On Tintern Abby

For Wordsworth, the his memories of Tintern Abby affect him greatly. He begins by recalling after five years away from Tintern Abby the beauty of the landscape. And even after five years away, he says the landscape still resides fresh within his memory. In the hustle and bustle of the city setting and "normal" human life, this memory offers to Wordsworth a refuge to a place of higher beauty then the habitat man builds for himself. He even acknowledges at some points this might be some trivial belief that nature's impact on him might be for nothing, but the beauty of nature throughout his life has affected him so much he cannot forget it, rather, he embraces it, saying it makes up and guides his moral being. At one point he looks upon nature in his early life and how he looks at it today, saying its changed but that it is not for the worse, just different. He concludes by saying how nature has not only affected but strengthened his relationship with his sister, hoping that she is able to find happiness through her memories of nature the same way the speaker was able to.

But the main point Wordsworth is trying to get at is that memories act as a refuge for our mind. Something of great positive impact upon us can serve as a sanctuary in time of hardships. We can reflect back on our past to bring back that feeling of joy we feel when we experience whatever it is. And whatever that thing is, it remains vivid and real within our mind, only changing over time but never becoming less of a joy. For Wordsworth, he finds it in nature. By wanting his sister to find the same joy in nature, he thinks that there are others who can do the same.