The Sublime affect of Nature

I have always had a soft spot for Wordsworth and Tintern Abbey. They way he personifies nature and creates not only a picturesque but a sublime image of the abbey in my mind. However, I was very interested in Bowels Sonnet's which served as inspiration for Wordsworth and Coleridge. Bowels style of sonnet was revolutionary at the time because it broke away from the 18th century principles. His sonnets use nature as a way for him to cope with his own emotions and life (he was grieving over the death of a loved one). These sonnets are a method of catharsis of, which he attempts to find peace and solitude from the sublime of nature. His sonnets both personify nature and use nature as a meditative force. Wordsworth, similarly writes of Tintern Abbey as a place of absolute serenity. He too, personifies that spot on the hill. He speaks to it as if it is his friend or deity. His poem I feel, moves away from the picturesque and towards the sublime of nature. The natural world seems to bring him peace and solitude. A peace that writes of keeping, or attempting to keep, in the city. In class we were asked to think about what happens when you write picturesque poetry and it seems that for Wordsworth and Bowels this form of writing creates a sort of utopia. The find serenity within nature and peace. This may perhaps have to do with class consciousness and the middle classes attempt to identify themselves within the social context of Great Britain. This form of poetry thus, creates an ideal solitude where one can cope and subsequently appreciate life for all its imperfections.