Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, by William Wordsworth- An Analysis

Hello Friends... 

Sure, we all are doing well... Be careful, we must stay fit and shouldn't fall ill getting our studies affected. We shall eat and drink healthy, exercise regularly, and won't avoid our domestic and social responsibilities. And whatever time we get for ourselves at the end of the day, we must study hard for most of the time, so that we learn to think... and learn. We simply cannot afford to stop thinking, for we are learners, and we are the chosen ones who have got the scope to learn... 

Let's learn to think first... 

Who May Benefit from the Discussion

Though it is primarily meant for the students of Class XI, WBCHSE, any student, from any level, studying the poem independently may find the discussion helpful. Moreover, those who are poem-lovers, and read poems for the sake of the pleasure of reading poetry are likely to find on this platform a scope to get engaged in meaningful exchanges of ideas with others.

Listening to the Poem

Here we meet again to study a poem, by William Wordsworth. Let's get ready for the session. Listen to wonderful recital of the poem by hitting the link below and clicking the play button just below the title, and read along. Listening to a good reading/recital of a poem has got some extra benefits that you'll certainly realise later, if not now...


Have you enjoyed listening to the poem? Have you felt a 'calm' deep enough to get into your usual 'trance'? 
I didn't say you fall asleep, did I? 
Or are you too 'dull' of soul? 

By the way, did you find the title a bit different from the titles of the poems you've already read till so far? 

We will try to find out the answers to these question along with all the other question cropping up in our minds. To begin, we shall read the text for once again, now:

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 

William Wordsworth

Earth has not any thing to show more fair: 
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 
A sight so touching in its majesty: 
This City now doth, like a garment, wear 
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, 
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie 
Open unto the fields, and to the sky; 
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. 


Never did sun more beautifully steep 
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; 
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! 
The river glideth at his own sweet will: 
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; 
And all that mighty heart is lying still! 

The Theme

What is this poem all about? Surely you've got the answer ready by this time. It's about the beauty of a morning in some city: 

This City now doth, like a garment, wear 
The beauty of the morning; 

What are the other expressions used in the poem that refer to the fact? Why don't we begin to scan the text from the beginning? We've the first line, third line, fifth line, eighth line, and the ninth line directly indicating out the point. Have you got the expressions listed down from those lines by now? It's time to study them carefully. Do you find anything special with them? 

The Superlatives

Yes, you've hit it correct, as always, brilliant as you are... [And if you have missed this time, never get upset, you've plenty of challenges left.] The exalted speaker is speaking mostly in terms of absolutes, or, superlatives: 

'Earth has not any thing to show more fair:'- So, this is the most fair object on earth. 

'A sight so touching in its majesty:'- Doesn't the speaker sound exalted? Note the use of 'so'. 

'All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.' Why do you think here we have the words 'bright' and 'glittering' together in the line? Don't they mean the same? Yes, this repetition is the mark of the exaltation of the speaker again. 

'Never did sun more beautifully steep'- Again, this means that the sun steeps most beautifully in his first splendour on the particular morning the speaker is referring to. Isn't it? 

The Exaltation

Why do we have such absolutes and superlatives being used in the poem? Do they all add to the exaltation of the speaker? Did you feel this way while listening to the recital of the poem? [That's the benefit of listening to a poem being read.] Then we must say that the beauty the speaker is pointing out must be extraordinary. Let's read the text once again to verify our assumption: 

The First Stanza

The First Line

The poem begins with a statement,- an assertion, to be more precise. 

The Elaboration

What the Punctuation Marks Indicate

And, I'm sure that you haven't missed the ':' at the end of the line, indicating elaboration following. We expect to have the second and the third lines of the poem as the elaboration for the next punctuation mark occurs only at the end of the third line after the one at the end of the first line, but we end up with another assertive statement:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 
A sight so touching in its majesty:

The Inversion

Feeling confused with the inverted structure of the expression? Isn't that poetic? 

But you can always straighten it up for your convenience: He would be dull of soul who could pass by a sight so touching in its majesty. It's simple.

The Colon Again

Let's get back to our earlier point of discussion. We don't get any explanation of the first line in the following two lines in true sense, rather we just get another additional statement in a similar exalted tone. But, have you missed the ':' again at the end of the third line? So we've got another indication of a following elaboration, or, explanation.

And so do we get. The next five lines [do count the lines with me] elaborate the beauty of the city in the morning that has caused the state of exaltation: 

This City now doth, like a garment, wear 
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, 
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie 
Open unto the fields, and to the sky; 
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. 

Choice of Words

'doth' is archaic English, meaning 'does'. Why do you think the poet have chosen an archaic, or old English expression here? Does he intend to refer to the association of old days? By the time the poet used to write, 'doth' had already become out of date. Then why did he choose to use it? Was he feeling spiritual, and hence, felt to cling to the diction of the Holy Bible? I told you, we have enough challenges in the poem...

Simile

Have you noted how the city wears[!!!] the beauty of the morning, like a garment? It is noteworthy how explicitly or directly the poet compares the beauty of the morning with a garment that can be worn. Do you know that such comparisons, made explicit by 'like', 'as' etc. are called similes? 

Personification

On the other hand, make a note, how subtly, the 'City' is being treated as a person, or a living entity, who wears the beauty like a garment. You already know, that such rendering of inanimate objects with animate features is known as personification. 

Silent And Bare

Now, have you spotted the next challenge already? Yes, you have to find out which is 'silent' and 'bare', the city, or the beauty of the morning? 

Logically, both the entities can be silent. A city can be silent, and a morning can be silent as well. Now, the city, which is wearing the beauty of the morning as a garment, can not be 'bare' technically [unless you know it for certain that the beauty of the morning was actually a particular brand of denim!!!]. Then, may we assume that it is the beauty of the morning which is 'bare'? 

Yes, I can hear your question loud and clear: How? How can the 'beauty of the morning' be 'bare'? 
We have three more lines to look for the answer:

Why do you think ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie open unto the fields, and to the sky? Why they all seem to be bright and glittering? I'm pretty sure you have all got the right answer- yes, it is so because the air is smokeless, or pollution free.

If the air gets filled with smoke, what gets blocked from our sight? Where can you locate a distant smoke?- Yes, it's the sky.

Have you understood how the morning beauty is 'bare' now? It is the morning sky which is 'bare', being smokeless. Remember, we all have the association of sky most active in our notion of the beauty of morning. Why?- It is so because our morning begins with sunrise, a phenomenon that gets reflected in the sky, enabling us to visualise any beauty physically thereafter... 

Now, it's time to read further: 

The Second Stanza

Never did sun more beautifully steep 
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; 
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! 
The river glideth at his own sweet will: 
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; 
And all that mighty heart is lying still! 

The Continuation of the Assertive Tone in the Sestet

Once again, we find the same assertive note which marks the beginning of the first stanza, the 'octave'. Didn't you count the lines? There are eight lines in the first stanza. Do you expect the last one to contain six lines? It has got so, being the sestet. Now you are right, structurally, the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet. Conventionally, we expect a turn in the sestet, don't we? But do we have a turn, or a twist here? Or do we have the same exaltation that marks the beginning of the octave here again?

The Superlatives Again

Let's read the sestet once again, carefully. We get absolutes and superlatives again in the ninth and eleventh lines, indicating not only an exalted state of mind, but also a calm, peaceful, and tranquil mind now. Would you like to make a list of the superlatives on your own this time as we have done earlier? You may get the list shared with me, if you please.

Punctuation

And how about making a note of the punctuation marks used in the sestet? Particularly the exclamatory marks? Do you feel that they indicate the exaltation of the speaker?

The Other Elements of the Cityscape

And do you have anything more in the sestet to add to the list that describes the cityscape [have you missed the list from the octave: 'Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples'?]? 

Yes, now you have a 'valley, rock or hill;' and 'the river', and 'the very houses that seem asleep'. 

The City

Is the list specific enough to identify the city? Not yet? May we have the answer in the last line?-

'And all that mighty heart is lying still!'

The Metaphor

It must be metaphorical, but do we get the meaning of the metaphor at all? 

Going Beyond the Text

This is where we need to go beyond the text, to know a little bit about the author of a text [a poet here], and his/her time, and the time [s]he is pointing out. These often help us with the little clues we look forward to get the meaning of a text conveyed. You may very well say that the city must be the city of London, for Wordsworth being an English poet. But do you feel that your guesswork has got a solid foundation? Have not you been ever to some other places rather than yours own, and have described about the charm of the places in your blogs, or in letters to your friends, or simply, in your diaries?

The Context

So, why don't we go through a bit of history to get the context of the exaltation you feel throughout the poem? To conclude our understanding of the poem for the time being? You should look for articles on your own; however, you may choose to start with these-


Dorothy's Diary

Now you know, after you have read the articles I pointed out, and some other that you have read on your own in connection with this, the reason of the exaltation. And, you now know that 'the City' is actually the city of London, but now, this is no guesswork, but founded upon the history recorded by Dorothy, the poet's dear sister and friend who was accompanying the poet on his journey to France.

Autobiographical Elements

So, do you think that the poem has got some autobiographical elements? Not exactly so, though we certainly need to make a note of the subjective feelings of the poet to comprehend the essence of the poem. It was a fine pollution free early morning. The otherwise noisy and smoke-covered city seemed to be 'silent' and visible ['bare'] to a greater extent. It was a fine morning. But is this sufficient enough to account for the absolutes and the superlatives used in the poem? Certainly not. But now you know that the poet was going to get married to his old childhood friend. It was all settled. And as a part of the settlement, he was going to discuss and plan the future of his daughter Caroline [We certainly won't point out any child as 'illegitimate'. Why should we?] he had with Annette Vallon, the lady he used to stay with when he was in France. So the time was ripe for the poet to settle down in his own life, and he was looking forward to it with great expectation and happiness. This particular subjective feelings on part of the poet amplified the beauty of that particular morning. Do you find those absolutes and superlatives now accounted for?

The Title

What do you think of title now? More like a heading of a page in your diary? Would you like to say that the poem is actually a sort of reflection in the diary of the poet's mind? I agree with you absolutely. The title clearly points out the context of the poem.

The Use of Archaic Words

I feel sure that you haven't missed the exclamation in the penultimate line of the poem. Do you feel that this emotion has got some connection with the use of 'doth' in the fourth line? We have already raised the issue earlier in this discussion. Why don't you draw your own conclusions?

The City

And what about the metaphor used in the last line? What is this 'mighty heart' referring to? After your study of the historical context of the poem, you must have realised that British empire was the mightiest political power on earth by that time, with its colonies spread throughout the world. And London was the capital of that empire. Do you feel it is the patriotic poet who imagines the capital city as the 'heart' of a mighty empire? How would you like to evaluate this subtle, implicit comparison as a reader from any ex-colony of the British empire, if you are so?

Wordsworth's Notion of Poetry

Before we conclude for now, I would like you to know that poetry, for Wordsworth, was a 'spontaneous overflow of powerful emotion' recollected in 'tranquility'. Do you think the poem is in accordance with Wordsworth's very own definition of poetry? Do you find the emotion in the poem powerful enough? Is it spontaneous? Do we have any hint in the poem that the emotion was recollected in 'tranquility'? Would you like to point out the appropriate lines in this context?

Please feel free to write to me in case you have any trouble in understanding the discussion, or if you have any further query... 

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