A Look at "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"

Now that I have discussed "Tintern Abbey," I will move along to the next poem for this research blog. The opening lines of Wordsworth's poem, "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" state: "Earth has not any thing to show more fair:," and is recognized by most academics (1). This particular line of the poem constitutes a deeper meaning, although one does not have to delve far beyond its surface. To back up a moment in the context of the poem, I will notate its history.

The date of this experience was not September, but July 31, 1802. Its occasion was a trip to France, made possible by a brief truce in the war. Wordsworth's conflicted feelings about this return to France, where he had once supported the Revolution and loved Annette Vallon, inform a number of personal and political sonnets that he wrote in 1802 . . . . ("Footnote 1")

The context of the poem briefly explains the situation at the time the poem was written, thus defining Wordsworth's confliction between a love for his country, England, and a former lover and child ("Footnote 1"). The journey that he makes with his sister, Dorothy, is inspired by a brief moment upon Westminster Bridge ("Composed upon Westminster Bridge . . ." 1-14).

Retracing myself back to the first line of the poem: Obviously, he is speaking of the view from Westminster Bridge (thus, the title of the poem). Lines 2-3 of the poem state: "Dull would he be of soul who could pass by / A sight so touching in its majesty:." The literal content of these lines in the poem suggests that Wordsworth is saying that anyone who views the city from this bridge is "dull . . . of soul" if they do not see the same England which he sees (2-3). "This City now doth, like a garment, wear / The beauty of the morning: silent, bare," suggests that the morning drapes over the city with its silence, baring nothing but its beauty (4-5). (I will begin to analyze this in my next blog post.) Lines 6-7 of the poem: "Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie / Open unto the fields, and to the sky;" suggest the things which Wordsworth saw on that July day. Although he does not describe which sites explicitly, maps can, perhaps, point to the architecture in the poem. At first glance of the poem, the reader might contemplate that the poem is directly about the architecture which he saw; It is very important to the poem; however, I have added to this analysis now, which I will explain in my second blog from this one. The River Thames is the river which he overlooks unto the buildings, as well as nature. At the time this poem was composed, there were more pastoral fields, thus the "open[ness] unto the fields, and to the sky;" (7). Lines 8-10 of the poem state: "All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. / Never did sun more beautifully steep / In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;." These lines describe the setting of the sun; it "steep[s]," perhaps, like English tea, rising from its natural essence (9). The air is without smoke (8), which, ironically, depicts a time in history during the Industrial Revolution (http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html). The tenth line of the poem describes the landscape, and how the sun rises ("steep[s]") in the early morning over the bridge itself (9). In my second blog from now, I will describe my Westminster Bridge experience in the early morning from London, which was breathtaking. "Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!" describes the tranquility, or the peace, which his view, the view on this particular day, gave him in the moment (11). The last two lines of the poem state: "Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; / And all that mighty heart is lying still!" (13-14). The literal content within these lines of the poem suggests that this city, in the stillness of the July morning which he observes it in, is peaceful; its "mighty heart," or the heart of the city itself, is at rest (14), particularly in a truce from the war ("Footnote 1").    

Furthermore, the literal content of these last two lines tie directly into my thesis statement: Wordsworth's reflection upon the views of England in his poems, "Tintern Abbey," and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," suggest that it was a place of tranquility, even in a time of unsettled peace; however, "London, 1802" reflects upon a dissimilar view of England, which contrasts with his usual writing style.  

My next two blogs will analyze the poem more in depth.

 “Footnote 1.” Wordsworth, William. “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8^th ed. Vol. D: The Romantic Period. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams, Jack Stillinger, Deidre Shauna Lynch. New York: Norton, 2006. 317. Print.                                               

Industrial Revolution. Web. 23 July 2011. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html

Wordsworth, William. “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8^th ed. Vol. D: The Romantic Period. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams, Jack Stillinger, Deidre Shauna Lynch. New York: Norton, 2006. 317. Print.                                                                                               

Wordsworth, William. “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8^th ed. Vol. D: The Romantic Period. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams, Jack Stillinger, Deidre Shauna Lynch. New York: Norton, 2006. 258-62. Print.

Wordsworth, William. “London, 1802.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8^th ed. Vol. D: The Romantic Period. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams, Jack Stillinger, Deidre Shauna Lynch. New York: Norton, 2006. 319. Print.