- In what sense does “Tintern Abbey” offer readers a “religion of nature”? What are some of the specific ways in which nature works as a substitute for traditional religion?
- Why do you think Wordsworth gives “Tintern Abbey” such a precise and detailed sub-title? What is the significance of this poem’s full titile?
- In the final portion of “Tintern Abbey,” the speaker turns to his “dear friend.” Who is this friend and what role does he/she play in the poem?
- “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” and “The World Is Too Much with Us” are both sonnets. Why do you think a poet might choose to work with such a highly structured form?
- Describe some of the ways in which Wordsworth’s poetry conforms to some of the features of Romanticism that we’ve discussed. What evidence can you find to illustrate this?
William Wordsworth, Selected Poems
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge” and “The World Is Too Much with Us” are both sonnets. Why do you think a poet might choose to work with such a highly structured form?
Sonnets talk about desire and romance, and they were very popular during the Renaissance period so maybe that is one reason why Wordsworth chose to work with sonnets. Since the sonnet has strict rules for rhyming and rhythm, I think that he might have chosen to work with it to show off his writing skills. Also sonnets let the poet connect to the past while still being creative. For example, he blames industrial society for replacing the relationship between humans and nature with materials. Somehow, he is referring to a past life where humans might have been happier and had a better connection with nature. Moreover, sonnets sound nice when you read them, making them easy to remember. For example, the sonnet “The World is Too Much With Us” is short and very easy to remember, but also very easy to analyze. Moreover, the structure of the sonnet affects the meaning of the poem, so I think that it helps the author enhance the theme of his poems and makes it easier for us as readers to understand the issue and the solution.
Describe some of the ways in which Wordsworth’s poetry conforms to some of the features of Romanticism that we’ve discussed. What evidence can you find to illustrate this?
Romanticism is a movement that looks at the inspiration, emotions, and sometimes nostalgia of what we had before, as well as nature. The idea that maybe science does not help humanity, and that it hinders us, is the core belief. Nature is better for us, or at least being in nature regularly.
Wordsworth looks upon this land scape with nostalgia, believing he is not only happier here than he is in the city, but that the memories of his time in this beautiful landscape fuel him and keep him going through his every day life. Relating himself to a buck in the past, then saying “That time is past, and its aching joys are now no more” followed by “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”.
This is a great contrast to the feelings he felt of this landscape before. This nature in front of him is beautiful, and the world he lived in (civilization) is corrupting that nature.
In the final portion of “Tintern Abbey,” the speaker turns to his “dear friend.” Who is this friend and what role does he/she play in the poem?
The “dear friend” that the speaker turns his head to is the speakers sister. From when the speaker says,
“;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.”
We can gather that his sister is now experiencing nature very similarly to how the speaker experienced it for his first time five years ago. He also wishes for his sister to share and carry on this memory of them in nature together. The speaker first relives nature for the first time through his sister, but he can also make new memories for himself with her. The role of the sister is somewhat of a legacy because through her the narrator passes on his love of nature.
Hi Adrain! When I first read that line I actually didn’t think of it like that but now that you mentioned it, it makes much more sense now. About how her brother wants her to share her story and make memories with each other. It is much more clear to me now and now the story adds up for me now.
In the final portion of “Tintern Abbey,” the speaker turns to his “dear friend.” Who is this friend and what role does he/she play in the poem?
In the final portion of “Tintern Abbey” it is revealed that the speaker is talking about his sister when he turns to his “dear when”.
Ultimately, the speaker wants his sister to share the same love and joy that nature brings him. He describes how nature brings him a sense of relief when in the city life, and that even after five years of visiting Tintern Abbey the memories are still powerful. During this visit, the speaker discovers that the Abbey offers a more religious aspect of nature.
This discovery is what the speaker wants his sister to experience.
In addition, he also mentions that this visit was different than the last. Not only because of his new feelings and realizations but because he is now able to enjoy nature with his sister. He expresses how important that is to him.
In what sense does “Tintern Abbey” offer readers a “religion of nature”? What are some of the specific ways in which nature works as a substitute for traditional religion?
In a traditional religion, there is one god or a group of gods. However, in “Tintern Abbey”, Wordsworth describes god being in Nature itself. Unlike traditional religions where gods are said to be creators, “religion of nature” says god is a part of nature and is seen all throughout nature.
“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:”
We can say that believers of “religion of nature” experience divinity when viewing the natural world, and that is the manifestation of their god.
In what sense does “Tintern Abbey” offer readers a “religion of nature”? What are some of the specific ways in which nature works as a substitute for traditional religion?
In this text, the poet’s mission is to open the human soul to the secrets of Nature. Five years have passed since the poet’s last visit to the ruins, but despite this, he still feels the same sensations that nature causes him but this time he welcomes them differently. Nature seen from the writer’s point of view is a relationship that connects man with his surroundings, where humans are active participants in nature. However, from a religious point of view, nature is the result of what God has created on the earth, the paths, the hills, the waterways, and those sensations that he experiences within himself give him a great source of joy and pleasure.