*Note before reading: from this view, Wordsworth would not have been looking at Big Ben because it would not have been built for another 32 years*

Upon first reading William Wordsworth’s poem “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” you get an immediate idea of his love for the city of London. What caught my attention was the intriguing juxtaposition of both vague and specific perspectives that he includes in his writing. The first line of the poem references Earth as a whole, so that creates a wide spectrum of discussion. Then, as he goes on he mentions “This City,” meaning London, so that starts to narrow down the lens of his influence (Line 4). Nonetheless, the city is still very large, so it is hard to tell what he could be reveling in so deeply. He continues to write more about the city’s beauty in lines 6 and 7, Wordsworth writes: “Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie open unto the fields, and to the sky.” These two lines are especially relevant to the juxtaposition, because while he does name particular places and things that are catching his eye, he names so many that it essentially becomes vague again.

I believe that this mindfulness of perspective is significant not just to Wordsworth, but also to the reader. This sense of perspective being so unclear allows the reader to wonder what Wordsworth is putting his focus of affection on, other than the city of London as a whole. While thinking on this concept, readers would then be prompted to wonder what their own personal focus would be of the beauty of London. Through this process, Wordsworth is causing his readers to view the city just the way he would, with love and admiration.

Even without the experience of the same view that Wordsworth would have been overlooking, readers get a unique angle into his relationship to the city and its characteristics. It also becomes a view that readers then yearn to experience after reading the poem, so it prompts them to visit London in person. Then they can truly decide for themselves what their favorite aspect of the city would be.

https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/london-attraction/big-ben

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45514/composed-upon-westminster-bridge-september-3-1802

Having read and discussed Wordsworth’s optimism in “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” in a previous blog post, I was intrigued to find a much more realistic view in “The Prelude.” His tone is much more critical of London, and I think that stems from the extended time he had spent there by this point. He was no longer subject to the starry-eyed vision that comes with a traveler’s first visit, but he had been exposed to the reality of London and the secrets that it held.

One thing that was of particular note to me is the way Wordsworth describes London as a sort of paradox in saying that the city is so busy and full of life, yet full of secrets. He does so in lines 115-118, saying, “Above all, one thought Baffled my understanding: how men lived Even next-door neighbours, as we say, yet still Strangers, not knowing each the other’s name.” Wordsworth appears to take stock in the fact that Londoners do not seem as concerned with acquainting themselves with others, but rather they are more focused on their own lives. The paradox of London becomes even more clear when he takes note of just how busy the city is in line 151, saying, “Thou endless stream of men and moving things!” It’s almost as if everything around him is moving, yet he is unable to make any sense of it. He notes the diversity of the city by pointing out how many people are there from varying countries, and he goes on to discuss London’s history and what he expects (and what others expect) the city should be. It seems to me, however, that he is having a difficult time arriving at a conclusive and cohesive view of the city. The poem itself is muddling through a lot of chaos; he uses words like “roar” and “monstrous” to describe the city and the people in it. London, then, appears to be a sort of beast which cannot be tamed. More than that, the city may not be able to be defined. Wordsworth, however, does not take on a pessimistic tone, rather I think he’s simply trying to make sense of it all and where he fits in in the chaos. Where Wordsworth seemed like a third party observer in “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge,” in “The Prelude” he is very much in the scene. There’s a stark difference that comes about as a result of Wordsworth’s participation in the scene. Any city is going to become idealized when looked upon with fresh, eager eyes. When Wordsworth begins living in London long term, however, and becomes more exposed to the realities and the secrets of the city, I think he begins to question his role as a member of the society and how he fits in. His active participation no longer lets him sit in the blissful ignorance of visitation, but rather he is forced to confront the realities of his decision to become a citizen.

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.

In William Wordsworth’s poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” he describes a beautiful scene looking out onto the Westminster Bridge. His description is very specific to London, and would never be used to describe common American cities. Wordsworth starts off the poem by saying “Earth has not anything to show more fair”. The speaker describes London as being an incomparable place. London is like nothing else that Earth has to offer. Wordsworth uses the word “fair” in the first line of his poem, which is a word that has been seen in another one of his poems “She Dwealt among the Untrodden Ways: “—Fair as a star, when only one is shining in the sky”. I think that Wordsworth is using the word “fair” in the same way to describe London. However, the description he gives that really tells his audience how he views London is when Wordsworth writes: “Open unto the fields, and to the sky;/All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.”. This along with describing London as “silent, bare” tells the audience that Wordsworth finds beauty in what is quiet, but open and free. When I think of the average, beautiful American city I tend to picture New York city: fast moving, lots of twinkling lights, cars throughout the streets, citizens on their way to work. However, Wordsworth wouldn’t find as much beauty in New York City as he would London. London is serene, clean, and free.

The last three lines of Wordsworth’s poem makes me excited to go to London and see the sight for myself: “The river glideth at his own sweet will/ Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;/ And all that mighty heart is lying still!”. Wordsworth promises a calmness from the sunset behind the Westminster Bridge that can only be felt when you are actually there. It gives me a sense of longing for something I haven’t even seen with my own eyes yet.

When thinking about the poem it makes me think of English culture. What does the average day look like for someone who lives in London? It also makes me wonder what the English think that American cities are like.

External Sources

“fair, adj. and n.1.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/67704. Accessed 17 May 2018.

Wordsworth, William. “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways.” Poetry Foundation, 2018.

I found the tones reflected in the poems “London” by William Blake and “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth to both express an awareness of similar conditions in London. What I mean by awareness is that in Blake’s poem, he mentions the the despair and harsh conditions that were present in London during this time period throughout the poem. Wordsworth, in contrast, chose to reflect on a time when everything seemed to be at peace, but I think he maintained the awareness that the day was yet to happen and that it would be filled with the hardship that Blake describes in his poem. 

Blake’s poem dives deep into the struggles of the people in London. In the first stanza he describes the faces of the people he encounters in London with “Marks of weakness, marks of woe.” Furthermore, he mentions the cries and sorrows of several groups of people in London, including the soldiers who he portrayed as suffering at the hands of the Nobility in the lines “…the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down the palace walls(.)” The final image Blake provides the reader with is of the Harlot, a “prostitute or promiscuous woman” according to dictionary.com, cursing the (assuringly her own) infant in the middle of the night. These images explicitly describe the life that Blake is observing in his experiences throughout London and I think he chose to focus on these negative examples in order to strengthen his critique on London. 

What drew a strong connection to the industrial and urban setting Wordsworth hints towards in his poem was the second quatrain:

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, 

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie 

Open unto the fields, and to the sky; 

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.  

This seems to be the only section where I felt Wordsworth remotely suggested the crowdedness and population of London, especially in the second line which is a list of industrial marvels. What is different from Blake’s poem would be the context Wordsworth places these items in; the beautiful nature that surrounds and infiltrates London. I found Wordsworth setting this poem in the morning just as the sun is rising to be significant in pointing out that the air was only smokeless because work in the factories had not begun yet. This extends to all of the quietness that Wordsworth describes, as nothing in the day had begun in the London scene he was describing.