William Wordsworth: Tintern Abbey
Introduction to Tintern Abbey (1798)
Today we will cover a poem by William Wordsworth titled Tintern Abbey. So, friends, the full title of Tintern Abbey is lines written a few miles above Tinton Abbey on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a tour, July 13th, 1798. It's like a full sentence itself. The poem was published in 1798 in Wordsworth's collections of poems in Lyrical Ballads, which we had discussed about it in the past and is one of the most famous points by Wordsworth. Wordsworth visited the place for the first time in 1793, when he was 23 years old. Now that visit had influenced him greatly and he could not stop thinking about it. So, he visited the place again in 1798 at the age of 28, but this time with his sister Dorothy. The poem here is divided into 5 sections, and it's neither a ballad nor a lyric, but is written in the form of an elevated blank verse.
Opening lines: -
“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” 

Closing lines: -
“That after many wanderings, many years
Of absence, these deep woods and lofty cliffs,
And this green pastoral landscape, were to me
More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!” 

Important Phrase:
“The still, sad music of humanity” 

Stanza 1
After five years, Wordsworth comes back to the same place, the banks of River Wye. He is happy to see the river coming down from rocks and make beautiful sounds, and he enjoys the beautiful sight of rocks and cliffs, and it leaves a deep impression on his mind. The sky looks calm and quiet and gives him a lot of peace.

Stanza 2
Now the poet, he stands under a Sycamore tree and looks at the cottages and fields from there. He can see the trees in the fields, the fruits on which have not grown ripe yet. As he looks around the natural scenery and farms around him, he notices that it has not changed at all since he last visited this place and still very beautiful. Further he notices, the smoke coming out of the chimneys of the cottages which are hidden behind the trees. It seems to him as if the smoke is coming out of the trees itself.

Stanza 3The poet sees a group of herders who have no place to live and move from one place to another. He also notices hermits who spend their lives alone in quiet caves. Wordsworth then says that till he had not looked at the beauty of nature, he was like a blind man. And it is this peace and beauty about which he kept thinking for five years while he was living a busy life in the city. The memory of the beautiful nature made him feel calm when he used to get anxious.

Stanza 4
Though the scenery has not changed in the last five years, the poet's mind has matured. When he was young, he enjoyed being in nature but did not appreciate its beauty on deeper level. He says that now he is well settled in life and is capable of looking inside him and reflecting. Now the different aspects of nature have started influencing deeply and bring him peace.

Stanza 5
So, when he spends time in nature, he forgets all his worries. He feels completely calm like one task when he is sleeping. This kind of peace of happiness cannot be experienced by someone whose mind is occupied by worldly matters and issues. It's for the calm people and calm mind. Somebody who's busy and you know with lot of stress in the city life, that person cannot experience this peace and happiness.

Stanza 6
The poet says that people struggle every day of their lives to earn a living. They think that it gives them happiness. But such a life makes him sad. When he feels worried and tired, he comes to find peace in nature, which calms his anxiety. He often thinks about how the river Wye flows in the forest and then he feels better.

Stanza 7
Now the poet says that he's well settled in life and often thinks about his youth when he used to walk around the hills in the forest near the river and enjoyed its beauty. But at that time, he could not see and appreciate the hidden benefits of being in nature. He now realizes that it was a great opportunity that he had lost then.

Stanza 8
He says that in his younger days, he just walked around the scenery like an aimless man. He was not sensitive then. The sites gave him happiness, but it did not touch him deeply. Just like an animal who cannot appreciate more subtle hidden beauty, he could not see nature like he does now.

Stanza 9
He says his experience of being in nature was therefore not deep but very shallow. He was unable to discover hidden beauty of nature. But he is now happy that he is no longer that immature person. He sees nature with a new lens which helps him see the magic of nature. When he looks at nature, he can send some deep connection between humanity and nature.

Stanza 10
He has now understood the power of nature. It can bring any person to his real place. It has the power to punish a person, but it is too kind to do so. It gives happiness to a person and inspires great thoughts in his minds. The poet can see its power when he sees sunsets, the Big Blue sky, the great ocean and the mind of a human being.

Stanza 11
Wordsworth further says that nature inspires people to think, therefore, he loves to come frequently to the fields, forests and mountains. He says that it is the beauty and magic of nature that keeps his mind sane. Further, Wordsworth says that during his life on earth, nature is his nurse, friend, philosopher and guide. It's inspiration and makes him love his life. He says that if we had not experienced the benefits and influence of nature, he would have wasted and destroyed his life.

Stanza 12
Now Wordsworth mentions his sister Dorothy in Stanza 12, as his dearest friend and describes how happy and expressive she is as she looks at their beautiful surroundings. He says that looking at his sister now reminds him of his younger self. He further says that like the beautiful nature he's seeing, Dorothy too has not changed much in the last five years. She's still charming and beautiful. She has all the good qualities of nature. He believes that nature has the power to protect us from bad influences. Those who appreciate nature surely benefit from its power. It has the power to inspire great thoughts in one’s mind. Then he requests nature to save him from bad, selfish people, rude words, sarcasm and judgments.

Stanza 13
The stanza 13, he says that day-to-day life can be very boring and then request nature to never let Dorothy's life be boring and dull. He wishes that the moon shine on the path she walks on, the cool winds coming from mountains touch her face and bring her happiness and peace. He wishes that she experiences the beauty of nature and enjoy its beautiful sceneries, so that when she faces loneliness, fear, pain or sadness, these memories give her peace and strength in difficult times.

Stanza 14
Friends Wordsworth becomes emotional in the end when he thinks about separation from his sister. After his death, he wants his sister to remember him by their shared memories and love for each. He loves his sister soo much that he dedicates his memories of the beautiful nature to her. 

Critical Analysis
(1) Connection between
(a) Nature
(b) Human soul
(c) Role of memory in shaping us
(2) Criticised for: -
(a) Sentimentalism
(b) Tendency to idealise nature