“Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” By: William Wordsworth

Summary The full title, “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, 1798.” shows a more accurate location of the situation in the poem and sets the poem in a particular place and time. In 160 lines of blank verse(no rhyme scheme), the poet reminisces and describes what he hears and sees five years after he last visited the location along the Wye River in Wales, near the ruins of an ancient abbey. He experiences a combination of his present impressions, the memory of what he felt before, and the thought of how he'll look back on this moment in the future. He sees that nature has a broader meaning than just the sites and views. He sees that everything in nature is interconnected with life.

Childhood In the Poem The speaker knows that he is much different now from how he was as a child, when, as a boy, he “bounded o’er the mountains” and through the streams. Nature used to play a huge role in his life: waterfalls, mountains, and woods shaped his passions, hobbies, and many loves. That time of adventurousness is now gone, he says, but he does not mourn over it. The author seems to find comfort through his memory of the past by reminiscing on the image of the riverbanks. Part of the process of maturing into the kind of person who can sense the divine "presence" in nature is knowing when and how to access your memory.