Wordsworth and His Tintern Abbey

nullQuestionsQuestionsWho is Wordsworth? What do you know about his poetry? How do you understand what Wordsworth says in Lyrical Ballads: “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility.”? What is the main idea of his “Tintern Abbey?” What are its subject and theme? How do you understand the title of the poem? The poet adopts the first person pronoun in his poem. What does this indicates? Does it affect the subjects of the poem? What is the main idea of lines 8 – 22?Questions Questions “Tintern Abbey” purports to record a moment of revelation, when Wordsworth suddenly realized that nature and acts of memory had given him insight into the life of things. How does the speaker describe the way his memory of these "beauteous forms" has worked upon him in his absence from them? (ll. 25-30) In ll. 30 -35, the poet goes on to describe how the powerful feelings recollected in tranquility even affected him when he was not aware of the memory. Please recount the process in your own words.Questions Questions “Tintern Abbey” purports to record a moment of revelation, when Wordsworth suddenly realized that nature and acts of memory had given him insight into the life of things. In ll. 35 – 41, the poet continues to talk about the influence of the memory of the scene. Please recount the affects caused by this memory. The poet adopts a metaphor in ll. 42–49. Please elaborate on it, pay attention to how the speaker achieves the ability to “see into the life of the thing.” Questions Questions In the poem, the poet describes how the speaker has undergone all together three stages in the development of his relationship with nature. (Read ll. 60 – 102) What about his relationship with nature when he was in long-ago times, in his “boyish days”? When he grew, how was he emotionally involved with the nature? (first visit to the Wye) What is his present state of mind, when writing the poem? What does the poet see in his sister? (ll. 111 to the end).William WordsworthWilliam WordsworthA lover of nature, toured many places renown for their scenic beauty An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches (used conventional forms: not well received) Lyrical Ballads (1798): revolt against artificial classicism: “the source of poetic truth is the direct experience of the senses” “Tintern Abbey” “Ode: Intimations of Immortality”-contained in Poems in Two Volumes (1807) The Prelude (1850)-an introspective account of his poetic developmentWilliam Wordsworth’s PoetryWilliam Wordsworth’s PoetryHis poetry is a voice of comprehensive humanity and one that inspires his audience to see the world freshly, sympathetically and naturally. He saw nature and man with new eyes. His whole work is an attempt to communicate that new vision. Distinguished by the simplicity and purity of his language spoken by the peasants. because in his mind this language, when purified from its defects, was the best of all. Worshipper of NatureWorshipper of NaturePenetrate to the core of things and give the readers the very life of nature. Genuine love for the natural beauty which can release him out of the solitude and sorrow when he is sad or empty-minded. Sublime communion with all things. Nature has become an inspiring force of rapture and a power that reveals the working of the soul. Nature acts as a substitute for imaginative and intellectual engagement with the development of embodied human beings in their diverse circumstances.All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquilityAll good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquilityContrasted with the classicists who made reason, order, and the old classical traditions the criteria in the poetical creations. Appealed directly on individual sensations (pleasure, excitement and enjoyment) as the foundation in the creation and appreciation of poetry Emotion immediately impressed is as raw as wine newly bottled. Tranquil contemplation of an emotional experience matures the feelings and sensation, and makes possible the creation of good poetry like the mellowing of old wine. Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, 1798. Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, 1798. The final poem in Lyrical Ballads An extended lyric meditation on memory Main IdeaMain IdeaWilliam Wordsworth returned to the Wye valley in July 1798, five years after he had first toured the region with his sister, Dorothy. As he looks at the valley, through the lens of memory, he sees himself — both as he once was, and as he is now. With his “Lines,” Wordsworth attempts to make sense of the changes he has undergone, and, in the process, he offers some interesting insights into the machinery of memory and the Romantic lyric.“Tintern Abbey”“Tintern Abbey”Subject: childhood memories of communion with natural beauty. Theme: the memory of pure communion with nature in childhood works upon the mind even in adulthood, when access to that pure communion has been lost, and that the maturity of mind present in adulthood offers compensation for the loss of that communion Specifically: the poet says, in his youth he was thoughtless in his unity with the woods and the river; now, five years since his last viewing of the scene, he is no longer thoughtless, but acutely aware of everything the scene has to offer him. nullnullThe TitleThe TitleThe specific setting of Wordsworth’s poem is clearly important to him. Indeed, in the very title of his poem, he announces the time and place of his return visit, and lets us know where he is positioned in the landscape that he describes. He sits in a specific spot, a “few miles above” an abandoned abbey in the valley of the river Wye; thus he has a broad perspective on the landscape he will describe.nullAs he composes the poem (or so he claims), he is reclined “under [a] dark sycamore.” It is mid-July, the day before Bastille Day, and three times in the space of two lines Wordsworth asserts that “five years have past” since he last visited. These were five tumultuous years in European history and in Wordsworth’s life, and it is as though he has longed to return to this spot above Tintern Abbey. He is nostalgic, in a contemplative, reflective mood.nullIt opens with the speaker's declaration that five years have passed since he last visited this location, encountered its tranquil, rustic scenery, and heard the murmuring waters of the river. He recites the objects he sees again, and describes their effect upon him: --- Once again Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, That on a wild secluded scene impress Thoughts of more deep seclusion. . ——我又一次 看到这陡峭巍峨的山崖， 在一片野外幽静的风景中，感动了 更加了幽远的思想。The use of the first person pronounThe use of the first person pronounNote how often Wordsworth repeats the first person pronoun, “I”— “I hear/These waters,” “I behold,” “repose,” “view,” and “see.” Wordsworth’s description emphasizes his personal engagement or involvement with the landscape; he is concerned with how the vista affects him. Likewise, we should be concerned with how his point of view affects the vista.Tintern AbbeyTintern AbbeyCritics have often noted that Wordsworth does not depict the Abbey and the valley as it really appeared in 1798. The abbey was ruined and overgrown, and the valley had been scarred by the industrial revolution. To some extent, Wordsworth sees what he wants to see—an idyllic landscape. Looking down on the valley through the lens of memory, he sees a mixture of the present and the past.Line 8 - 22Line 8 - 22The poet leans against the dark sycamore tree and looks at the cottage-grounds and the orchard trees, whose fruit is still unripe. He sees the "wreaths of smoke" rising up from cottage chimneys between the trees, and imagines that they might rise from "vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods," or from the cave of a hermit in the deep forest. From Line 22 ---From Line 22 ---With stanza two, it becomes clear that “Tintern Abbey” is not so much about the landscape of the Wye valley in 1798 as it is about the landscape of memory — Wordsworth’s memory. And that landscape is natural and harmonious: During his five years’ absence from the valley, Wordsworth suggests, the tranquil environs of Tintern Abbey have been constantly present with him, in the “beauteous forms” stored in his memory.nullThe speaker describes how his memory of these "beauteous forms" has worked upon him in his absence from them: But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; And passing even into my purer mind, With tranquil restoration. (l. 25 - 30)当我独居一室，置身于 城镇的喧嚣声，深感疲惫之时， 它们却带来了甜蜜的感觉， 渗入血液，渗入心脏， 甚至进入我最纯净的思想， 为我恢复恬静的心绪That is to say, these memories have comforted and consoled him in the intervening years spent in less beautiful, more urban settings (“’mid the din / Of towns and cities”); they have also generated moods of calm awareness that have mystically enlightened him.Here the poet says, when he was alone, or in crowded towns and cities, they provided him with “sensations sweet,” it is “Felt in the blood,” that is, felt through the body; it is also “felt along the heart.” It means that the sensual pleasures inspire his soul. Finally, the memory of the woods and cottages offered "tranquil restoration" to his mind.nullNotice the contrasts that Wordsworth establishes between civilization and nature, the “din/Of towns and cities” (ll. 25-26) and the “murmur” (l. 4) of the Wye river, the “fretful stir” (l. 52) and “fever of the world” (l. 53) and the peaceful meandering of the “sylvan Wye!” (l. 56)null The poet then goes on to say that these powerful feelings recollected in tranquility even affected him when he was not aware of the memory, influencing his deeds of kindness and love. --- feelings too Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps, As have no slight or trivial influence On that best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered, acts Of kindness and of love. (l. 30 -35)The development here is like this: “the beauteous forms” stimulates “sensations sweet,” which in turn stimulates “feelings of unremembered pleasure.” These feelings have great influence upon “a good man’s” “acts of kindness and of love.” ——还有忘怀己久的 愉悦的感觉，那些个愉悦 或许对一个良善者最美好的岁月 有过远非轻微和平凡的影响， 那是一些早经遗忘的无名琐事， 却饱含着善意与友爱。null He further credits the memory of the scene with offering him access to that mental and spiritual state in which the burden of the world is lightened, in which he becomes a "living soul" with a view into "the life of things": Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, In which the burthen of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world, Is lightened: - that serene and blessed mood, (l. 35-41) 不仅如此， 我还要感谢它给我的另一个赐予， 一个更高尚的赐予；在这幸福的心绪中， 那心灵上神秘不测的负担， 那不可理解的人世所带来的 使人厌倦的沉重的负荷 为之减轻:一种恬静而幸福的心绪，nullIn which the affections gently lead us on,-- Until, the breath of this corporeal frame And even the motion of our human blood Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul: While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into the life of things. (l. 42-49)The poet adopts a metaphor: a person led on by the affections can only lighten the heavy burden when he is about to faint. He lies on the ground, his “corporeal frame” seems asleep, while his soul begins a mysterious communication with the universe, and “sees into the life of things.” —— With sensations being suspended, the soul becomes living and “sees into the life of things”. He feels, another kind of perception comes to us, so that "we see into the life of things" (line 49). 听从着柔情引导我们前进， 直到我们的肉躯停止了呼吸， 甚至人类的血液也凝滞不动， 我们的身体进入酣睡状态， 并且变成一个鲜活的灵魂， 这时，和谐的力量，欣悦而深沉的力量， 使我们能带着平静的眼光， 去洞察事物的真谛。null“beauteous forms”“sensations sweet”“Felt in the blood”“felt along the heart” “into my purer mind” “with tranquil restoration"“feelings of un- remembered pleasure”“a good man’s” “acts of kindness and of love”“that serene and blessed mood”“laid asleep / In body, and become a living soul”“see into the life of things”nullWhen Wordsworth has been troubled with the ways of the “unintelligible world,” he asserts, remembering nature has not only brought him peace but has also given him insight “into the life of things.” Through an act of memory — specifically, through reflecting upon natural scenes — Wordsworth discovers a spirit that connects all life. “Tintern Abbey” purports to record a moment of revelation, when Wordsworth suddenly realized that nature and acts of memory had given him insight into the life of things.nullEven in the present moment, the memory of his past experiences in these surroundings floats over his present view of them, and he feels bittersweet joy in reviving them. He thinks happily, too, that his present experience will provide many happy memories for future years. The speaker acknowledges that he is different now from how he was in those long-ago times, when, as a boy, he "bounded o'er the mountains" and through the streams. null For nature then (The coarser pleasures of my boyish days, And their glad animal movements all gone by) To me was all in all. (l. 72 – 75)In those days, he says, nature made up his whole world: waterfalls, mountains, and woods gave shape to his passions, his appetites, and his love. Here the poet is in fact suggesting that, in his youth, he was thoughtless in his unity with the woods and the river. This is the first stage of his growing up, a stage of purely physical responsiveness, or the stage of animal. The child’s reaction to the nature in this stage is pure corporeal animal reactions. This is the poet’s state of mind before his first visit to the Wye River. 因为那时的自然 （如今，童年时代粗鄙的乐趣， 和动物般的嬉戏已经消逝） 在我是一切的一切。nullWhen the poet grows, he is no longer thoughtless, but acutely aware of everything the scene has to offer him and he becomes emotionally involved with the nature: there are aching, dizzy, and equivocal passions --- a love which more like dread. This was his state of mind on the occasion of his first visit. null Line 67-72: like a roe I bounded o'er the mountains, by the sides Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams, Wherever nature led: more like a man Flying from something that he dreads, than one Who sought the thing he loved. 像这山上的一头小鹿， 在山峦间跳跃，在大江两岸 窜跑，在孤寂的小溪边逗留， 听凭大自然的引导：更像一个 躲避恐惧之物的人，而不像是 在寻觅心爱之物。nullAccording to the poet, in this stage his state of mind contains some simple thoughts which directly spring from impressions of individual natural objects such as “the sounding cataract” (l. 76), “the tall rock” (l. 77), “the mountain” (l. 78), “the deep and gloomy wood” (l. 78). In lines 76 and following, he mourns the loss of that passionate attachment to nature. However, as a “thoughtless youth,” he maintains, he could not have seen into the “life of things,” for such a discovery requires thoughtfulness, reflection.null I cannot paint What then I was. The sounding cataract Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock, The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood, Their colours and their forms, were then to me An appetite; a feeling and a love, That had no need of a remoter charm, By thought supplied, nor any interest Unborrowed from the eye. --That time is past, And all its aching joys are now no more, And all its dizzy raptures. 我那时的心境 难以描画。轰鸣着的瀑布 像一种激情萦绕我心；巨石， 高山，幽晦茂密的森林， 它们的颜色和形体，都曾经是 我的欲望，一种情愫，一份爱恋， 不需要用思想来赋予它们 深邃的魅力，也不需要 视觉以外的情趣。——那样的时光消逝，一切掺合着苦痛的欢乐不复再现， 那今人晕眩的狂喜也已消失。 nullThat time of the second stage is now past, he says, but he does not mourn it, for though he cannot resume his old relationship with nature, he has been amply compensated by a new set of more mature gifts. Here comes his third stage, that is, his present state of mind:null such loss, I would believe, Abundant recompence. 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, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue. And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, 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; A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of all thought, And rolls through all things. Perhaps the most important passage in “Tintern Abbey” occurs at the moment that Wordsworth makes his discovery:null这一种损失呀， 已经得到了补偿，我深信不疑。 因为我已懂得如何看待大自然，再不似 少不更事的青年；而是经常听到 人生宁静而忧郁的乐曲， 优雅，悦耳，却富有净化 和克制的力量。我感觉到 有什么在以崇高的思想之喜悦 让我心动；一种升华的意念， 深深地融入某种东西， 仿佛正栖居于落日的余晖 浩瀚的海洋和清新的空气， 蔚蓝色的天空和人类的心灵： 一种动力，一种精神，推动着 思想的主体和思想的客体 穿过宇宙万物，不停地运行。 nullHe can now "look on nature, not as in the hour / Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes / The still, sad music of humanity." And he can now sense the presence of something far more subtle, powerful, and fundamental in the light of the setting suns, the ocean, the air itself, and even in the mind of man; this energy seems to him "a motion and a spirit that impels / All thinking thoughts.... / And rolls through all things." Therefore, he still loves nature, still loves mountains and pastures and woods, for they anchor his purest thoughts and guard the heart and soul of his "moral being." nullWordsworth has lost his youth, has seen five more years pass, has felt the sorrows of others and the “fretful stir” of the world. But becoming acquainted with sorrow and loss has given him the power to sympathize with others and with nature. Note how deliberately the lines are set forth, with measured phrasing and frequent pauses, and how the “music” is carefully qualified. These are “thoughtful” lines, and the spirit that Wordsworth has discovered “impels/All thinking things.” nullUp to this point, we have watched Wordsworth move from nostalgia for a lost perspective on nature to joy in a new one. To sum up, the speaker has undergone all together three stages in the development of a relationship with nature:nullAt first he roamed as freely as an animal. But as he grew he was involved with human concerns. He has become more thoughtful and sees nature in the light of those thoughts. Finally, the mind not only receives sensations from the outside world, but it also half-creates, by its own operations of memory, imagination, and perception, the scene before the eyes. In this stage complex thoughts are developed and the poet now believes that the nature, including human beings, is an organic whole and will ultimately become a divine being. Now the great nature is no longer the opposite of man but includes the human being. But man’s life should be close to the nature and obey the rule of the nature. The Two StagesThe Two Stageslike a roe / I bounded / more like a man / Flying from something that he dreads He was involved with human concerns. He’s become more thoughtful and sees nature in the light of those thoughts.“nature then/…/ to me was all in all“coarser pleasures … glad animal movements”Learned / To look on nature, … hearing oftentimes / The still, sad music of huma