Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth - Book Report/Review Example

For Wordsworth, Nature is a refuge for the spirit. In one of his deepest expressions, found in lines 55-57 of the poem, he speaks to the Wye Valley as though it is more than just a place for respite from modern life; his language is that of a man to his lover. "How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee; O sylvan Wye!; thou wanderer thro' the woods; How often has my spirit turned to thee!" (Wordsworth, (1916), p. 233). The Wye is not just a landscape where he comes to find peace; it is a wanderer through the woods.

It is alive and moving, an animate friend to whom he turns so that his spirit can be refreshed, renewed, and inspired. Thus, at the deepest level of his being, Wordsworth finds Nature waiting there for him. In contrast to the spirituality of nature, he also finds within it that which is as mundane as the passage of time. As human beings, we are always aware that time marching on. We see the days come and go, we watch the weeks, months, and years as they advance ever forward. Yet, for Wordsworth, even this routine aspect of everyday life is expressed in terms of nature.

For him, years are not just years; they are "summers, with the length; Of five long winters!." (Lines 1-2, p. 233). His life is not the mere accumulation of years; it is the warmth and freedom of summer leavened with the long winter. Nature gives him the framework in which to perceive his own mortality, yet without rancor. Man grows old as naturally as the seasons change, but perhaps not as gracefully. The physicality of nature is brought down even further, right to the level of sustenance.

As he sees the high mountain and the "dark and gloomy wood" he doesn't just perceive their beauty but rather declares that "[t]heir colors and their forms {are).[a]n appetite;." (Lines 78-80, 233-234). Shape and hue are not merely that-form and color-they are the stuff of appetite. Of course, these inanimate things have no such quality anywhere but in the soul of man. Herein does Wordsworth find his most concrete, specific reference of nature to the courses of men. His hunger is not limited to food, it wanders to the beauty of nature; nature's beauty provides satisfaction to his craving and, in doing so, demonstrates that there is no base drive of a human being that cannot be related to nature.

Moving to a higher plane of human need, nature is the anchor of the soul. Beyond spiritual comfort and above the physicality of time and nourishment, nature impacts his soul. It is not just a bearing, but the anchor; the stabilizing force that holds him in place. If a ship is tossed by storm, its anchor keeps it where it should be. Similarly for Wordsworth, nature keeps him centered and secure. In lines 108-111, he expresses this explicitly: "In nature and the language of the sense; The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse; The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul; Of all my moral being" (1916, p. 234). Note, again, the attributes of humanity granted to nature.

It is not the stage upon which his life is acted out, it is his nurse. It is his guide and guardian. Nature is all of these things to his heart, his soul, even his very moral being. Nature is, for Wordsworth, the expression of his essence.In making a final comparison, note the complete