Sonnet:
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge - William Wordsworth
Summary of the poem:
The poet stands on Westminster Bridge, at that time
the bridge the only structure connecting the rich area of London and the poor
area of London. On the left side we see the richer side of London, and the
right side the poor side. Of course, there were less bridges then and things
have changed. However the point is that he writes his poem based on his view,
both of the rich and poor, showing unbiased attitude. The fact that he sees
both gives the readers a sense of the poet being omniscient, as from that side,
he sees all. He writes about the beauty of the city that he sees and the
potential it has to be something greater than he can ever imagine. The poet
likes to address a lot of reoccurring themes, possibly to make us contemplate
more about the city later on after we have read the poem.
1. Take note that of course this is not
the usual Shakesperean sonnet that we are used to. His thoughts and feelings
are displayed in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, or an Italian sonnet. Characteristics
include:
b.
Composed with the
octave presenting an idea, problem or question, followed by a sestet finding
the solution or resolution.
c.
Metered,
iambic pentameter.
i. Perhaps in this case used to make the
poem have a catchy rhythm to it.
d.
Rhymed with 5 rhymes
or less. The octave made up of envelope quatrains rhymed abbaabba is followed
by a sestet made up of 2 tercets with a choice of envelope, chained or alternate
rhyme. cdccdc or cdecde or cdcdcd.
e.
Composed with a volta
(non physical gap) or pivot (a shifting or tilting of the main line of thought)
between the octave and the sestet. The epiphany (manifestation or realization)
unravels slowly from octave to sestet.
There’s no more that I can say actually. Everything I
want to say here has already been done for me.
2. Paradox: “A sight so touching in its
majesty” while the word ‘touching’ presents a more gently and intimate
sense, majesty illustrates something more public and grand. Wordsworth captures
the indescribable feeling of familiarity and distance.
3. Initial rhyme scheme is repetitive and
regular which gives a heartbeat/pulse to the poem like the heartbeat of the
city. The consistency could also imply stead breathing as if the city is
asleep. The break in the rhyme scheme quickens the pace as it is constant and
shorter, as if the poet has fully recognised the true beauty of the city on
closer inspection.
4. Imagery: Gives a vivid sense of peace
and emphasis the admiration of the poet. Words such as “beauty”, “bright and
glittering” allows the reader
to easily picture what Wordsworth experienced; the poet shares his awe and
admiration of the sight which are essential to help him convey his message. “silent” and “bare”give
a sense of tranquillity. The inactivity infers a lack of human life, with only
the narrator. The individuality reinforces the beautiful sight.
Text-based Analysis
1. The first two lines are literal, and
say what they completely mean. However, in the third line, the poet starts to
talk about his how the appearance of the city starts to look like royalty. “A
sight so touching in its majesty”. The use of the word “majesty” exemplifies this. Furthermore this
is a sign of personification as towns cannot be considered royalty as they are
only used for humans. Therefore we are giving the town a human attribute. It is
in this sense that he is trying to make the city itself look alive, as if we
are the parts that are keeping it alive, like the organs of the human body. We
are the organs of the city, if that makes any sense.
2. “This City now doth like a garment
wear” Notice that the word City is spelt with the first letter in
higher case, as if a title.
a. This indicates that the poet is trying
to put the city higher than any other one that we might come across, as if
thisis the best city there is.
b. Alternatively it can be related to the
previous line and that we are giving the city its name, which is just “City”.
If this is so, we can say that the poet is just using personification. This is
further justified when he uses yet another personification to describe the
beauty of the city “like a garment wear”. Note that at the time the use
of the word garment was used specifically for higher
class people, once again illustrating the fact that the poet is trying to
relate the city as a human entity. Not only that but he is trying to relate it
to one as higher class, perhaps a noble, or even royalty.
3. “The beauty of the morning; silent,
bare”note the adjectives used. The use of the peculiar adjectives, “silent,
bare” illustrate the fact
that the city is beautiful in its most simplistic form. It doesn’t even have to
be awake to show off its beauty. This gives the image of raw beauty that the
city doesn’t even have to try and look its best to be considered beautiful.
Think about the lion that you saw at the zoo. Think of it as asleep, similarly,
the lion is beautiful even though it is “silent” and “bare”.
Once again I say it – raw beauty. This contradicts on what the poet has said
before about the city wearing a garment. You say that it doesn’t have to wear
anything to be beautiful, yet you are saying that it dresses up, so that you
can comment on it. It’s as if you see an actress on the red carpet wearing her
best dress and getting her make up done by the best, and you say that she is
‘raw beauty’. Also, take note as well that at the time, “The beauty of the
morning” was considered a
classic romantic phrase. It is one of the only times in the poem that natural
beauty is mentioned. The rest are usually man-made. This implies the fact that
both nature and development has a key in the production of such a city, and it
has to be beautiful as it was created by two amazing ‘people’.
4. “Ships, towers, domes, theatres and
temples lie”. Although there isn’t a name for it, there should be one to
describe this literary device, listing. Take note of the way that the poet is
just listing out a couple of attributes that the city has. This could relate to
the earlier lines of the paragraph and the features he is describing now is the
“garment” of the city.
a. The fact that he has listed so many of
these features gives the impression that he wishes to go on but cannot, to
upkeep the structure of the Italian sonnet. It also gives the image of the poet
being emotionally engulfed at this point in time, as there are too many things
that he is so passionate about and wishes to go on in detail about but can’t.
b. Also note the lack of adjectives to
describe the features. This gives the impression that the poet is trying to
imply the fact that the word by itself is enough. There is nothing more needed
to exemplify its beauty. This can be related once again to one the poet was
talking about raw beauty. There isn’t anything more needed to make the feature
look better than it is, it is already perfect. No “garments” needed.
c. Note the “temple” bit described at the
end. Temples are used for two reasons. One is that they are usually one of the
most beautiful things that we see in the city it has to. It is the house of God
after all. Secondly, the use of the word temple gives the image of the city itself
being just and scared (something hard to find nowadays), inducing the reader to
pour out even more respect for such a city.
5. “Open unto the fields, and to the
sky”
a. This gives a sense of freedom for the
reader as fields usually refer to vast open spaces and
the sky itself is infinite. This makes the
reader feel ecstatic as we usually feel happy in open spaces to run and around,
making it look as if we are the king of the world and that we can do anything
we want. I can’t help but think of this meme whenever vastness is mentioned.
b. Secondly it also addresses the unknown
aura around it. We have never explored every bit of the sky (if that makes any
sense) nor have we explored all the fields. This creates a sense of adventure,
inspiring a very positive feeling in the reader, as if we are about to go on a
journey into the wilderness (can’t help but think about Pokemon here)
6. “All bright and glittering in the
smokeless air” This is yet
another part of the time that the poet talks about natural beauty. Once again
this means that nature also has a part of the beauty of the city, making it
easier for the reader to empathise with. We don’t know what the city itself
looks like, but we do know what nature is like assuming that the climate is the
same of course. However still we can view features of nature much more easily
than cities, as there are much more variables involved. Therefore the fact that
the natural aspect of the city is so amazing can reflect the beauty of the city
as well.
7. “Never did the sun more beautifully
steep in his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill” Note the personification as we gave
the sun a sex. This may indicate that the sun is alive, and as such we always
think of it as happy we usually relate light and warmth with happy feelings as
we are able to see our surroundings and can see things coming our way (at a
biological level), giving a sense of security as well. It also ‘bathes the city
in a good light’, creating the image that the city itself is a happy one, and
that everyone is healthy, beautiful and cheerful giving the indication that the
city described is a beautiful place to live in. Once again note the “valley, rock, or hill” that include listing once again,
without any adjectives whatsoever. However, these are natural landforms,
enforcing my other point about nature and humans working together to create a
physical piece of art.
8. “The river glideth at its own sweet
will:” We can find
personification. Based on the bridge he was standing on, we can safely assume
that the river he was talking about was indeed the River Thames. The use of the
personification here is to create the image of the river itself being happy as
we find that it ahs the freedom of choice and the ability to do anything it
wanted here, as if it also wanted to be part of the city, a city where we get
to enjoy the freedom of choice.
9. “Dear God! the very houses
seemasleep; and all that mighty heart is lying still” The use of the phrase “Dear God!” is to exemplify that even the poet
is still blown away by the beauty of the city despite already having described
it for so long. It is here that the poet is trying to say that it is beautiful
already when you look at it, but on closer inspection, it is much more
beautiful than you already think it is.
a. Once again we find personification
when we say that the houses are asleep. This means that everyone is sleeping.
Usually when we are awake we turn on the light, making it look as if the house
has opened its eyes. Such is the structure of the typical house. Another form
of personification is finally used in the city when we say “that mighty
heart is lying still” this
gives the indication that the poem is trying the express onto the readers that
we have not seen its full beauty. Wait till it awakens. We can therefore assume
that the writer wrote this in the wee hours of morning when everyone (the city)
was still asleep.
This whole poem itself is a giant hyperbole.
Speaker of the poem: The poet himself, William Wordsworth
Speaker’s attitude toward the
subject of the poem: Thankful to God for
allowing him to see such a beautiful sight. In a way we can call him patriotic.
Paired poems (Identify poems in
the anthology and why they are appropriate to be paired)
1. Pied Beauty as he is also expressing his
beauty for the world in general, while Wordsworth is talking about the city of
London and he expresses its beauty.
2. Pied Beauty as it allows us to see the
contrast between nature and man-made structures, as Wordsworth mainly talks
about man-made structures in a certain area only while the poet of Pied Beauty does the opposite. He talks about
natural structures everywhere (well, his world, Europe. He couldn’t travel very
far at the time)
3. Summer Farm as the poet talks about the beauty of
nature found in the farm. Similarly Wordsworth is talking about the beauty of
both man-made structures and a bit of nature found in London, the country of
description.
Memorable lines (that reinforce
poetic devices)
1. The city now doth like a garment
wear
2. A sight so touching in its majesty
3. Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and
temples lie
4. And all that mighty heart is lying
still
Sonnet
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge By William Wordsworth
The poem describes the unpolluted city of London as
the poet sees it in the early hours of the morning
1) Wordsworth
opens the sonnet with hyperbole declaring that the earth has no other sight as
beautiful as he beholds
2) The
poet believes that anyone who could see the sight that he is witnessing and
pass by without being stunned by its beauty would be very dull of soul
3) Without
disclosing the fact that he observing the city of London he continues in the
third line of the octave to say that the sight makes him so emotional merely
due to its royalty and majesty
4) In
the fourth line of the octave Wordsworth mentions the city and immediately
personifies it to be able to wear a garment
5) He
discloses that the garment he is referring to is the personified morning which
is steeped in beauty and rich in silence
6) As
if out of purpose, to suddenly introduce the stereotypical image have of the
city he move on from describing the beauty and silence of the morning to a list
of structures synonymous with activity and movement
7) Wordsworth
shares his disbelief at the odd sight of how the city seems to surrender to the
open clear sky he mentions the sight of fields, which is unusual considering
that the city of London is known more for its structures he uses this word as a
prelude to the thought shared in sestet
8) Wordsworth
marvels at the city scape shining like new and well lite up in the unpolluted
morning air
9) He
opens the sestet with a sense of disbelief and exaggeration (hyperbole) where
he says that he has never seen the sun rise more beautifully
10)
Adding to the oddity in the octave (fields)he describes the sun lighting up
hills rocks and valleys, once again elements of the natural landscape usually
not associated with London
11)
Using anaphora by repeating the word ‘never’ he emphasis on his belief that
this sight brings him a sense of calm and peace that he has never experienced
before
12) Wordsworth
also draws our attention to the fact that irrespective of wither man has the
eyes or the vision to praise and glorify nature, nature carries on exhibiting
its beauty and running its course. He personifies the river Thames to have a
will of its own
13)
Wordsworth uses exclamation and apostrophe by addressing God directly and once
again personifies the beautiful city of London by mention that the houses he
sees seem to be asleep in the early morning hours
14) Wordsworth
ends the sonnet by making a direct reference to the significance of the city by
referring to it as ‘mighty heart’. Continuing to give the city human like
qualities the city of London appear to be in a state of slumber to the poets
eyes
No comments:
Post a Comment