Importance of Memory in Wordsworth

            For Romantic poets, there is no greater force upon humans than one of the many forms of the imagination.  For William Wordsworth, this force is exemplified in memory.  The greatest example of his exploration of memory comes from "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798."  In it he displays his opinion of memory as a powerful source of  enlightenment and pleasure through his interaction with the natural world.  It becomes something he recalls time and time again to ease the ills of everyday life, giving him solace that he hopes can also affect the companion of the poem, his sister, Dorothy.  Through his experience within "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth presents his view that memory is a powerful balm that can allow its bearer some degree of relief from the adverse situations that a person may face throughout life.

            While Wordsworth seems to value memory in general, his most valued memories come in the form of specific remembrances of nature.  His visit to Tintern Abbey five years before the production of the poem has laid a foundation for his return.  The location of the poem is central to his memories.  He becomes immediately moved by the waters, cliffs, and foliage that moved him five years before.  The thoughts and powers of memory are focused on and come from nature, and Wordsworth has kept them close over the years: "Though absent long, / These forms of beauty have not been to me, / As is a landscape to a blind man's eye" (23-25).  Wordsworth makes a reference to the "eye and ear, both what they half-create, / And what perceive; well pleased to recognize / In nature and the language of the sense" (107-09) to link his own appreciation of nature with his belief that reality and memory are linked and based on interpretation and perception.  The pleasure he recognizes is a pleasure that he draws from the surrounding environment.

            Wordsworth uses his experiences with nature in "Tintern Abbey" to show that memory is a sort of transcendent power that grants enlightenment.  He claims that the "heavy and weary weight / Of all this unintelligible world / Is lighten'd" (40-42).  While he speaks of a burden literally being lifted, "lighten'd" also serves to connote enlightenment of the spiritual variety.  His memories go beyond the physical realm: "we are laid asleep / In body, and become a living soul" (46-47).  He continues to evoke not simply a thought or memory, but a higher form of power or consciousness: "the joy / Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime / Of something far more deeply interfused" (95-97).  This transcendent power is something that Wordsworth utilizes to look back and enhance his present experiences.

            The "sense sublime" that he refers to allows him to view memory as a source of pleasure that he carries with him.  To illustrate the sustaining qualities of memory he compares it to food: "Their colours and their forms, were then to me / An appetite: a feeling and a love" (80-81).  Creating and recalling memories becomes a sort of consumption and sustenance, a pleasure much like consuming food that he associates with positive emotions.  He is able to sustain himself for a long period of time on his memories, claiming that "in this moment there is food / for future years" (65-66).  Not simply a fleeting pleasure, this food is something he turns to regularly, actively engaging in and consuming. 

            Because memory is a source of enrichment and pleasure, he is able to return to these memories in unpleasant and hard times.  Even within "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth shows an unpleasant time through his lamentation of the loss of youth.   In some ways the poem refers to a crisis of passing time, maturation, and the effects of memory on "that best portion of a good man's life" (34).  By claiming "all its aching joys are now no more," (85) he laments the passage of time.  Memory helps to highlight the good in these times long passed.  This crisis of age is eased through his utilization of the memories he has created at places like Tintern Abbey.  He states their benefits, claiming "I have owed to them, / In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, / Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart" (27-29).  He has called upon these memories to bring "tranquil restoration" (31) which helps him through life, becoming a means of rejuvenation.  Wordsworth calls upon these memories again and again as he shows his habitual use of memory: "How often has my spirit turned to thee!" (58).

            Not only does the memory serve Wordsworth in times of need, but he hopes that it can also be beneficial to his sister, Dorothy.  His belief in memory's healing quality is further stressed through his hopes for her.  "Tintern Abbey" continues to affirm memory's positive effects as Wordsworth hopes that her mind will be a "mansion for all lovely forms" (141).  He hopes for Dorothy that "Thy memory be as a dwelling-place / For all sweet sounds and harmonies" (142-143).  He sees the effects that he first witnessed at Tintern Abbey within her: "My former pleasures in the shooting lights / Of thy wild eyes" (119-120).  He hopes that the memory will live in her "in after years" (138) as it has done in him, allowing her to later recall "healing thoughts / Of tender joy" (145-146).  If Dorothy can recall and relish memories in the way that Wordsworth has come to do, then she will be able to overcome the adversities of life and "so inform / The mind that is within us, so impress / With quietness and beauty" (126-128).
            While Wordsworth makes a great focus on the beauty of nature and its power to inspire memories that have a healing quality, he has no illusions about the limitations of memory.  The lines of "Tintern Abbey" show a recognition for the fallibility of memory and the issues of aging.  Well aware of memory's limitation, Wordsworth refers to "half-extinguish'd thought" (59) and "recognitions dim and faint" (60).  Though he considers memory to be powerful, it is still not something to be completely trusted.  Some memories are stronger than others.  Tintern Abbey is not exactly how Wordsworth remembers it, and his return visit shows that his memory has faded.  By claiming "The picture of the mind revives again" (62), he shows that the fleeting qualities of memory require it to be restored and refreshed.

            While recognizing the limitations, "Tintern Abbey" still illustrates ways in which Wordsworth harnesses the power of memory for spiritual well-being, taking great joy in both recalling and creating memories.  The inclusion of Dorothy in these memories shows that his beliefs in memory are universal, and not just something he himself is able to utilize.  As the most important incarnation of the imagination to Wordsworth, memory serves a higher function than the usual cognitive abilities.  It becomes a bastion of pleasure, a way to overcome the troubles of life, and a stimulating force that can be used to create, with  "Tintern Abbey" being a product of this creative force.  These qualities allow memory to have a strong influence over Wordsworth that allows for a more full utilization of the imagination.

Works Cited

Wordsworth, William. "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798." The Longman Anthology Of British Literature, The Romantics And Their Contemporaries. Ed. Damrosch, David, Kevin J. H. Dettmar, Peter Manning, and Susan Wolfson. New York: Longman, 2010. 390-394. Print.