What elements of Romanticism do you find in Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" and Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight"?

The first two elements I notice are solitude and
connection with and meditation on nature. Other Romantic themes are nostalgia and hope
for the future. These themes are all interconnected through one of Romanticism’s major
themes which is the connection between humanity and nature, or imagination and the
world.

In “Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,”
the ruined abbey invokes a simpler time in the past. The speaker’s references to the
past five years and his current state of mind ground the poem in a sense of nostalgia,
yet solace in his current wisdom. The speaker perceives the abbey differently now and
this corresponds to his change in mentality. He used to look at nature and exude passion
effortlessly. Now, he is less passionate but more thoughtful because he understands
perception is an active rather than a passive function. Being more mentally engaged, his
thoughts are more profound.

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For I have
learned,

To look on nature, not as in the
hour

Of thoughtless youth, but hearing
oftentimes

The still, sad music of
humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample
power

To chasten and subdue. And I have
felt

A presence that disturbs me with the
joy

Of elevated thoughts: of a sense
sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,
(89-97)

One of the most
common elements of romantic poetry was the connection between perception (especially
with nature) and the imagination. This is a connection between humanity (the mind) and
nature. After recollecting his times at school, in “Frost at Midnight,” the speaker
compares the infant’s silence in sleep with images in nature such as “the quiet moon”
and the “ministry of frost.” The form of this poem also supports the theme. It is a
conversation. The speaker is talking to nature, then to the infant and also to himself.
The speaker in "Tintern Abbey" exhibits these same
techniques.

In “Frost at Midnight,” the speaker compares
the sleeping infant with nature:

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But thou, my babe! shall
wander like a breeze

By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the
crags

Of ancient mountain, and beneath the
clouds,

Which image in their bulk both lakes and
shores

And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and
hear

The lovely shapes and sounds
intelligible

Of that eternal language,
(55-61)

The speaker foresees
this child experiencing nature as he did. And he speaks of this connection as something
inherently spiritual.

In both poems, the speakers wish for
continued tranquility and naturally inspired imagination for future generations. In
“Frost at Midnight,” the speaker wishes this for the
infant:

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Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
(66)

In “Lines Written a Few
Miles Above Tintern Abbey,” the speaker wishes this for his sister,
Dorothy:

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Therefore let the
moon

Shine on thee in thy solitary
walk;

And let the misty mountain winds be
free

To blow against thee:
(135-138)

Romanticism’s
stress of the importance of the imagination encourages idealism, dreams and visions.
Both of these poems illustrate dreams of past, present and
future.