2.4 Upon Westminster Bridge …..William Wordsworth (Text Book Page No. 81)
APPRECIATION OF POEM (2.4 Upon Westminster Bridge)
Write the appreciation of the poem based on the given points :
About the poem, poet and title
Theme
Poetic style, language, poetic devices used in the poem
Special features
Message/values/morals in the poem
Your opinion about the poem
William Wordsworth is well known for his poems on nature’s beauty. This one is a bit different for it is about the beauty of London city in the early morning sunshine.
The poet‘s description is mainly of the city without the noise of human activity, the city glittering in the clean smokeless air and the Thames flowing leisurely along before the vessels begin to sail.
There are many poetic devices that add to the poem’s beauty in simple language. The octave has the rhyme scheme abba abba while the sestet has cdc dcd pattern. Imagery adds to the vividness, and inversion adds emphasis to the description of beauty fit to be admired. Wordsworth uses personification to bring alive the sun, the city and the river.
This is a Petrarchan sonnet, with a ‘beauty of the city’ in the octave/octet and a ‘feelings about the peaceful scene’ in the sestet.
The poet has written about the city in a way that even the noisy, crowded and grimy city is made beautiful to the eye by the early rays of the sun. It is a positive way of looking at something that is not often appreciated.
This poem seems to say that we can find something to admire in the most ordinary things. Something outwardly unpleasant can be viewed positively, in a different way.
Leisurely – In a relaxed, slow, and unhurried manner. It describes something done without rush or stress.
Vessels – Ships or large boats used for traveling on water, especially for carrying goods or people.
Imagery – Words that create pictures in the mind, helping the reader to imagine scenes or actions.
Vividness – The quality of being clear, bright, and detailed, making something easy to imagine
Inversion – Reversing the normal order of words to add emphasis.
Personification – Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., making the sun or river seem alive).
Petrarchan sonnet – A type of poem with 14 lines, divided into an octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines), often dealing with a problem and its solution. Here beauty of the city and feelings about the peaceful scene.
EXPLANATION OF THE POEM (2.4 Upon Westminster Bridge)
Upon Westminster Bridge
by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
(Earth = the world, fair = beautiful)
There is nothing in the whole world more beautiful than this view.
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
(Dull = boring or unfeeling, soul = heart or emotions)
Anyone who doesn’t feel moved by this view must have no feelings.
A sight so touching in its majesty:
(Touching = emotional, majesty = greatness or beauty)
This view is so grand and beautiful that it makes you emotional.
This city now doth, like a garment, wear
(Doth = does, garment = clothing, wear = put on)
The city looks like it is wearing the beauty of the morning, like a dress.
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
(Silent = quiet, bare = empty or uncovered)
The morning is quiet and clear, with nothing hiding the view.
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
(Ships = boats, towers = tall buildings, domes = rounded roofs, theatres = places for plays, temples = religious buildings, lie = are there)
You can see boats, tall buildings, domes, theaters, and temples all around.
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
(Open = visible, fields = open land, sky = the air above)
In this line, Wordsworth says that the city of London looks connected to nature. The buildings seem to merge with the open fields and sky, making the city feel peaceful and part of the natural world around it.
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
(Bright = shining, glittering = sparkling, smokeless = clean, air = atmosphere)
Everything looks shiny and sparkly because the air is clean and clear.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
(Steep = soak or shine on)
The sun has never shone so beautifully before.
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
(First splendour = morning light, valley = low land between hills, rock = big stone, hill = raised land)
The morning sunlight is more beautiful than how it shines on valleys, rocks, or hills.
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm, so deep!
(Ne’er = never, calm = peace, deep = very strong)
I have never seen or felt such strong peace before.
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
(River = flowing water, glideth = moves smoothly, sweet will = as it likes)
The river flows gently and freely, as it wants.
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
(Dear God = a way to show amazement, houses = buildings, asleep = resting)
Even the houses look so still and quiet, as if they are sleeping.
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
(Mighty = powerful, heart = the center or life of the city, lying still = not moving)
The city, which is usually busy and full of life, is now completely quiet and calm.