This poem would seem to deal with redemptive feelings about life rather than the transcendental philosophy of nature upon which Tintern Abbey hinged. The two title words of this poem are grand in their implications, lacking the trademark explanation and specificity that Wordsworth tacked on to so many of his other poems (see especially the full title to Tintern Abbey). Additionally, the title words, resolution and independence, are indicative of internal conflicts, as opposed to the distanced set-up we get with Tintern Abbey (both geographically and time-wise, as Wordsworth composed Abbey in retrospect).

All of these facts point toward the idea that this poem is setting us up for some sort of dramatic epiphany or revelation (you could just call it an attitude adjustment) experienced by the narrator (presumably WW himself). This context stands opposed to the philosophical treatise that is Lyrical Ballads and the assured direction Tintern Abbey provides in its exposition of Wordswoth's views about nature and poetry. In the latter circumstance, WW took on the role of teacher; in R & I, he would seem to be more of a student, looking for someone or something to raise his awareness, hopes, and spirit.

The revelatory context of this poem then lends itself more to the mystical than philosophical, and the exclusion of Dorothy in this scene enhances the personal, redemptive aura of the poem. This point is best highlighted in lines 113-119, where Wordsworth writes that the "whole body of the man did seem / Like one I had met with in a dream," (116-117) and Wordsworth here seems to lose his faculties of vision and hearing momentarily. The idea that only two are present in this scene, WW and the Old Man, lends more dramatic, mysterious weight to the narrative (and vaguely recalls Christabel) where Dorothy's presence may have impinged upon the more surreal, self-searching context of this poem.

Of course, whether or not Wordsworth actually has an epiphany or simply feels better about himself in light of a pathetic old leech-gatherer he just met wandering the swamp is anyone's guess, given the poet's notorious pomposity.

Miles Durrance