Compare and Contrast William Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge and William Blake's London
William Wordsworth and William Blake wrote poems about London, but they presented their views from different angles. Wordsworth sees the beauty in London and Blake sees only the ugliness. William Wordsworth's "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" gives a step-by-step look at the awe-inspiring beauty of a London sunrise, whereas William Blake's "London" shows the dreary ugliness of London life by taking a stroll down London's streets.
"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" affects the reader with a sense of wonderment at the beauty that is created with a sunrise. London appears to be the most beautiful place on earth during a sunrise. The sun bathes the city in light and gives the reader a sense of purity and cleanliness. "London" affects the reader with an opposite feeling. The reader sees the unsavory side of London in the faces of its citizens. The citizens of London are unhappy with their lives, but they accept it with resignation. It is appalling how the Church uses the small chimney-sweeping children to clean the soot of London and the poor become soldiers that die for the monarchy. The purity and cleanliness of London is lost when young women become prostitutes. The death that falls upon a marriage is often transmitted through the diseases a prostitute passes on. A sense of anger is felt at a life that allows such sadness and darkness to fall upon the citizens of London.
Wordsworth and Blake use different techniques in their poems to present their views. Wordsworth uses personification to bring the beauty of the sunrise to life. London takes on human traits with "This city now doth, like a garment, wear! The beauty of...
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...y emphasizing the dreary bondage of the London citizens in "London." Wordsworth's use of imagery and rhythm places the reader in a calm and peaceful situation. Blake's use of imagery and rhythm places the reader in an angry tension filled situation. Wordsworth's readers have the wonders of a sunrise unfold before them and beauty is seen everywhere. Blake's readers become angry at the ugliness and unfairness of life and bondage and resignation are seen everywhere. Both authors achieved their tasks admirably.
Works Cited
Blake, William. "London." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 729.
Wordsworth, William. "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 1157.
Source #3: Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9th. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
Rosemont Center is located in Columbus, Ohio. It provides for the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being of troubled youth and their families. Rosemont is committed to helping children in need; it is dedicated to healing and renewing youths with a history of trouble and abuse. Rosemont provides the unconditional acceptance, treatment, counseling, education and hope that the youths urgently need to be more productive members of the community. Rosemont had two locations, Rosemont-Bay Saint Louis and Rosemont-Jackson (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2008).
Jokinen, Anniina. "Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. N.p., 1996. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. http://www.luminarium.org/
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2002, G1-G32.
One can think that it is an impossible task to embody the Australianness in one image only such as a person, a symbol or an idea. It may be easy to assume that Australia as a whole country is trying hard to find its true self but on second thought, this diversity in culture has made Australian really Australian. The definition of Australian also known as the Australianness will still be an interesting issue to solve in the future.
One day the old wizard Gandalf comes to the Shire, and he tells Frodo of an evil named Sauron who wants to capture the Ring for himself. In ages long past Sauron stole the Ring from the Elves, to protect him from the Powers of Good; but the Ring was stolen from him by a creature named Gollum, and then stolen from Gollum by Bilbo, who finally gives it freely to Frodo. "Sauron has been searching for the Ring for years," Gandalf tells Frodo, "and now he has sent his nine Black Riders, to the Shire to look for it." Frodo and Sam consult with their loyal friends Merry and Pippin, and when the Black Riders appear, the hobbits trick them into going into a mushroom-patch, disorienting the Black Riders just long enough to escape the Shire.
J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of too much power is summed up by Lord Acton when he once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." In Tolkien's first book of his fantasy based trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Rings tells a story of a quest to destroy a powerful ring throughout Tolkien's created "Middle Earth". This quest was headed by a "Hobbit" named Frodo Baggins who, in the end, becomes corrupted by power himself. This corruption begins when Frodo uses his ring to become invisible over and over again to escape certain situations. The quest to destroy the powerful "Ruling Ring" forms the basis for this story.
Miller, Arthur. Literature an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
Comparing Blake's London, Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3rd 1802 and Johnson's Inglan is a Bitch
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,” (55). The One Ring controls Gollum, Bilbo, Boromir, and Frodo in attempts to return to Sauron, Its Creator, the Lord of the Rings, and the utmost evil present in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. But the Ring never achieves Its goal because each character possesses a unique set of skills which resist the evil temptations of the Ring. Gollum is the first victim of the Ring, with no knowledge of Its powers or guidance away from Its control. Bilbo is the second ring bearer, with an almost complete knowledge of the Ring’s power still has difficulty resisting the Ring’s temptation. Gandalf guides Bilbo to constantly resist the evil of the Ring. Boromir never gets his hands on the Ring but craves Its power thinking he can use it for good, ignoring the guidance offered to him at the Council of Elrond. Frodo has the most knowledge and guidance of all the characters but also seems to have the strongest temptations. J.R.R. Tolkien uses characterization in the Fellowship of the Ring to prove that people without a longing for power resist temptation through knowledge, good habits, and guidance.
“The One Ring” is Frodo’s great and terrible boon. This artifact was created in hopes of controlling the other rings of power that ruled the land. The Ring has many powers, including turning any mortal invisible, destroying the minds of its holders, and the control of the Ring-Wraiths.
Tidd, J. M. (2008). From revolution to reform: A brief history of U.S. intelligence. The SAIS
Although written prior to what became know as Marxism, William Blake’s poem London exhibits many of the qualities favored by Marxism. The poem, in its sixteen lines, centers on both the political background and the social background of London. Keeping with Marxist beliefs, it exemplifies the differences between the upper class citizens and the poverty stricken lower class. He also attacks the Church and the Palace for contributing to the plights of those on the lowest spectrum of society. Blake starts his poem with
...ions of his speaker creates and underlying tension in the poem as it appears that he can not decide whether he is chastising the rich member of society for allowing the lives of the lower class to remain in such desolate or if he is sympathizing with the lower class against the elite of London. The two moods of sympathizing and chastising are created through Blake’s use of structure and figurative language; he constructs his speakers words in such a way that there is a clear division made between the elite and the suffering lower class. Blake’s poem is unique on the grounds that it contrasts the typical idea of retelling history. With any historical situation there is always two sides to the story and it is up to the person reproducing it which side will be told; Blake’s London address both point of views and lets the audience decide which side they will agree with.
To conclude, I believe that Blake presents a more real viewpoint of London from his perspective of it, as it is more believable that Wordsworth’s view. Conversely, Wordsworth’s poem does use a greater number of poetic devices, making more enjoyable to read and pleases me, unlike Blake’s poem which has a greater effect on me, this is because Blake’s effect on the reader is a negative effect as when I read the poem, I believe London is a bad place from his description, unlike Wordsworth’s, which makes London seen ‘fair’ and very attractive to people.