The Source: William
Wordsworth (1770-1850),
a poet belonging to the first generation of the English Romantic poets.
The poet William Wordsworth was greatly charmed by the
early morning scene of London watched from a coach while crossing the
Westminster Bridge on the way to Dover on 31st July, 1802. He
immediately wrote a poem reflecting his personal feelings, perceptions and
fascinations. The poem was Upon the Westminster Bridge. The poem
got its final form when Wordsworth and Dorothy were returning from France on 3rd September,
1802. Dorothy Wordsworth’s Journal supports these facts.
The Substance:
The poet is crossing the Westminster Bridge over the
Thames in a coach early in the morning. The sun is just rising up and the great
city of London is bathed in its first light. The poet is deeply moved by the
beauty of the scene. It appears to him to be the loveliest sight. Nobody can
ignore this unparalleled and splendid sight. And if there is any, he is
definitely devoid of any sense of natural beauty. The city seems to wear a
dress of golden sunbeams.
The city is totally silent and clearly visible. The sky is
clear having no dust and no smoke. There is no noise in the atmosphere. All is
calm and quiet. Everything of the city such as ships, towers, domes, theaters,
temples etc is clearly visible even from the green fields that lie in distance
in the unpolluted air of the early morning. All are brilliantly shining in the
golden rays of the rising sun.
The valley, rock and hill look lovely at sunrise. But the
city of London is the loveliest. The river (Thames) flows freely. Its course is
not obstructed by the movements of boats or ships. The very houses seem to be
sleeping. London, the heart of the country, remains calm and quiet as if a
roaring giant is stilled. The poet makes an impassioned address to God, the
creator of all beauty upon the earth, to express his sincere gratitude to Him.
The Features:
The poem Upon the Westminster Bridge is
a perfect sonnet. It has a regular pattern following the Italian model. The
simple diction, meter and style of the poem enhance the simplicity, frankness
and beauty of the theme. The poem is a pleasant one to read and perceive. It is
also a brilliant romantic poem. Wordsworth, a romantic poet, creates a purely
romantic expression throughout the poem. Nature is all alive to him. The
beautiful objects of nature stir his inner soul and make him fascinated towards
them.
The city of London
The poet, Wordsworth gives a fine pen-picture of the city of London in his
poem “Composed Upon the Westminster Bridge”. He is deeply moved by the
natural beauty of the city as seen from the Westminster Bridge in the early
morning. London looks beautiful in the splendour of the rising sun. It seems as
if the city of London has clothed itself in the beauty of the morning. A
profound calm prevailed there. Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples are
glittering brightly in the smokeless air. The city has become merged with
adjacent green fields and the clear sky overhead. It seems that the sun has never
shone more beautifully. The poet has never felt such a calmness as this before.
The river Thames flows freely. The restful condition of the city inspires the
poet to rejoice. He thanks God for such a rare experience.
The Simile
“The city now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare."
The above lines
are an extract of Wordsworth’s poem “Composed Upon the Westminster Bridge”.
Here the poet describes the city of London in the early morning. He uses a fine
image/simile to beautify the city. The poet views the city from the Westminster
Bridge over the Thames. The sun has just come out. Its golden rays fall on the
city which looks bright and beautiful. The poet is greatly pleased to observe
that beauty in the smokeless air. That beauty gives him so much pleasure that
he personifies the city, and he imagines that the city wears the beauty of the
sun-lit morning like a garment. By comparing the morning beauty to a garment,
he wants to glorify the city of London. By the simile, the poet imagines the
city as a fair lady. And by making her wear the garment of the morning beauty,
he wants to make the city look more attractive.
The Title
The poem,
“Composed Upon the Westminster Bridge”, depicts Wordsworth’s reaction to the
amazing beauty of the city of London. On his way to Dover from London along
with his sister Dorothy in a coach in 1802, he is deeply moved by the
incomparable beauty of the city viewed from Westminster Bridge over the thames
early in the morning. The spectacle was wonderful. The sun was shining
brightly. Everything in the city was glittering in the smokeless air. It seemed
to wear a new dress. It became one with the adjacent fields and the sky overhead.
The serene silence all around soothed his soul. This evoked his joy and wonder
which promoted him to pen this sweet sonnet. Infact, the title clearly
indicates the occasion. From that point of view it is appropriate.
The Personification
Personification
is a literary style to impose human qualities on inanimate objects. In the
poem, “Composed Upon the Westminster Bridge”, Wordsworth uses personifications
to present a live picture of the beautiful city of London in the sun-lit
morning. The poet gives life to the sun, the river, the houses and finally to
the whole city which has a symbolic heart. He uses personal pronominal
adjectives to personify the sun and the river. The sun has never shone more
beautifully. The river Thames flows freely at ‘his own sweet will’. The city
wears a garment like a far lady. The city’s mighty heart is ‘lying still’.
Hence, by using personifications, Wordsworth enlivens the city.
The MCQ & SAQ
DATA BANK
·
Date
of composition ==> September 3, 1802
( July 31, 1802 in another opinion)
·
Year
of publication ==> 1807 in “Poems in
Two volumes”
·
Westminster
Bridge ==> It is a bridge in
England crossing the river Thames near Westminster Abbey and leading to the
road to Dover.
·
Occasion
of composition ==> While going to
France, on his way from London to Dover, Wordsworth looked at the city of
London from Westminster Bridge. It was early morning and he was moved by the
beauty of the city. He stopped his horse carriage on the bridge and wrote the
poem.
·
Poet’s
companion ==> Dorothy, the
poet’s sister.
·
Type
of the poem ==> It is a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet having 14
lines divided into Octave (first eight lines) and Sestet (last six lines). The
Octave follows the rhyme scheme abba-abba while the sestet keeps to cdcdcd.
·
Use
of Personification ==> The city of London wears a new garment. The
river Thames is gliding on his own free will. The houses of London are fast
asleep.
·
This
city ==> The city of London.
·
Garment ==> The beauty of the morning
covers the city just as a dress covers the body.
·
Domes ==> The dome of St. Paul’s
Cathedral.
·
The
river ==> The Thames, a river of Southern England
flowing from the Costworlds in Gloucestershire through London to the North Sea.
·
Steep ==> to submerge or cover; to
radiate; to immerse.
·
Bare
...clothed ==> The city of London has been described as both
‘bare’ and ‘clothed’. This is a case of paradox.
·
Dear
God ! ==> The poet addresses God out of joy and wonder.
It is an exclamation.
·
Glittering ==> Dazzling
·
Majesty ==> Magnificence
·
Will ==> Desire
·
Still ==> Silent
·
Mighty ==> Large, gigantic.
·
Mighty
heart ==> Huge
heart [Here, the city has been compared to a giant with a huge heart. When the
city is full of commercial activity, it assumes an ugly shape like that of a
giant. It is an example of a metaphor.
·
Glideth ==> Flows
·
The
city now doth like a garment wear ==> The city of London here is imagined as a fair
lady. The poet imagines that the city wears a garment. It is a grand example of
simile.
·
The
very houses seem asleep ==> Here, houses are personified as ‘asleep’. The
houses are asleep for the members are sleeping. So the houses are calm and
tranquill.
·
The
river glideth at his own sweet will ==> Here, the river Thames is personified,
for as if he is in charge of his own movement.
·
In
his first splendour ==> Here, the sun is personified. The sun is
shining in its full radiance.
·
Never
did the sun more beautifully steep ==> It is an example of metaphor to
emphasise how attractive the sunlight is. He wants to show how everything in
the city is immersed in sunlight. As a result, the city of London is glowing in
its radiating beauty.
·
Earth
has not anything to show more fair ==> It is an example of
hyperbole. Here we find Wordsworth exault in ecstasy.
