'Tintern Abbey'

             ‘Tintern Abbey’ is an expression of Wordsworth’s philosophy of Nature. Accordingly, in this poem, he sets out to seek beauty in the meadow, woodland and the mountain-top, and to interpret this beauty in spiritual terms. The poem is a noble expression of the influence of Nature in the life of man in all its three stages: childhood, early youth and mature age. 

                Wordsworth, with his sister Dorothy, revisits the Wye River in 1798 after a gap of five years. The poet is spellbound by the beautiful landscape and objects of Nature such as ‘mountain springs’, ‘lofty cliffs’ etc. the long gap of five years could not erase the impression of the beautiful sight from his mind. The memories of the beautiful landscape which faded revived again. The poet, however, confesses that in the initial years of his life, he was only attached to the physical and superficial beauty of Nature.

                    However, a change appears in his attitude towards Nature. This is the second stage of his life i.e. early youth or the period of the sense. He has learnt to look at Nature, not as a thoughtless youth; he asserts that the memories of these beautiful objects of Nature have given him great joy and peace in noisy towns and cities.

                    Wordsworth has started listening to the ‘music of humanity’ in the ‘sounding cataract’ which used to haunt him like a passion when he has immature. He is now conscious of the sorrow of humanity and he sees in Nature the revelation of the divine law. Towards the poem's concluding lines, the third stage of the poet’s development is revealed. Wordsworth begins to find a soul and living spirit in the objects of Nature. His physical and sensuous appreciation of nature disappears. He now starts looking into the objects of Nature a soul which is closely linked to the soul of a human being:

A spirit, that impels….

And rolls through all things.

            Noting that his sister Dorothy is glad to see the beauty of Nature, the poet exhorts her to unite with Nature. Her love for nature would help her a great deal in her life future life. He asserts that when she would have troubles in her life, the memory of this landscape would provide her solace. In the last couple of lines, Wordsworth tells her sister that the objects of nature seem beautiful to him not because they are nice-looking but also because he is in her sweet company.
            'Tintern Abbey' is a great poem. It expresses clearly and powerfully what nature meant to Wordsworth. It shows him not as a lover of nature, but as “a high priest of Nature”. In this way, the poem is marked by an autobiographical note and personal feelings. It is a poem of sublime thought. The poet has expressed his honest and natural feelings about Nature’s Superiority. The language is so simple and lucid that one is not tired of reading it again and again. The sweetness of style touches the heart of the reader. The medium of this poem is neither ballad nor a lyric but an elevated blank verse. The blank verse that is used in it is low-toned, familiar, and moves with sureness, sereneness and inevitable ease. It has a quiet pulse, suggestive of 'central peace', which is felt in all his great poetry.