A Close Reading of William Wordsworth´s “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
Essay #1: A Close Reading of William Wordsworth´s “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
The poem, a Petricharan sonnet, “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth describes the view from Westminster Bridge in an early morning sunlight and represents the image even more the beauty of London city in a very positive and peaceful way. The speaker achieves to produce an image in the reader´s mind that is so clear, that the reader is able to picture himself on the Westminster Bridge. The following interpretation will demonstrate that this poem connect the man made city of London with the power and beauty of nature by using such literary devices as rhyme, personification, hyberbole and imagery.
“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” is a poem about the beauty of nature. It starts with the word “Earth” (l. 1), which underlines the bond between nature and man. With line one - “Earth has not anything to show more fair:” - the speaker promises the reader a sight of pure beauty and delete the gap between nature and the man made city. In addition, the speaker, which could be a Londoner, compares the sunlight on the buildings to the light that shines on the countryside (l. 6 - l. 7). Furthermore, words such as “city” (l. 4), “ships” (l. 6), “towers” (l. 6), “domes” (l. 6), “theatres, and temples” (l. 6) and “houses” (l. 13) are all man-made structures which stand in a relation to the wonders of nature like “river” (l. 12), “valley, rock, or hill” (l. 10). The use of these words emphasizes the correlation between nature and man again. In addition, the structure of the poem underlines the connection between nature and man. It is a Petrarchan sonnet, which has fourteen lines and is devided into two parts: the first one with eigjt lines which is called an octave and has the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and the second one with a six-line stanza which is called a sestet with a regular rhyme scheme CDCDCD. In the
The poem, a Petricharan sonnet, “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth describes the view from Westminster Bridge in an early morning sunlight and represents the image even more the beauty of London city in a very positive and peaceful way. The speaker achieves to produce an image in the reader´s mind that is so clear, that the reader is able to picture himself on the Westminster Bridge. The following interpretation will demonstrate that this poem connect the man made city of London with the power and beauty of nature by using such literary devices as rhyme, personification, hyberbole and imagery.
“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” is a poem about the beauty of nature. It starts with the word “Earth” (l. 1), which underlines the bond between nature and man. With line one - “Earth has not anything to show more fair:” - the speaker promises the reader a sight of pure beauty and delete the gap between nature and the man made city. In addition, the speaker, which could be a Londoner, compares the sunlight on the buildings to the light that shines on the countryside (l. 6 - l. 7). Furthermore, words such as “city” (l. 4), “ships” (l. 6), “towers” (l. 6), “domes” (l. 6), “theatres, and temples” (l. 6) and “houses” (l. 13) are all man-made structures which stand in a relation to the wonders of nature like “river” (l. 12), “valley, rock, or hill” (l. 10). The use of these words emphasizes the correlation between nature and man again. In addition, the structure of the poem underlines the connection between nature and man. It is a Petrarchan sonnet, which has fourteen lines and is devided into two parts: the first one with eigjt lines which is called an octave and has the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and the second one with a six-line stanza which is called a sestet with a regular rhyme scheme CDCDCD. In the