In Response to “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge”

In William Wordsworth’s poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” he paints a very romantic and almost fantastical image of London. Through this poem is it very clear to see Wordsworth loves London and finds a great deal of peace in the beauty of the city. He described the city so beautifully, not one word with a negative connotation can be found in this poem. Instead, Wordsworth chooses to use phrases to detail the city such as “Earth has not anything to show more fair,” and “a sight so touching in its majesty”. The imagery in this piece is incredible as he describes ships, towers, domes, rivers, fields, and even the sunlight. Wordsworth wishes to portray exactly the beauty that inspired this poem, as well as the overwhelming sense of calmness this scene provided him. Not only does the diction in this poem provide the reader with a vision of calming beauty, but the rhyme scheme of the poem reinforces this. The use of rhyme gives the poem a calming, song-like quality as it helps tremendously with the flow of the piece. In addition to this, the rhymes are rather common ones—there are no surprises in the imagery or the sounds of the poem. While the rhymes add to the calming power of the poem, they also help in expressing Wordsworth’s subsequent excitement on his topic. He is clearly very passionate about London and his love for it, and the rhymes, lists, and exclamation points could speed up the reading of the poem, thus reflecting Wordsworth’s excitement. Wordsworth also uses personification throughout the piece, which aids in romanticizing the city. London “wear(s)/ the beauty of the morning,” and the “very houses seem asleep”. He also uses third person pronouns when referring to the river and the sun. It is almost as if this poem is a love letter to London. All in all, this poem only increases my excitement for our journey to this lovely city, and I hope to be able to stand upon Westminster Bridge and experience the beauty and joy William Wordsworth did over two hundred years ago.