Continuing with the tradition of walks in nature and lonely men/hermits, Wordsworth once again brings us a poem with the same two elements, however this time the presence of his travel companion/sister Dorothy is missing. Her missing presence may stem from the fact that the main entities in Tintern Abbey and Resolution and Independence -- Wordsworth, Dorothy and the Leech Gatherer -- represent different stages in one's life. Dorothy and the Leech Gatherer are on opposite ends of the spectrum and Wordsworth is the link between the two.

Dorothy -- young, female, and closely bonded to Wordsworth -- represents the idealness of youthful experiences. Tintern Abbey's atmosphere of passing time (Five years have passed; five summers) and experience is the choice setting for Wordsworth to turn to his sister in the end and see his "former pleasures in the shooting lights / Of [Dorothy,s] wild eyes. Oh, yet a little while / May I behold in thee what I was once" (pg. 268 lines 119-21). Wordsworth sees his own youthful experiences in her eyes, and reaches an understanding with those experiences to fully enjoy them. Wordsworth is the now and present. He is not fully conscious of his experiences (perhaps distracted by all of those birds he hears). It is only when he looks back on those experiences through the eyes of his sister, that he can fully understand the scope of their meaning.

This brings us to the Leech Gatherer and a missing Dorothy in Resolution and Independence. Yet again, Wordsworth is delighting in the rising sun, singing birds and "pleasant noise of waters. His encounter with the lonely old Leech Gatherer in the woods brings him in contact with the aging and experience of time. The Leech Gatherer is initially depicted as looking into "the muddy water As if he had been reading a book" (pg. 370, 87-88), bringing to mind that the man is wise and experienced in his age. His wisdom is again shown when he speaks "above the reach of ordinary men a stately speech / Such as grave livers do in Scotland use, / Religious men, who give to God and man their dues." (pg. 371, 102-5). Yet the water into which he looks into is muddy, so the reflection of his face is obscured. Perhaps with age comes the inability to look back on one's youth and experiences too far. Wordsworth asks the Leech Gatherer how he lives and what is it that he does twice, again showing that he is not fully aware of his current situation. This is in contrast to the patience of the Leech Gatherer who answers the question both times and is perseverant, and aware in his duties.

The presence of Dorothy would not fit in with the scheme of Resolution and Independence, since it is dealing with looking forward into one's life. Dorothy provides a means of looking into the past for understanding, whereas the Leech Gatherer is the opposite. Wordsworth recognizes that although the Gatherer's body is old and decrepit, his mind is still firm (line 145). This allows Wordsworth to have something to contemplate for the future, rather than looking into the past for understanding.

Claudio Eleccion