There are many similarities between "Tintern Abbey" and "Frost At Midnight." This is not particularly surprising, as Wordsworth and Coleridge were close friends and collaborators who shared a common aesthetic vision. The first thing to note is that there are similarities at the structural level, with both poems written in blank verse. But it is in terms of tone and content that the similarities really begin to emerge.

The one main difference between the two poems lies in the language used. Wordsworth, in keeping with his and Coleridge's statement of intent in "Lyrical Ballads," is more direct in his language, and much simpler, whereas Coleridge noticeably departs from his earlier intentions, writing in a more abstract vein. He uses a number of metaphors whose meanings aren't at all clear at first glance. For instance,

The Frost performs its secret ministry.

Having said that, Wordsworth's language, though generally quite simple, does represent something of a departure from his other poems in "Lyrical Ballads," such as "We Are Seven" and "The Idiot Boy."

Nature inspires in both men a deep, philosophical reflection. But in the case of Coleridge it's a much more abstract style of philosophizing ("abstruser musings"), heavily influenced by his in-depth study of German Idealism.

Both men are engaged in reminiscence. Wordsworth recalls the time five years ago when he last visited the area he is about to see once more; Coleridge recalls aspects of his childhood. In both cases, nature is the catalyst for reflection. For arch-Romantics such as Wordsworth and Coleridge, the natural world is not just a source of the pretty and picturesque; it is a creative force with a life of its own. It also has an important didactic function—it teaches us. But what it teaches us can change over time. When Wordsworth first visits Tintern Abbey, he's overwhelmed by the beauty of the natural world around him. And the memory of that stunning vision has sustained him ever since.

But now things have changed. Now, Wordsworth sees in nature the fundamental connection of all things, an underlying unity that bridges the gap between human beings and nature:

And I have felt 

A presence that disturbs me with the joy 

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime 

Of something far more deeply interfused, 

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, 

And the round ocean and the living air, 

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man: 

A motion and a spirit, that impels 

All thinking things, all objects of all thought, 

And rolls through all things.

Compare and Contrast William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge's views on the imagination and nature in regards to the poems "Tintern Abbey" and "Frost at Midnight".

There are many similarities between "Tintern Abbey" and "Frost At Midnight." This is not particularly surprising, as Wordsworth and Coleridge were close friends and collaborators who shared a common aesthetic vision. The first thing to note is that there are similarities at the structural level, with both poems written in blank verse. But it is in terms of tone and content that the similarities really begin to emerge.

The one main difference between the two poems lies in the language used. Wordsworth, in keeping with his and Coleridge's statement of intent in "Lyrical Ballads," is more direct in his language, much simpler, whereas Coleridge noticeably departs from his earlier intentions, writing in a more abstract vein. He uses a number of metaphors whose meanings aren't at all clear at first glance. For instance,

The Frost performs its secret ministry.

Nature inspires in both men a deep, philosophical reflection. But in the case of Coleridge it's a much more abstract style of philosophizing ("abstruser musings"), heavily influenced by his in-depth study of German Idealism.

To return to the similarities, both men are engaged in reminiscence. Wordsworth recalls the time five years ago when he last visited the area he is about to see once more. Coleridge recalls aspects of his childhood. In both cases, nature is the catalyst for reflection. For arch-romantics such as Wordsworth and Coleridge, the natural world is not just a source of the pretty and the picturesque; it is a creative force with a life of its own. It also has an important didactic function: it teaches us. But what it teaches us can change over time. When Wordsworth first visits Tintern Abbey, he's overwhelmed by the beauty of the natural world around him. And the memory of that stunning vision has sustained him ever since.

But now things have changed. Now, Wordsworth sees in nature the fundamental connection of all things, an underlying unity that transcends the ostensible gap between human beings and nature:

"And I have felt 

A presence that disturbs me with the joy 

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime 

Of something far more deeply interfused, 

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, 

And the round ocean and the living air, 

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man: 

A motion and a spirit, that impels 

All thinking things, all objects of all thought, 

And rolls through all things."