FREE ESSAY ON WORDSWORTH PRACTICES WHAT HE PREACHES

WORDSWORTH PRACTICES WHAT HE PREACHES

Elizabeth Braker
Mr. Caudron
A. P. English-Hr. 1
22 November 1999
Tintern Abbey
Wordsworth Practices What He Preaches
Though written after "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth's
"Preface to Lyrical Ballads," clearly details his writing objectives. In "Tintern Abbey,"
William Wordsworth sought to make poetry understandable to the common reader by
simplifying the meanings, organizing his pattern of thoughts in a coherent manner, and
using poetical devices sparingly. In the poem, Wordsworth reminisces under a dark
sycamore about his experiences and realities, while looking down on the ruins of a temple
of God. He expresses his philosophy on these experiences and realities, both past and
present, relating God and Nature as one entity. He senses God around him though there is
no temple or worshipers, perhaps suggesting that if there were, God would cease to grace
the area with His presence. Wordsworth goes on to describe the scenery, how its beauty
will serve as "food for future years," and how only with the insight of his sister, has
he developed a great appreciation for Nature.
Wordsworth goes on to state in his "Preface" that every poem "should have a worthy
purpose." In "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth has a variety of purposes, or meanings which he
desires to convey, each one of them, worthy in and of themselves. He wants to raise the
reader to a new sense of awareness; to let the reader know what Nature is, its affect on
us, and that we should live in the moment, with an acute awareness to what is happening
around us. He describes God in Nature as "A motion and a spirit, that impels/All thinking
things, all objects of all thought,/And rolls through all things." Wordsworth expresses
Nature's affect on him as a "wild secluded scene |that impresses|/Thoughts of more deep
seclusion"; these are the feelings of peaceful ecstasy he feels. "The sounding
cataract/Haunted me like a passion...were then to me/An appetite--That time is past";
here he reminds us to hang onto an infantile awareness that brings joy as he describes
his own experience.
Though he has expressed a variety of purposes, Wordsworth manages to keep them simplified
by the division of the stanzas. In his "Preface," he states the importance of
"|following| the fluxes and refluxes of the mind when agitated by the great and simple
affections of our nature." "Tintern Abbey," is divided into five stanzas: the first
stanza describes the scenery; in the second, Wordsworth says how while meditating about
the scenery "'mid the din/Of towns and cities," he has "|seen| into the life of things";
the third stanza is an extension of the second, reemphasizing how his recollection of
Nature has comforted him; the fourth stanza, Wordsworth reverts to his memory being
revived by the present sight; in the fifth stanza, Wordsworth thanks his sister for the
insight she has helped him discern. The coherent arrangement of the stanzas help give
purpose because they illustrate Wordsworth's recollections being interrupted by his
philosophical tendencies. These tendencies, which he yields to, are an example of an
acute awareness of the surroundings, which make him think deeply.
Few blatant devices are used in the poem in Wordsworth's effort to simplify and make his
language; the "language really used by men." Wordsworth also states in his "Preface,"
that he wants to convey "feelings and notions in simple and unliberated expressions."
This is evident in "Tintern Abbey" because the progression of the stanzas reflects a
subject-verb-pronoun form. In addition, to keep things simplified, Wordsworth uses
devices like alliteration sparingly, and writes in blank verse. Writing in blank verse
gives him the liberty of using the best fitting words to give meaning and helping the
reader better comprehend. Though Wordsworth uses "elaborated expressions," it is purely
for the purpose of getting a point across; when he says that the beauteous forms of
Nature "have not been to me/As a landscape to a blind man's eye," he says this in an
attempt to get the reader to think about his inner-most thought, feeling, and symbolism.
Here, he hopes the reader will reach the conclusion that the "blind man's eye" symbolizes
the blind man's spirit, and that Wordsworth's memory isn't a product of his faith, and
that faith is not guiding his spirit, but a real event with a memory as a by-product.
And so, the simplification of Wordsworth's poetry made him a poet of the masses who seek
some degree of enlightenment. By making his ideas a universal aim all can achieve, and
presenting them in a direct manner, instead of enshrouded by obscurity, the meanings of
his poems become natural, while nonetheless, being new. The structural organization adds
to the understanding by separating the different thoughts. The devices, while few, are
insightful, and alert the reader of Wordsworth's feelings on a certain subject, its
importance, and its relevance. In "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth realizes all of his main
objectives, while making it a poem, relevant to people of all backgrounds; he reveals his
inner-most-thoughts in hope that others may understand him, to better understand
themselves.