The Valorization of Nature in William Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey”

Year 2013, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 207 - 214, 02.11.2013

Tuğba Karabulut

Abstract

William Wordsworth, often called the poet of nature, emphasizes the significance of nature, and how it inspires his imagination in his poems. He claims that poetry naturally comes by the expression of feelings which have deeply been inspired by and cultivated in silent nature. As he maintains a simplistic way of expression in his poetry, he emphasizes the importance of simple life in nature. In this article, I will analyse Wordsworth’s appreciation of nature and his gradual self-awareness and maturation in “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1978.” With respect to his concept of nature, I will also deal with his reflection of Pantheism, a religious belief among the Romantic intellectuals which identifies nature with God.

Keywords

Nature, Wordsworth, Tintern Abbey

The Valorization of Nature in William Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey”

Abstract

William Wordsworth, often called the poet of nature, emphasizes the significance of
nature, and how it inspires his imagination in his poems. He claims that poetry naturally comes by the expression of feelings which have
deeply been inspired by and cultivated in silent nature. As he maintains a simplistic way
of expression in his poetry, he emphasizes the importance of simple life in nature. In this
article, I will analyse Wordsworth’s appreciation of nature and his gradual self-awareness and maturation in “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the
Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1978.” With respect to his concept of nature,
I will also deal with his reflection of Pantheism, a religious belief among the Romantic
intellectuals which identifies nature with God.

Keywords

Wordsworth, Tintern Abbey, Nature

References

• Benziger, James. “Tintern Abbey Revisited,” PMLA, 65/2 (1950), pp.154-162.
• Gravil, Richard. “Tintern Abbey and The System of Nature,” Romanticism, 6/1 (2000), pp.35-54.
• Gray, H. Charles. “Wordsworth’s First Visit to Tintern Abbey,” PMLA, 49/1 (1934), pp.123-133.
• Khatun, Kamrunnessa. “Re-Reading Eco-Critical Themes in Romanticism with Reference to William Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey,” Indian Streams Research Journal, 2/11 (2012), pp.3-6.
• Noyes, Russel. “Lyrical Ballads 1798,” in Herbert Sussman (ed.), William Wordsworth (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991), p.24-42.
• Riasonovsky, Nicholas. The Emergence of Romanticism (New York: Oxford, 1992), p.72.
• Wordsworth, William. Letters of William Wordsworth, in Alan G. Hill (ed.), (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984), p.16.
• Wordsworth, William. “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour,” July 13, 1798,” in Stephen Greenblatt et al. (eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, 8th edition (New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 2006).
• Wordsworth, William. “Preface to Lyrical Ballads,” in Stephen Gill (ed.), The Oxford Authors: William Wordsworth (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984).
• Wordsworth, William. “Prelude,” in Stephen Greenblatt et al. (eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, 8th edition (New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 2006).