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Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey

by William Wordsworth

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Discussion Topic

The significance of memory in Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey."

Summary:

In "Tintern Abbey," memory plays a crucial role in Wordsworth's reflection and emotional experience. It allows him to connect his past self with his present, providing comfort and inspiration. Through recollections of the landscape, Wordsworth finds a sense of continuity and spiritual nourishment, highlighting memory's power to shape and sustain his inner life.

Expert Answers

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How does Wordsworth use memory as a source of salvation in "Tintern Abbey"?

I think the section of this amazing poem you want to refer to is the last part, when Wordsworth addresses his sister and the power of memory is mentioned in what he says to her. Wordsworth tells his sister to remember this present moment and the beauty of nature in future when she may be feeling sad, afraid, alone or upset. Remembering the beauty of nature and how it has impacted Wordsworth himself will enable her to overcome those feelings. Note what the poem says:

Therefore let the moon
Shine one thee in thy solitary walk;
And let the misty mountain-winds be free
To blow against thee: and, in after years,
When these wild ecstasies shall be matured
Into a sober pleasure, when they mind
Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms,
Thy memory be as a dwelling place
For all sweet sounds and harmonies; oh! then,
If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief,
Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts
Of tender joy wilt thou remember me...

Memory then is explicity associated with "healing thoughts" and is described as a "dwelling place / For all sweet sounds and harmonies." I am not too sure that memory can be described as a source of salvation--it seems a little too strong to me--but it is clear that Wordsworth presents memory as something that we can use to overcome our present challenges through focusing on the important lessons that we have learnt in the past. Our minds can become a "mansion for all lovely forms," and through this we can overcome whatever fears or doubts we are facing in the present.

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What is the significance of memory in Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey?

William Wordsworth's "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" are, in fact, primarily about memory, and specifically about the transcendent spots in time that are the centre of Wordsworth's poetry. The visit is actually a revisit to a site that was once significant in Wordsworth's life, and a meditation of how he has changed and how as an older person he can recapture the innocent joy of youth. Part of the solution to these issues lies in memory, or in the emotion recollected in tranquility of which the poem itself is an example.

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