Wordsworth, William. 1888. Complete Poetical Works.:
"COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY, ON REVISITING THE BANKS OF THE WYE DURING A TOUR. JULY 13, 1798
FIVE years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur.--Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view 10
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves
'Mid groves and copses. Once again I see
These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines
Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,
Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke
Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!
With some uncertain notice, as might seem
Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods, 20
Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire
The Hermit sits alone."
I have always wanted to travel around the globe to visit the many places and settings of which my favorite authors and my favorite characters have been a part. Indeed, this was the major theme of my application essay for my Fulbright Exchange. Wordsworth's poem, "Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey..." written in July 1798 by William Wordsworth is just one such poem. I have always been drawn to this poem. The speaker's attitude towards nature and the nostalgic tone are vividly portrayed through the language and imagery in this poem. The speaker's solitude is evident through the use of words such as "wild secluded", "deep seclusion" "silence, from among the trees", and this "Hermit's cave" offer the image of a secluded valley surrounded by hills with a rolling river. There is a reverence for nature and the surroundings of the Hermit that the speaker demonstrates. The Hermit is happy, despite being alone, because he is surrounded by the peacefulness of nature. The description of the setting paints vivid pictures in the reader's mind: "waters, rolling", "steep and lofty cliffs", "wild secluded", "plots of cottage-ground", further support the image of a small village in isolation, difficult to traverse and get to, and a valley onto which one just stumbles upon as one traverses the "hedge-rows" that are "hardly-hedgerows." The beauty of the surrounding hillsides paints the scene with all the "green hue" of summer and "orchard-tufts" with "unripe fruits". There is a calm purity in the valley of Tintern, where the great structure of the Abbey lies in ruins, which offers the speaker a "quiet repose under the dark sycamore" and one which I had always desired to see. My favorite phrase from this first stanza is this: "and connect the landscape with the quiet of the sky." It is my favorite because it is calming - for me it provides an image of a mind in turmoil finally connecting with nature and coming to a restful state of existence as the speaker quietly enjoys the beauty of his surroundings. To some extent this exchange experience has been such a calming and connecting experience with my own inner spirit.
It was an emotional journey I undertook this week as I found my way to Tintern and walked the ruins of the Abbey. While I have not included the poem in its entirety here, as it is quite long, I could go on and on with the analysis. The seclusion and the peace pervades the village and the Abbey ruins. Perhaps as the weeks pass and even after I return I will continue to add the stanzas and resulting reflections. The second benefit of this experience is that it has provided me the opportunity to reconnect with some great poetry that I had all but forgotten as a student, but see all too often only as a teacher.
"COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY, ON REVISITING THE BANKS OF THE WYE DURING A TOUR. JULY 13, 1798
FIVE years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur.--Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view 10
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves
'Mid groves and copses. Once again I see
These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines
Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,
Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke
Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!
With some uncertain notice, as might seem
Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods, 20
Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire
The Hermit sits alone."
I have always wanted to travel around the globe to visit the many places and settings of which my favorite authors and my favorite characters have been a part. Indeed, this was the major theme of my application essay for my Fulbright Exchange. Wordsworth's poem, "Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey..." written in July 1798 by William Wordsworth is just one such poem. I have always been drawn to this poem. The speaker's attitude towards nature and the nostalgic tone are vividly portrayed through the language and imagery in this poem. The speaker's solitude is evident through the use of words such as "wild secluded", "deep seclusion" "silence, from among the trees", and this "Hermit's cave" offer the image of a secluded valley surrounded by hills with a rolling river. There is a reverence for nature and the surroundings of the Hermit that the speaker demonstrates. The Hermit is happy, despite being alone, because he is surrounded by the peacefulness of nature. The description of the setting paints vivid pictures in the reader's mind: "waters, rolling", "steep and lofty cliffs", "wild secluded", "plots of cottage-ground", further support the image of a small village in isolation, difficult to traverse and get to, and a valley onto which one just stumbles upon as one traverses the "hedge-rows" that are "hardly-hedgerows." The beauty of the surrounding hillsides paints the scene with all the "green hue" of summer and "orchard-tufts" with "unripe fruits". There is a calm purity in the valley of Tintern, where the great structure of the Abbey lies in ruins, which offers the speaker a "quiet repose under the dark sycamore" and one which I had always desired to see. My favorite phrase from this first stanza is this: "and connect the landscape with the quiet of the sky." It is my favorite because it is calming - for me it provides an image of a mind in turmoil finally connecting with nature and coming to a restful state of existence as the speaker quietly enjoys the beauty of his surroundings. To some extent this exchange experience has been such a calming and connecting experience with my own inner spirit.
It was an emotional journey I undertook this week as I found my way to Tintern and walked the ruins of the Abbey. While I have not included the poem in its entirety here, as it is quite long, I could go on and on with the analysis. The seclusion and the peace pervades the village and the Abbey ruins. Perhaps as the weeks pass and even after I return I will continue to add the stanzas and resulting reflections. The second benefit of this experience is that it has provided me the opportunity to reconnect with some great poetry that I had all but forgotten as a student, but see all too often only as a teacher.
