In his poem, Composed upon Westminster Bridge, William Wordsworth reveals his relationship with London by creating a poem from the Westminster Bridge overlooking various iconic landmarks that are calm and beautiful. The poem to begin is a Petrarchan Sonnet, which is a poem of fourteen lines divided into two parts. The first part is the first eight lines known as the octave and the remaining six lines form the sestet, which is the second part of the poem. The rhyme scheme in a Petrarchan sonnet is abbaabbacdcdcd, which is the case for this poem. Being an aspiring creative writer and poet, I am fascinated by the various forms of poetry and the way they allow the writer to depict and portray certain ideas or events and I am also intrigued as to how the reader can interpret different forms of poetry to relate to certain beliefs or opinions. That being said, it is very difficult to write a poem to begin with, let alone a sonnet, let alone a Petrarchan sonnet that follows the traditional rhyme scheme. And what makes Wordsworth’s poem even more fascinating to me is that it is written in perfect iambic pentameter, with ten syllables in each line beginning with an unstressed syllable, then a stressed syllable, and so on. The brilliance behind just the layout and form of the poem is remarkable and captivating at the same time. The tone used is very much of a calm and respectful approach to the bridge and all the sights and sounds it has to offer. Wordsworth talks about the beauty of the city and the quietness and stillness that London experiences during the morning hours. The poem itself discusses how the Earth has nothing more beautiful to call its own than London and the ships, towers, domes, and theatres that identify London as such a beautiful city. The words and the poem itself allow the reader to sense a strong admiration for the fogless London and the pride and honor the speaker takes in writing this poem about this city.

Having read many texts for the course, two of the more eye opening readings came from both Charles Dickens in Night Walks and William Wordsworth in The Prelude, Book 7. In both of these works, the authors portray London in similar manners and yet they also have some distinct differences amongst them as well. In Dickens’ work, he discusses how he comes about these walks stating, “Some years ago, a temporary inability to sleep, caused me to walk about the streets all night” (Dickens). In his work, he discusses the people associated with different parts of town, encountering the homeless, the drunks, and the violent people that stumbled onto the streets of London in the early hours of the morning. He discusses where the violence occurs and reveals that the Haymarket is the worst kept part of London. Dickens alludes to the idea that while London may be a lively city, it may not be as great as everyone portrays it to be. Wordsworth also alludes to this idea in his work. In Book 7 of Wordsworth’s The Prelude, we move forward in time six years where Wordsworth continues his narrative by revealing that he was once a temporary resident but now he plans on becoming a permanent one. Wordsworth depicts London based off of a typical walk in the quiet side streets, similar to Dickens. Wordsworth encounters street entertainers, singers, shows, performances, and many other types and races of people that one would encounter in certain neighborhoods. He brings up the monuments to be seen and the museums and art galleries that surround him. Wordsworth’s work seems to take on a more admiring approach of London and the sights and sounds it has to offer. And yet while the major difference between Dickens’ work and Wordsworth’s is the depiction of London and the connotation used, Wordsworth refers to London at one point in this book as an “ant hill,” which to me is a negative connotation and paints a more negative picture of London in my head. Maybe Wordsworth is trying to relate the amount of people and the hustle and bustle of London to an ant hill, or similarly to Dickens, maybe he is also portraying London to be a city that is not as great as everyone may think.

Dickens in both Oliver Twist and in Night Walks discusses this theme of being born into poverty and the concept of homelessness. In his novel Oliver Twist, Dickens portrays these themes through the main protagonist, Oliver himself, where Oliver is born into poverty and homelessness after his mother died shortly after giving birth. For nine years, Oliver lived in an orphanage until he was old enough to be moved to a workhouse where he worked alongside other boys his age. Afterwards, we see Oliver find a place with an undertaker, then he flees to London where he encounters Fagin and the rest of his gang, who happens to be pickpockets and thieves. After being wrongfully accused of a theft, Oliver lives with his accuser, Mr. Brownlow. He then is kidnapped by Fagin and his crew, is forced to participate in a home invasion where he is shot and then taken care of by Mrs. Maylie, who returns Oliver back to Mr. Brownlow and is eventually adopted by him at the end of the novel. Throughout this roller coaster of events, Oliver is without a home for the majority of the novel and is in a constant search and yearn for shelter and comfort. One can definitely consider Oliver to be homeless at many times in the novel. The same themes are discussed in Dickens’ Night Walks, where he is walking the streets of London on a cold, damp night in March. He observed masses of homeless people whom he refers to as Houselessness. Dickens is having a restless night so he decides to take a walk outside and roam the streets. Here he sees homeless people and describes them as constantly walking in the rain and other elements following the drunks who stumble out onto the streets. The other people he encounters are the cops who happen to be carrying on a conversation amidst the tangling streets. Dickens in his essays discusses themes of homelessness and poverty but different from Oliver, there are groups of people who are experiencing homelessness and poverty. Perhaps Dickens is suggesting that there were a large number of people who were considered homeless during his time and that London, while it may be one of the wealthiest cities, does have some poor people who call it home.

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/london-illustrations-by-gustave-dor

Gustav Doré’s works are very captivating and full of details that allow him to convey a powerful and effective piece. In this illustration, Doré depicts London, England and Harrow Alley from the 19th century. Since then, the name has changed but Doré depicts what London was like back then. The incorporation of every aspect of fine details in this piece add character and life to the work and make it seem so realistic. Taking a close look at the image, the viewer notices only one single light on above the people and the tallest person in the image appears to be a man, whom I have inferred is the dad or father figure of the group hovering below the light attached to what looks like a storefront or possibly a home. The emotions and facial expressions cast off by the characters, especially the one woman who looks older than the rest of the women in the image is that off sadness and depression, perhaps even anger or frustration. There are two young children cowering under a blanket in the front at the bottom of the image. It appears as if they are trying to stay warm any way possible. The clothes they are wearing seem to be very similar to one another and the shoes are piled near a bench which seems to house many hats and other clothing items. There is what looks to be another family in the left of the image, again expressionless and motionless. There also is a man sitting with his back against the wall which appears to be a part of another alley where he is sitting. The only legible words on the image are “Harrow Alley” which as I mentioned earlier was in London back in the 19th century. It is also ironic that this alley happens to be eerily similar to narrow alley, which is what many of the alleys are in London. In front of the large family are teapots and containers for water or other items but what is not present is food or a sense of covered shelter in this image. Maybe Doré is suggesting that the majority of people in the 19th century were in a constant state of starvation and lack of shelter. This is certainly what the image depicts.

After reading Dickens’ Oliver Twist, I was impressed with how Dickens was able to establish the background of Twist’s life early on in the novel and establish a sense of progression early on before the stories began. I enjoyed the book and I wanted to focus on the turning point, in my opinion, of Oliver’s life at a young age that would define the rest of the novel. Early on in Chapter 2, we find Oliver at a workhouse after being taken away from Mrs. Mann’s house by Mr. Bumble. Oliver works as an oakum picker alongside many other boys who are also starving and are given very little for food. The boys decide to draw straws to see which one of them will ask for more food. Oliver draws the shortest one and is the lucky one to ask for more food. Oliver approached the master and asked for more food.

“The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook’s uniform, stationed himself at the copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel was served out; and a long grace was said over the short commons. The gruel disappeared; the boys whispered each other, and winked at Oliver, while his next neighbors nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said: somewhat alarmed at his own temerity: “Please, sir, I want some more.”
The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear.
“What!” said the master at length, in a faint voice.
“Please, sir,” replied Oliver, “I want some more.”
The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud for the beadle.” (Oliver Twist 38)

In the novel, Dickens describes the master as being astonished and shocked that one of the boys would ask for more food. We as the readers eventually find out that this infamous short straw that Oliver picked was also the last straw that broke the camels back. Oliver is locked away and the parish board offers a reward for anyone to take Oliver away from them. After reading the journey that Oliver endured bouncing from location to location, it all leads back to Oliver’s young life at age nine when he drew the shortest straw and asked the master at the workhouse he was a part of for more food. The novel focuses and branches off of this one scene where Twist simply asked for some more food. It is quite intriguing to realize at the end of the novel that Oliver had endured all of the forced crime and work and conditions he faced because of this one scene where he was forced to ask for more food for himself and the rest of the boys he worked with.