COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
THEME
The poet describes his awe and wonder at the magnificent sight of the city of London,
viewed from Westminster Bridge. His admiration leads to a sense of tranquility at the
freshness of the air, the silence and stillness of the city at dawn before activity begins.
BACKGROUND
William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was a major English Romantic
poet.
In the summer of 1802, he traveled with his sister, Dorothy, to Calais, France. They left
London early on the morning of July 31st, and Dorothy wrote about crossing over the
famous Westminster Bridge to get out of town:
TONE (Tone means the attitude of the poet)
The tone is of admiration, awe and wonder in the octave and of peace and serenity in the
sestet.
STRUCTURE
The structure of this poem is that of a Petrarchan sonnet. It has fourteen lines that are
divided into two sections: one with eight lines and one with six. At the ninth line, the
poem makes a "turn" (or volta in Italian) and begins to elaborate in a different way on the
subject.
Wordsworth's sonnet has a more subtle turn. In the octave (first eight lines) he introduces
the idea that he has never seen such beauty before and then describes the scene.
In the sestet (last six lines) he returns to the idea of unparalleled beauty. In his view, the
beauty of London city in early morning sunlight surpasses that of ‘valley, rock or hill’.
Coming from Wordsworth, who worships nature, this is high praise.
RHYME SCHEME
The poet uses the traditional rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet: ABBAABBA
CDCDCD. Only one pair of rhyming lines is slant (not quite a real rhyme, but almost):
"by" and "majesty" in lines 2 and 3.
IMAGERY
POINT: The octave (first 8 lines) captures the beauty of this particular morning.
QUOTE
Earth has not anything
to show more fair
EFFECT
This hyperbole gives the effect that the poet is overcome
with emotions at the sight. This is high praise coming from
Wordsworth who has in his poems described the beauty of
nature.
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COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
QUOTE
EFFECT
Dull would he be of
The poet expresses pity for anyone who is not impressed
soul who could pass by with the splendid sight for such a person has blunted
emotions. By placing the word ‘Dull’ at the start he
A sight so touching in emphasizes it.
its majesty:
This City now doth like In a single line, the poet personifies the city and uses a
a garment wear
simile ‘like a garment’. The effect of beauty as a garment is
that the beautiful sight can be put on and taken off when the
city wakes up.
The beauty of the
morning, silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes,
By listing the different sights we get the effect of perspective
theatres, and temples
as we see the ships and buildings looking ever smaller
lie
stretching to as far as the eye can see. It is as if we too are
standing at the bridge with Wordsworth.
Open onto the fields,
and to the sky;
All bright and
‘smokeless air’ gives the effect of fresh and unpolluted air.
glittering in the
smokeless air.
POINT: A turn (volta) occurs as the sestet begins. The sestet (last 6 lines) expresses
the poet’s view that the beauty of the city in early morning sunlight surpasses that of
‘valley, rock or hill’. The sight gives him a feeling of deep peace and calm.
QUOTE
Never did sun more
beautifully steep
In his first splendor,
valley, rock or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt,
a calm so deep!
EFFECT
Using another hyperbole, the poet finds the splendid sight of
the city in early morning is unparalleled by anything he has seen
in nature. This is high praise coming from a poet who is known
to be a worshipper of nature.
The river glideth at his
own sweet will:
Dear God! The very
houses seem asleep;
Here again is another hyperbole to express that the poet had
never felt such peace before. He is full of wonder that a city
that is usually bustling with activity can be so calm before it
wakes.
The personification gives the effect that the river is in no hurry
to move quickly and adds to the calm by moving smoothly.
The exclamation ‘Dear God!’ sounds like the poet’s
involuntary outburst of gratitude to God for the wondrous sight.
And all that mighty
heart is lying still!
In this personification, the city is resting and its heart beat is
slow just like a person’s resting heart rate.
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