(COMPOSED UPON) WESTMINSTER BRIDGE SEPTEMBER 3, 1802
William Wordsworth 1770-1850
The octave: lines 1 – 8
- According to the poet no scene anywhere on earth
can compare with the beauty of London in the early
morning.
- Only a very insensitive person will be able to pass by
this scene without becoming aware of and being
deeply moved by its breathtaking grandeur.
- The beauty of the morning seemed to cover the city
like a royal robe draped around a king.
- This part of the city is quiet as the beams of the rising
sun touch the masts of the ships lying at anchor, as
well as the high domes and towers of churches and
theatres.
The dome of St.Paul’s Cathedral
• LINES 1 – 3:
• Line 1: Hyperbole (exaggerates beauty of
London because of his great love for the city; he
delights at its beauty and calm in the early
morning)
• fair – beautiful; absolutely clean and clear
• Line 2: Inversion (changes normal word order –
to stress the main thought (‘dull”)
• Line 3: Personification – city is personified as an
important person with all the splendour of a king.
A mail-coach in Wordsworth’s time
• Lines 4 – 8:
• Line 4: Simile – portrays the loveliness of
sunrise, covering the city completely like the
grand ceremonial mantle of a king.
• The METAPHOR of the city’s majestic
appearance and atmosphere is reinforced by
this comparison.
TOWER OF LONDON
• Line 5:
• silent, bare – reinforce the atmosphere of
tranquility: there is no activity as the day’s
trading, etc. has not yet begun.
• Line 6: lie – spread out, covering a large area
• It suggests that from his vantage-point on top
of the mail-coach the poet had a wide,
uninterrupted view of the whole panorama of
city, river and docks.
• Line 7: “open” can imply: - at the turn of the 19th
century there were not so many buildings to the
south of Westminster Bridge;
• - or: the whole complex could be seen because of
the absolute CLARITY of the morning.
• OR? Not shut in – there was no BARRIER between
the city and Nature.
• Nature with its peace, freshness, etc. seemed to
have entered the city.
• Line 8:
• The air is clear and free from smoke and fog
• Sky is bright and cloudless
• The rosy light of dawn softens the harsh
outlines of the commercial hub of the world
The sestet : lines 9 – 14
• The poet expresses his great joy at the
beauty and serenity of the city.
• The sun has never bathed a scene of natural
beauty with its first beams than is does the
city of London this morning.
• He has never experienced such an
atmosphere of absolute tranquility.
• Line 9:
• “steep”: to cover completely, fill a space
• He describes how the sunlight seems to
envelop the city
• Line 9:
• “steep” : to cover completely, to fill a place
• The poet very effectively describes how the
sunlight seems to envelop the city
• “Never” - inversion
• Line 10:
• Elements of nature – valley, rock, hill – mentioned
in this line continue to reinforce the images of the
“fields” and the “sky” (line 7)
• Line 11:
• Ne’er – inversion – stresses the idea that the poet
has never before experienced so much peace. All
the more striking when one bears in mind the
bustling activity of this part of the city during
business hours.
The river Thames
Line 12:
The river is personified as having a will of its
own;
“glideth”: flows smoothly (without effort, very
little traffic that morning at that early hour)
- The river is part of nature and an essential
feature of London
• Line 13:
• - “Dear God” – poetic apostrophe. Proves the
poet’s ecstatic delight at the unbelievable
serenity of the scene.
• - “very” means “themselves” here
• “house asleep” – personification. Intensifies
the idea of lifelessness and total calm of the
scene
• Line 14:
• “heart” – metaphor. Means “central, most
important part”
• To the poet the city of London is a “mighty
heart” – i.e. it has great power – the hub of
the world trade, capital of British Empire