What do you think to be the central theme or themes of "Tintern Abbey". How are the themes developed through the versification, imagery and symbolism and structure of the poem? William Unsworth, the
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Q: What do you think to be the central theme or themes of "Tintern Abbey". How are the themes developed through the versification, imagery and symbolism and structure of the poem?
William Unsworth, the author of "Tintern Abbey", was a pantheist from the 18th Century, who had strong religious and spiritual outlook. The poem deals with the ideas of the nature, time and imagination; in an attempt of expressing and conveying the poet's perplex and unsure beliefs that these important aspects make up a "one living web". Amidst the poet's narration, we encounter him contemplating the central themes of "Tintern Abbey", the nature, time and the memories of Unsworth. To fully understand the purpose and themes of the poem, we must also endeavor to closely analyze its structure as well as acknowledging the versification, such as diction and punctuality. Unsworth's perplexity is conveyed in a prosaic and a pendulum-like structure, where the poem swings back and forth between two realms of idealism and reality.
In the modern world we tend to congregate in a heavily industrialized urban, for economical benefits, inevitably resulting us to seek refugee to nature, - the nature where contingencies, obligations and the social context is temporarily absent and forgotten. According to the poem, Unsworth also believed that the nature possessed miraculous abilities to endow him with "sensations sweet" at times of his "weariness" and provide "tranquil restoration" to mankind. However it is subtly conveyed also, that the nature has formidable power, which dominate over man. The abbey, which is ironically absent from the scene, works as a symbolism of multiple principles. Symbolic of the destructive power of time, while conveying the nature's supremacy over man and man's creation. Inevitably as time pass, the abbey -a great creation of man - becomes a part of the nature. As Unsworth being a pantheist from the 18th Century, he believed that nature was in direct relationship to God. He alleged that the healing power and the devastating domination of the nature was the act of God himself. Unsworth expresses the healing power of nature, with great eloquence and subtlety through the structure of the poem. "Five years have past; five summers, with the length /Of five long winters! And again I hear..." (1st Stanza, 1st Line) From line one to five, the lines are abruptly cut with punctuation to provide the feel of caesurae. The caesurae and the pauses in the line imply that the poet is in the progress of deep contemplation, conveying that the "soothing" environment of the nature permit intense meditation, unlike the hectic urban cities.
Q: What do you think to be the central theme or themes of "Tintern Abbey". How are the themes developed through the versification, imagery and symbolism and structure of the poem?
William Unsworth, the author of "Tintern Abbey", was a pantheist from the 18th Century, who had strong religious and spiritual outlook. The poem deals with the ideas of the nature, time and imagination; in an attempt of expressing and conveying the poet's perplex and unsure beliefs that these important aspects make up a "one living web". Amidst the poet's narration, we encounter him contemplating the central themes of "Tintern Abbey", the nature, time and the memories of Unsworth. To fully understand the purpose and themes of the poem, we must also endeavor to closely analyze its structure as well as acknowledging the versification, such as diction and punctuality. Unsworth's perplexity is conveyed in a prosaic and a pendulum-like structure, where the poem swings back and forth between two realms of idealism and reality.
In the modern world we tend to congregate in a heavily industrialized urban, for economical benefits, inevitably resulting us to seek refugee to nature, - the nature where contingencies, obligations and the social context is temporarily absent and forgotten. According to the poem, Unsworth also believed that the nature possessed miraculous abilities to endow him with "sensations sweet" at times of his "weariness" and provide "tranquil restoration" to mankind. However it is subtly conveyed also, that the nature has formidable power, which dominate over man. The abbey, which is ironically absent from the scene, works as a symbolism of multiple principles. Symbolic of the destructive power of time, while conveying the nature's supremacy over man and man's creation. Inevitably as time pass, the abbey -a great creation of man - becomes a part of the nature. As Unsworth being a pantheist from the 18th Century, he believed that nature was in direct relationship to God. He alleged that the healing power and the devastating domination of the nature was the act of God himself. Unsworth expresses the healing power of nature, with great eloquence and subtlety through the structure of the poem. "Five years have past; five summers, with the length /Of five long winters! And again I hear..." (1st Stanza, 1st Line) From line one to five, the lines are abruptly cut with punctuation to provide the feel of caesurae. The caesurae and the pauses in the line imply that the poet is in the progress of deep contemplation, conveying that the "soothing" environment of the nature permit intense meditation, unlike the hectic urban cities.
