Cockroach
Question: What impression of London does the poet create and how is this achieved?
Poem/Source Material:
Earth hath 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 splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glided at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep; and all that mighty heart is lying still!
Sample Answer:
The sonnet “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” written by William Wordsworth reflects on the poet’s love of nature, and describes the magnificent sun rise over London. His thoughts and feelings are displayed in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, with the “Abba cod did” rhyme scheme, and the eight-lined octave which sets the scenario of the poem, and the six-lined sestet which responds and contains a bit of his opinion. Through this form, we are able to grasp its message more effectively as the content is more compact in the limitations of the rules of the sonnet, and the theme is therefore more intense. By using the Petrarchan rhyming pattern, the poet is able to emphasize his feelings of love and beauty for that morning.
In the octave of the poem, the scene, London, is established and described. “Earth has not anything to show more fair”, the first line, starts the poem off unexpectedly with great exaggeration. This hyperbole emphasizes the depth of Wordsworth’s feelings. The next line begins with the word “dull” which uses syntax, as the poet created an odd rearrangement of words in order for “dull” to be stressed when read out, which signifies its meaning. Wordsworth then uses examples of personification and simile. “The City now doth, like a garment, wear the beauty
Poem/Source Material:
Earth hath 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 splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glided at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep; and all that mighty heart is lying still!
Sample Answer:
The sonnet “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” written by William Wordsworth reflects on the poet’s love of nature, and describes the magnificent sun rise over London. His thoughts and feelings are displayed in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, with the “Abba cod did” rhyme scheme, and the eight-lined octave which sets the scenario of the poem, and the six-lined sestet which responds and contains a bit of his opinion. Through this form, we are able to grasp its message more effectively as the content is more compact in the limitations of the rules of the sonnet, and the theme is therefore more intense. By using the Petrarchan rhyming pattern, the poet is able to emphasize his feelings of love and beauty for that morning.
In the octave of the poem, the scene, London, is established and described. “Earth has not anything to show more fair”, the first line, starts the poem off unexpectedly with great exaggeration. This hyperbole emphasizes the depth of Wordsworth’s feelings. The next line begins with the word “dull” which uses syntax, as the poet created an odd rearrangement of words in order for “dull” to be stressed when read out, which signifies its meaning. Wordsworth then uses examples of personification and simile. “The City now doth, like a garment, wear the beauty