Lines Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
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.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
William Wordsworth: Poems, in Two Volumes: Sonnet 14
1. Introduction
William Wordsworth, also known as one of the major poets of the English Romantic Movement in the 19th century, was born in 1770 and died in 1850. When he wrote ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ in September 1802, London was the economical as well as political centre of England; for instance the Bank of England and England’s biggest port for overseas trade were situated in this city. In 1770, already 700000 citizen inhabited London and an upward tendency prevailed (950000 inhabitants in 1800)[1]. In comparison, other cities like Norwich had almost tiny populations (30000). London, however, set the tone for nearly everything – fashion, worn in London, was imitated in other provincial towns. The city became a metropolis and a place of consumption.[2]
But on the other hand, London’s big-city appearance had some unwelcome side effects. According to industrial production the city was covered by fog nearly everyday. Streets and other public places were noisy and dirty and a terrible smell, like in Paris at that time, must have filled the air. People there were always busy with themselves and in hectic pace – nobody had enough time to enjoy nature or something like that. According to this fact, many people neglected their religious belief and some of them might even have lost their belief in God. That might be the point Wordsworth had seen and thus he mentally digested it in his sonnet. He probably wanted to make people aware that there is something more than the big-city life which is connected with hard work for the lower classes and a life of decadence the upper classes enjoyed.
2. Analysis
The sonnet “Upon Westminster Bridge” was written in 1802. As typical for a sonnet, it consists of fourteen verses, which can be divided, in other words arranged, into four parts – there are three quatrains and one final couplet.
The rhyme scheme is adapted to the form of the sonnet which leads to the rhyme pattern abbaabbacdcdcd. The last striking point about the structure of the poem is the occurrence of many punctuation marks which slow down the speed of the sonnet while reading it. Therefore the reader has the possibility (is rather forced) to read and understand the poem in a closer sense and finally is able to enjoy it to the full.[3]
The first quatrain deals with the description of the appeal of beauty which can be recognized by looking around while standing on the bridge. The speaker of the poem declares the view as most impressive – the earth is not able to show people something fairer than the view from Westminster Bridge, so it is a kind of uniqueness which is shown here. This position is supported by the second verse which tells that anybody who is attracted by the view cannot evade, only if this person probably has a deaf character.
In the next verse the speaker’s attraction cumulates – the sight is personified as a majesty which possibly is so heartfelt that it will touch everyone’s soul. The comparison made in the fourth verse is very interesting – the city wears the beauty of the morning like a garment. This fact implies that the beauty of the morning is something temporal in the city. A garment is a piece of cloth which can be worn but taken off as well. Consequently the beauty can only be regarded in the morning or rather the morning represents the beauty. When the day continues, the beauty vanishes, just because the life of the city begins. People go to work, factories start to produce their goods and cause a lot of smoke, in other words the arising pollution will darken the city’s appearance and charisma, too.
The fifth, sixth and the seventh verse tell that the morning’s beauty is silent and bare; all buildings and ‘non-living’ things like ships and theatres can be watched without a blurred view – they are just visible.
In general it is hardly possible to see any of them (caused by pollution etc., see above), especially when they are situated in some distance from the bridge, but the speaker of the poem (verse 8) describes them as “[…] bright and glittering in the smokeless air.” The next three verses deal with the charisma of the sun which starts to give the first beams of light to the landscape (valley, rock and hill) surrounding London.
This kind of natural spectacle must have evoked deep emotions in the speaker of the poem who tells us that he neither saw something like that nor he experienced such a relaxed feeling connected with this sight – the whole trouble of business-like London was absent at this moment and nothing uneasy or stressful remained.
The twelfth verse tells us that the river flows at its own will. In general the Thames would have been dammed up with the intention to use the water power for industries or something like that by the inhabitants of London.
But in the morning the river is free, possesses its own will and is able to glide in every direction, at least so far this would be possible. The last but one verse refers to the already mentioned calmness. The speaker of the sonnet might be a little bit confused by the almost deathly silence and therefore he addresses to God.
It can be regarded as a question to God when the speaker says that even the houses seem to have fallen asleep. It must have been unreal, in other words incomprehensible, to see that London, which was the biggest city on earth at this time, was lying still without a hint of movement.
2 The representation of London in Wordsworth’s LinesComposed upon Westminster bridge, September 3, 1802
The sonnet “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth was written and dedicated to the city of London in 1802. It deals with the changes of the industrialization, which Woodsworth clearly demonstrated his aversion for and the beauty the city contains although.
The poem catches a moment in the morning, standing on the Westminster bridge of London during the time of the industrialization. Wordsworth intention is to inspire the people to rediscover the hidden beauty of the metropolis London; which is hard to see during the time.
As common for a sonnet it consists of fourteen verses, which can be divided into four parts: three quatrains and one couplet in the end. The rhyme scheme is an embracing or enveloped rhyme which implies the rhyme pattern abbaabbacdcdcd.
Wordsworth’s poem expresses the reflections of himself as he looked out of the city of London, which makes the lyrical I identical with Wordsworth himself (see Sutaryana: 7). The general atmosphere and feeling of the poem are highly positive: “Wordsworth declares that he has found the most beautiful scene on earth” (Sutaryana: 2).
The hyperbole in the first line directly expresses that Wordsworth can’t image a place more beautiful than the one he is in at this certain moment. He also mentions that only a “dull […] soul” (see l. 2) would not take its time to appreciate the “majesty” (l. 3) of the city. Furthermore, Woodsworth personifies the city of London to wear a garment representing the morning.
It makes the morning responsible for its beauty and implies and shows that its nothing constant and that it changes – which refers to the daily transformation of the city containing different phases (see Sutaryana: 4). By connecting the beauty of the city to the morning only it criticizes the industrialization, which is clearly visible during the day when the machines are working, producing dust and smoke and noise.
In the following three verses the beauty of the city is described more detailed; the lyric I underlines the silence and bareness of the city. It seems important to do so because of the rareness of the possibility to hear nothing and see everything: because later on the day the “smokeless air” (l. 8) will soon be full of dust and smoke.
In verses nine to eleven the presence of the rising sun is represented, which introduces the imagery of light. Also “He describes the sun lighting up hills, rocks and valleys, once again elements of the natural landscape that usually do not come to mind when we think of London.” (Sutaryana: 6) – but Woodworth connects the nature to the city and creates a relaxing atmosphere which also the speaker seems to be put in by watching the sunrise. This is shown by him getting very emotional: “I, never felt, a calm so deep!” (l. 11).
Furthermore, the distinction between the city and the nature vanishes and they are mostly seen as one. The thirteenth verse contains the personification of houses being asleep, which emphasizes the calm and silent characteristic of the morning and also the implication of the process of waking up and being awake later on the day. In this verse the speaker also addresses God: “He cries out to God as if he has just recognized something astonishing he had not noticed before.” (Sutaryana: 7). Woodworth glorifies London here. In the last verse its again shown that Woodworth living the moment of the city lying still, such as his heart (l. 14).
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