Analysis Of Composed Upon Westminster Bridge By William Wordsworth

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In William Wordsworth’s poem, “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge September 3, 1802”, Wordsworth analyzes a beautiful day in London. The first eight lines are composed of a single sentence. The speaker describes what he sees on a particular day on Westminster Bridge. Wordsworth begins by saying, “Earth has not anything to show more fair:” (1). This line tells the reader that this is going to be a nature poem, because he is saying that this sight is the most beautiful thing this earth has to offer. He then begins to say, that this beauty isn’t constant, but that it comes and goes. This is shown by Wordsworth saying, “Dull would he be of soul who could pass by” (2). Saying that if anyone can pass this extraordinary sight without stopping to gaze …show more content…

These lines show that this beauty is temporary because similar to clothes, it is not always worn. And on the next line he says, “The beauty of the morning; silent, bare” (6), thus telling the reader the time of day and the setting. After this, Wordsworth spends the next seven lines describing the scenes in great detail to the reader. And on line fourteen, he reinforces that sights like this come once every blue moon by saying, “And all that mighty hear is lying still!” (14), showing that the duration of time this will last will come and go within a heart beat. This poem is a Petrarchan Sonnet that consists of fourteen lines with a simple ABBAABBACDCD rhyme scheme. Although “by” and “majesty” on lines two and three are slant rhymes. Line nine marks the change in rhyme scheme and subject matter found in all Petrarchan sonnets, although this change in subject matter is subtle. Wordsworth starts of slowly as if he is captivated by natures beauty, but after line nine his tone shifts to show enthusiasm and excitement for his extraordinary find in …show more content…

Wordsworth kicks the poem off with two hyperboles. First He says, “Earth has not anything to show more fair:” (1). Here, he is exaggeration this exceptional sight is to help the reader understand how dazzling his view is. Then he says, “Dull would he be of soul who could pass by” (2). Here his exaggeration is that if a person is not captivated by this sight enough to stop then they must have no soul. After these two lines, Wordsworth uses a slew of personification. He says, “This city now doth, like a garment, wear/ The beauty of the morning; silent, bare.” (4-5). Here he is personifying the city by giving it the ability to wear clothes. By doing this, he makes it seem as if London’s beauty is temporary and is just coming from the clothes it decided to wear that day. And on line twelve he says, “The river glideth at his own sweet will:” (12). On this line, the river is being personified and given the ability to control its pace. Then on the next line he says, “Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;” (13). Here the houses are personified by being given the ability to sleep like humans. All of this personification is used, because it furthers the idea that the chances of this happening are low. By making each aspect of London its own entity, he makes it seem like it just so happened that every facet of London was doing the right thing at the right time to create this

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