William Wordsworth’s poem Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey recalls a blissful time William had spent with his sister and William Cook on a stroll through the Wye Valley in 1798. William first describes how he is ‘half-sad’ because of the happiness he experienced, but also half-happy because it was not permanent. William goes on to describe some beautiful scenes that they passed as they walked along, ending with Tintern Abbey as the final scene of beauty before their return home.
William Wordsworth was a Romantic poet who is best known for conveying the beauty and power of nature and its ability to impact humans, in his poems. William Wordsworth was born on April 7th 1770. William Wordsworth died in 1850 at the age of 80 William Wordsworth came from a very wealthy family, William’s father owned a large estate on which William spent most of his childhood on. William’s mother died when William was only 8 years old William had two sisters and one brother. William married his friend since they were little Mary Hutchinson in 1802.
William wrote “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” while he was young becoming a professional poet later in life. This poem was written some time before William wrote “The World is Too Much with Us”. William wrote the poem on a trip to Tintern Abbey which William says in his poem “Tintern Abbey”.
Tintern Abbey Characters
The characters in Wordsworth’s poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” include the speaker, who is unnamed, and his fellow travelers. The speaker reflects on his past experiences in the Welsh countryside and how they have affected him. He also mentions his love for nature and how it has helped him through difficult times. These characters all contribute to the overall theme of the poem, which is about the power of nature to heal and inspire.
William Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” features a number of characters, both real and imagined.The poem opens with the speaker recalling a time when he and his sister visited Tintern Abbey. He remembers how impressed he was by the abbey’s ruins, and how he felt a sense of awe and reverence while walking among them.
He goes on to describe how he has revisited the abbey many times since then, and each time he does, he feels a renewed sense of appreciation for its beauty.
In the final stanza, the speaker reflects on how all of nature – not just the abbey – speaks to him in a special way. He feels a deep connection to the natural world, and finds comfort in knowing that it will always be there for him.
The characters in “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” are primarily the speaker himself and his sister. However, the abbey itself can also be seen as a character – one that has had a profound impact on the speaker’s life.
William was a very emotional person and this poem he feels a connection to nature that no other man or woman has ever felt before William went on this trips to Tintern Abbey with his friends Charles Lamb and Thomas Wilkinson, William often invited many of his close friends on these trips because William loved sharing nature with others, William wanted them to know how he felt about such deep things such as nature. The poem takes place at nighttime during heavy rain; William described the ambience as dark and wild.
The mood of the poem is dark and moody William tries to convey words of wisdom and awareness by telling his friend what he has learned from nature. William is trying to tell his friends that if one stays connected with nature they will feel a sense of oneness with the planet, William wants his friends to understand life is about more than just money and material things William wants them to experience truthfulness in all its forms William feels that people live their lives thinking only about the materialistic world around them William believes that there is much more than just this world.
Tintern Abbey Themes
William Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” is full of themes. Among them are Nature, Childhood, and Memory.
Nature is a huge part of this poem. The speaker talks about how looking at the natural world makes him feel. He also reflects on how nature has changed since he was last there as a child.
Childhood is another big theme in this poem. The speaker reflects on his own childhood and how different it was from his current life. He also talks about how children view the world differently than adults do.
Memory is also an important theme in this poem. The speaker reflects on his memories of the place where he is currently standing. He remembers what it was like to be there as a child and how it looks different now. He also reflects on how memories can change over time.
These are just a few of the themes that can be found in William Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.” There are many more to explore and discover.
Robyn Young calls William’s spontaneity “a radical absence of artifice and affectation in expression” (410). William Wordsworth was very interested in the feelings and thoughts that occurred in his mind when he looked at Tintern Abbey. William Wordsworth was able to express this interest in such a way that makes the reader feel as they were actually looking at this majestic abbey. William Wordsworth wrote Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey with a “clarity and simplicity of language…in which complex thought is conveyed without recourse to traditional poetic techniques of metaphor or simile, but instead through direct language” (p. 10-411).
William Wordsworth did not use figurative language, he did not have to, William Wordsworth did not intend for this poem to be read by many people or it would have been published. William Wordsworth had no intentions of making money off of his work so he did not publish anything. William Wordsworth was very passionate about the subject he wrote about, William Wordsworth was able to convey that passion through his words in Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.
William Wordsworth used techniques such as repetition throughout Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey and William knew why he was using those specific techniques. William says himself “The repetitions I made use of may sometimes suggest what seems to me an increase of earnestness on those points which were most important…” William Wordsworth was aware of what he was doing while writing Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.
William made sure that every word he wrote had a specific meaning behind it, William did not want to waste any time on words that were unnecessary. William was very passionate about the things he wrote about and William wanted each person who read his poem to understand how passionately William felt about this subject. William used alliteration in some words such as “How beauteous” but William did not use alliteration in every line, William chose where to put this technique into his poem carefully.
William says himself “My language is ‘low’ and ‘simple,’ because the images in my mind were humble and rustic” William used simple language because William wanted it to be easier for the reader to understand what William was trying to say. William did not want anything in his poem to confuse the reader, William had one thing on his mind when William wrote Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey and that was how William could make the reader feel.
William Wordsworth is an English poet who wrote Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey “between 1798 and 1800” (Wordsworth). William uses many different techniques throughout Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey but my favorite is repetition, I love how William repeats certain words in order to bring more emotion into this poem. This poem can really help a struggling individual get through their current struggles because William does not sugarcoat anything William just lays out the truth. William uses repetition to “give emphasis to an effect” (p. 10-411).
William shows this through Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey because William not only repeats certain words but William also repeats entire lines, William includes all of the techniques that I mentioned over and over again throughout Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey so William can show how passionate he is about his subject. William Wordsworth was very intelligent when it came to writing poems, William wrote poems with deeper meanings behind them which made William stand apart from other poets during his time.