Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth describes a return to a place where the speaker has not been for 5 years. The purpose of Wordsworth's poem is to show memory, specifically the memory of a unity with nature. Alfred Lord Tennyson's Locksley Hall similarly describes a return to a place. This place gives a special sentimental value to the speaker because he spent his childhood there, and what is important to this poem is the place where he fell in love. Analyzing the two poems provides insight into the two different eras they represent, as they are written on a similar subject with a different message. Wordsworth uses this meditation on a once-important place to discuss Romantic ideals of closeness to nature and how childhood allows for a closer connection with nature. Tennyson, on the other hand, uses his feelings about Locksley Hall to highlight the failures of society. The aim of this essay is to show how memories of the past speak to romantic ideals of connection to nature through Wordsworth's poem and the Victorian lens of criticism of materialism through Tennyson's poem. In William Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey and Alfred Tennyson's Locksley Hall, the memory of childhood is used to reflect the changing mentality of the poets who represent different generations. The forms of these two poems reflect the trends observed at the time of their publication. Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey is written in unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, otherwise known as blank verse. Blank verse can be read easily because it resembles prose. In addition to this, iambic pentameter is commonly used to imitate natural speech patterns, making it simple to read, an ideal of the Romantic period. Locksley Hall is a dramatic monologue composed of 97 rhyming couplets. The dramatic monologue was... middle of paper ...... when he reminded him of his youth. Childhood memories allow speakers at Tintern Abbey and Locksley Hall to reflect on the past, present and future. Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey uses memory to discuss themes of connection to nature and aging. This is done by highlighting past feelings and comparisons with her younger sister. This theme of connection with nature is indicative of the Romantic era in which it was written and of which Wordsworth was at the forefront. Tennyson's Locksley Hall presents ideas typical of the Victorian era through the speaker's dramatic monologue. The speaker uses the form of a dramatic monologue to express his thoughts about his past love that left him and what that says about society. Through memory, these two poems illuminate ideas typical of the respective eras in which they were written..