“`Our ideas about the nature of the individual, the society in which he lives, the natural world which surrounds him, and the role of art in society are inherited from the Romantic period` (J. R. Watson) Romanticism is a term given to a European wide movement in the arts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in revolt against the Neoclassicism of the previous centuries. Neoclassicism was characterized by emotional restraint, order and logic, whereas Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement, which stressed strong emotion, freedom, and a rebellion against social conventions. It was also seen as being a reaction against the rationalism and materialism of the Enlightenment. The original use of the term Romanticism was critical and very uncomplimentary but during the late eighteenth century, it began to establish a more positive meaning. There are four main themes in Romanticism, these are, Imagination, Nature, Selfhood and Political idealism. In this essay I intend to focus on the theme of Nature and explore J. R. Watson’s idea that it is a presence ‘which can inspire awe and love, and be evidence of a mysterious and wonderful power in the universe’. The focus of this essay will be William Wordsworth’s Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey, which I will explore to see how the poet describes nature and uses it to express deeper feelings and meaning.”