William Wordsworth, Tintern Abbey

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1798

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Pastoral
Poetry (any)

Resources

LOCATION and HISTORY

Published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads on 6^th October 1798, the ostensible topic of “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798” is Wordsworth's reflections on revisiting the ruins of Tintern Abbey on or about July 13^th 1798 whilst he was on a walking tour with his sister Dorothy, five years after his first visit in July or August 1793. Wordsworth recounts on p. 30 of his “Fenwick Notes”, “I began it upon leaving Tintern after crossing the Wye, and concluded it just as I was entering Bristol in the evening after a ramble of four or five days. Not a line of it was altered and...

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3558 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Tintern Abbey". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 December 2007; last revised 18 November 2008. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21595, accessed 09 June 2026.]

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