem is a direct allusion to Tintern Abbey. An abbey is a sacred place in Christianity in which nuns or monks live. Tintern Abbey was built in the 12th century by Walter de Clare. In the 16th century, the place had acquired a symbolic significance of English history when it was abandoned by Henry VIII.

Setting and Imagery

The setting of this poem is quite evident from its title that is (the ruins of) Tintern Abbey situated on the River Wye. The poem abounds in images. Some notable images of this poem may include, "waters rolling from their mountain-springs", "landscape with the quiet of the sky", "like a roe", and "steep woods and lofty cliffs".

Structural Analysis

Tintern Abbey is composed of 161 lines. The poem is divided into five stanzas of different lengths. For instance, the shortest stanza contains 9 lines while the longest contains 53. There is no proper rhyme scheme or rhythmic pattern. The poem is a blank verse. The poem contains the elements of monologue and ode but the exact kind is difficult to set.

Conclusion

Conclusively speaking, Tintern Abbey Revisited is a forceful romantic poem that highlights the healing effect of Nature upon a person's heart as well as the process of gradual learning associated with it.

Critical Appreciation - Tintern Abbey Revisited - William Wordsworth