Jackie Miranda
Professor Sabin
FIQWS 10108, FQ26
29 September 2014

Compare and Contrast: “Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” and “Frost at Midnight”

“Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth and “Frost at Midnight” by Samuel Coleridge, are poems that discuss the theme of loneliness; reminisce on childhood memories, and explore the importance of having a connection with the natural world and others. Wordsworth and Coleridge led different lives as children, resulting in different opinions and feelings about nature. The speakers of both poems to reflect on life reminisce about their childhoods, and hope for better experiences in the near future. In “Tintern Abbey”, Wordsworth, who was raised in the countryside talks about his early childhood and how his connection with nature was intense at such an early age. He starts off by saying that it has been five years since he last visited the banks of wye, and remembers how much the memory of this scene meant to him when he was back in the city, where he was not exposed to the beauty of nature. “In hours of weariness, sensations sweet/ Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart,” the memory of the landscape provided a sense of happiness when he was alone living in the city, and whenever he felt like escaping from the noise and distractions of London. “The picture of the mind revives again: While here I stand, not only with the sense of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts/ That in this moment there is life and food/ For future years,” his present impressions, the memory of what he felt when he was a boy, and the thought of what he might feel in the future when he looks back at such memories, are going through his mind while looking out at the landscape. Revisiting the location that makes him so happy causes him to reminisce upon his early years. Wordsworth is back on the same spot again where he stood as a child and he begins to look at the landscape differently. Wordsworth knows that he will change as time goes by, and that he has changed from who he was from his first visit as a child. Now that he is older he can look at nature with a broader perspective on life. “I came among these hills; when like a roe/ bounded o’er the mountains...” the speaker compares himself to a young deer running around the hills, meaning that he used to enjoy nature when he was a child, but he was not able to fully comprehend it. Now, as an adult, he is able to sense a deeper and wider meaning to the beauty in nature. He acknowledges that everything in nature is interconnected. Time plays a role in nature, it allows beauty overcome the world similar to the way we learn from our mistakes as time goes by. The speaker of “Tintern Abbey” is Wordsworth himself even though he does not use language such as “I”. The relationship between the speaker and William is that he is now a changed person. The speaker frequently refers to his past self and makes it obvious that the person he has become is different. The speaker says that being alone with nature is more soothing than being with other people, “Evil tongues/ Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men” the speaker is able to relax and just look at the world without being criticized when he is alone with nature. Wordsworth’s sister, Dorothy, is with him during his visit. He believes that his sister will soon go through the development he went through and will look at certain aspects of nature differently. He is able to relate to his sister because he believes that she does not fully understand nature, just like he did not understand when he was child. He tells Dorothy that she reminds him of his past self. The speaker suggests that his sister will “mature” the same way he has throughout the years that have passed by. According to Wordsworth, being able to connect to nature is the key to living a happy life; he wants his sister to be happy. Wordsworth seems a bit condescending when telling his sister than