I am also adding another poem to my research: Wordsworth's "London, 1802." As I progress with my research this week, I will add one additional poem; however, the primary focus will remain on "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802." In my proposal, which is currently under revision, I mention Wordsworth's poem, "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey;" however, I have given this some thought: although his usual style is about nature whereas "Composed upon Westminster Bridge . . ." is not, the works do not have a connection in the manner which I am trying to reach. Tintern Abbey reflects upon Wordsworth's relationship to nature; he revisits Tintern Abbey where nature is a place of escape for him (Minor). Also, the "[s]hips, towers, domes, theatres, and temples" which he refers to in line six of "Composed upon Westminster Bridge . . ." are described as being "[o]pen to the fields, and to the sky" (7); I think that he is not describing nature itself in the poem as he reflected upon in Tintern Abbey. Instead he depicts the actual physical locality of the buildings themselves. The architecture had changed since the building of the bridge in 1750; certainly, there is more change today. Therefore, this poem does not make a connection to my initial poem. I am showing how the poem which Wordsworth wrote on July 31, 1802, and the poems which he wrote during the month of August while visiting in Calais, are so different. "London, 1802" paints a dissimilar picture of London unlike the tranquility which he describes on the day that he paused upon Westminster Bridge. All of the poems are written during a time in his unsettled life; therefore, even though this is not a biography about the author himself, I must elaborate on what was going on during this time to be able to understand the poems, as well as provide my analysis of each. Also, by studying in the "City" itself which Wordsworth saw in two different lights, and physically see the actual buildings which he speaks of in "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," it will contribute to my understanding of what Wordsworth saw, as well as "London, 1802" and its opposing viewpoint of the same city. My visit to London will, ultimately give me a clearer understanding of two different, yet the same, cities.
One last note: I refer to the "City" with a capital letter because the "City" itself became an entity after the building of Westminster Bridge in 1750. To further show this, in Peter Ackroyd’s London: The Biography, Westminster Bridge is depicted as being constructed in 1750, which changed the interrelation of London, and “this City” became an entity in itself (511-12). In the poem, Wordsworth describes “this City”: “All bright and glittering in the smokeless air” (8). How did this new “City” change according to Peter Ackroyd? London had once been a commercial place with the river as subject for poetry (Ackroyd 534); however, since the building of Westminster Bridge, “this City” became a place of business (512).
Ackroyd, Peter. London: The Biography. New York: Anchor Books, 2003. Print.
Minor, Lisa. "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." EN 212. University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama. N.d. Lecture.
Wordsworth, William. “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th 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. 8th 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. 8th ed. Vol. D: The Romantic Period. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, M. H. Abrams, Jack Stillinger, Deidre Shauna Lynch. New York: Norton, 2006. 319. Print.
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