Wordsworth-Composed Upon Westminster Bridge

I would like to focus first on the significant of Wordsworth’s language choice, formal choices, etc. Wordsworth’s poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” depicts the speaker’s view of London with the voice of a modern English man in a beloved style. The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet as opposed to a Shakespearian Sonnet, which to me is slightly unexpected. Seeing as Shakespeare is one to the most well known British writes & Wordsworth is writing about England, one would think that he would compose a poem in the Shakespearean sonnet rather than the style of a famous Italian Renaissance poet. A typical Petrarchan sonnet 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 or, sometimes, introduce a new topic altogether. Wordsworth’s sonnet has a more subtle turn. In the first eight lines he introduces the idea that he has never seen such beauty before and then describes the scene. In the last six lines he returns to the idea of unparalleled beauty, this time comparing London to the countryside. The rhyme scheme of Wordsworth piece is fairly simple: 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. The poem is written in a loose iambic pentameter, consisting of five (“penta”) pairs of unstressed and stressed beats (“iambs”):

Dear God! | the ver|-y hous|-es seem | a-sleep.

But not all of the lines follow this pattern. The first two lines, for example, both begin on stressed beats: “Earth” and “Dull.” This loose rhythm comes closer to capturing momentary experience and a conversational tone than a stricter meter would. Wordsworth tried to write how regular people speak, which is one of the reasons he is considered one of the first “modern” English poets.

Now focusing on the connection between man and nature, in the first line of the poem “Earth has not anything to show more fair”, the speaker gives “earth” all the credit for the beauty of the world around him. But what about all the people who designed and built the towers and domes? In lines 4-5, “Like a garment, wear..The beauty of the morning”, the speaker talks about Nature brining out the beauty in the landmarks of London. Interestingly, the affects of the light are compared to clothing, a product of human culture. This tells us as readers that it is hard to tell nature and culture apart. Both work hand in hand, how can you separate them? In line 12 “The river glideth at his own sweet will”, the images of nature play against the expectation of feelings rushed and hurried by the city. Unlike humans, he river does not allow itself to be rushed. It flows at a slow and even pace. Humans should look to nature for its simplicity but perfection.

Wordsworth London seem slightly unreachable, the city is always bustling with an influx of tourists and events (royal wedding 2018). It seems impossible for someone to go wandering around the city and staring at the untouched natural beauty. This poem reminds me of American Transcendalist writers such as Thoreau & Emerson. These writers called for people to step away from the busy modern world and look around at nature.

This poem makes me think about the time I was in London and walked along the river early in the morning. The tourist spots weren’t open and there were no lines anywhere. It’s amazing what a city like London looks like without the giant crowds and hustle. Wordsworth highlights the important thing to remember, London is a beautiful city even without the tourist spots and gags. This poem has challenged me to find the inner heart of the city and spend time to look at the nature hidden behind the large crowds.