Friday, June 10, 2011
A long journey from 8th grade English
When Mark, Katie, and I started to plan this trip to Ireland and to Wales we all talked about places we each wanted to see. I knew my must see location would be Tintern Abbey. I studied Wordsworth in high school, and unlike most school kids, was fascinated with his poetry. I had read his poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798.” many times and have always wanted to see the location that inspiried this piece of work. Wordsworth talks in the poem of how he carried the vision with him and when he is in a busy city, or in a hectic crowd, the memory brings him back to a day of peace. I wanted to see this place that caused him to write: "In which the heavy and the weary weight. Of all this unintelligble world, is lightened..."
Today Tintern Abbey is somewhat restored. You can walk amoung the ruins. You can walk by the shore of the River Wye. And yes, even being there with friends and other visitors, I was able to understand why this place was important to Wordsworth. Its been a long journey from 8th grade English class in 1964 to Tintern Abbey 2011. But it was worth the journey.
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Larry, I think it's great that you got to go somewhere that inspired you in school. The Wye Valley is beautiful. The Wordsworth poem is great, what must the place have been like when he visited it all those years ago
ReplyDeleteI must admit that there are places I have visited because of things I was interested in at school. I have visited Le Puy in the Auvergne several times, there is a type of volcanic outcrop called a "puy" named after the outcrops in the valley this town is situated. The place is awesome and I was pleased I visited it. I was very interested in the Thirty Years War at school. I was lucky enough (by happy accident) to live in Osnabrück, Germany for four years. The Peace of Westphalia was signed in the town hall there, it was the treaty which ended the war...... fate?
I love going places but I love going places for a reason.