Five years later, John Wordsworth, William’s father, also died. This idyllic existence was cut short, however, when William’s mother died in 1778 and his beloved sister, Dorothy, was sent to live with relatives in Yorkshire, over seventy miles away. Wordsworth briefly mentions this river in ‘The Prelude’, the long, autobiographical poem written later in his life, in which he describes many of the formative experiences of his childhood and young adult life: The Wordsworth home was situated along the banks of the Derwent River and the children enjoyed something of an idyllic rural existence, spending many joyful hours playing along its banks and in the surrounding countryside. It was here that Wordsworth began to develop that very special relationship with the natural world which he describes in ‘Tintern Abbey’ and from which he derived so much solace and pleasure throughout his life. Let’s begin, however, by going back much further in the life of William Wordsworth, back to when he was a child growing up in Cumberland, in the Lake District of England. As he listens to the river’s soothing sounds, memories of who he was and what he was feeling when he first visited this area come flooding back. But much has happened and changed in his life since then. He was here five years ago, almost to the day. He has arrived at the banks of the river Wye, close to Tintern Abbey, and sits down to rest and take in the beautiful surroundings. William Wordsworth is on a walking tour in Wales with his sister Dorothy.
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