Miles Fro Tintern Abbey William Wordsworth, Line

¶ … Miles fro Tintern Abbey William Wordsworth, line 134 "Therefore, moon" end. A lead leads thesis statement WHICH IS THE SANCTUARY OF NATURE IN WILLIAM WORDWORD "S Tintern Abbey main point.

"Lines written a Few Miles from Tintern Abbey" by William Wordsworth:

The human soul writ into nature

William Wordsworth viewed nature as a fruitful subject for poetry because it enabled the poet to engage in intense introspection. In his poem "Lines written a Few Miles from Tintern Abbey" Wordsworth begins by musing upon the natural world, and praising it for how it sustains him in times of grief and joy, in all phases of his life. Rather than simply praising nature's aesthetic qualities, the poem explores how nature is a springboard of self-revelation. Nature is a mirror of the soul. It can no longer be enjoyed in a childlike fashion by the poet, unlike his sister, but it is still an important teacher. This becomes evident at the end of the poem, where Wordsworth contrasts his earlier view of nature with his current, more reasoned appreciation. Nature gives him the ability to bring him closer to his sister by identifying with her perspective, while she brings him closer to his old relationship with nature because of her unfettered delight.

"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!" (50-56). Wordsworth speaks to nature, as if it were a friend. He idealizes it, yet he also anthropomorphizes it as a kind of human entity that can comfort the poet in times of distress. This foreshadows the end of the poem, where Wordsworth argues that a love of nature ultimately brings him closer to his sister and by extension all humanity. Nature is a great comforter -- and teacher.

Wordsworth is stresses his changing perceptions of nature, shifting from a more animalistic appreciation of the natural world, to a more sober and reasoned view of his place in the universe. Nature appears physically unchanged, but Wordsworth has changed, and thus so has his perceptions of nature. Wordsworth's view of nature is not unlike that of an Impressionist who sees the same natural object differently, based upon changes in the light, although for Wordsworth, the changes are rooted in the inner light, mood, and experience of the poet, rather than something that is exterior. "Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first/I came among these hills; / ... 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/What then I was" (66-75). In contrast, Wordsworth's sister still has a kind of pure, natural appreciation for the environment that is unfettered by cares. "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 was, / My dear, dear Sister!" (115-120). Nature brings Wordsworth "healing thoughts" of "tender job" but they pale in comparison to the intensity of feeling his sister can experience (143).

Nature is personified as a woman -- his sister and his childhood self are closer to Mother Nature, while Wordsworth feels a sharp sense of distance from nature even while he finds nature to be a great teacher. Nature can "inform / The mind that is within us" (124-125). In other words, without nature, Wordsworth would not be fully cognizant of how he had changed over the years from the young, rude animalistic boy. Nature makes Wordsworth aware of changes within himself. The end of the poem portrays Wordsworth idealizing both his sister and nature, as he apparently watches the woman from a distance. He anticipates that one day, she too will feel a sense of maturity that separates her from a pure, childlike connection with nature, although now, in Wordsworth's view, it is as if she and nature are one: "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" (135-140).

The process of civilization, Wordsworth believes, will separate even his sister from nature, and eventually nature must be regarded with a more distanced and "sober pleasure" versus the passion of a youth who is more like a natural animal than an adult (140). Wordsworth states that he hopes that his sister's memory will be a dwelling for all of the memories of that day, and testimony to both of their intense communion with nature. However, Wordsworth admittedly is not directly communing with nature -- he is looking upon his sister, walking in solitude and observing her communion with the natural world. Her spiritual union with nature causes him to remember his own and reminisce rather than allows him to fully enter back into a childlike world, which the poet feels is impossible.