Composed Upon Westminster Bridge - Analysis

Succinct analysis of the poem 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge'.

1. Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge
Writer: The poem was written in 1802 when Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were
going to Calais, to meet with his former French mistress Annette Vallon and
Caroline, his illegitimate daughter by her. A coach they were travelling on paused
on Westminster Bridge, and the view of the city somewhat surprised
Wordsworth. Despite the city being made totally of man, and not nature,
Wordsworth was surprised at its beauty in the early sunlight.
Summary: The speaker declares that he has found the most beautiful scene on earth. You'd
have to be someone with no spiritual sense, no taste for beauty, to pass over the
Westminster Bridge that morning without stopping to marvel at the sights.

The time is so early that all is quiet. The various landmarks visible from the
bridge, including St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London, stand before him
in all their grandeur in the morning light. Fortunately, there happens to be no
“London fog to obscure the view.
The speaker compares the sunlight on the buildings to the light that shines on
the countryside, and he seems surprised to feel more at peace in the bustling
city than he has anywhere else. Suddenly the city turns into a big sleeping body.
The speaker can almost see the expansion and contraction of the houses, as if
they were taking deep breaths. This usually vibrant city is calm, for once. The
impression is made even more touching by speaker's knowledge that, in a few
hours, all will be bustle and hustle once again.
Genre: Lyric
Structure: This poem is written in Petrarchan sonnet form. This scheme divides the poem
into two- the first eight lines (octave) and the next six (sestet). Between these
two is a break called a volta which emphasises the traditional change in mood or
subject between the octave and sestet. In the first eight, he describes early
morning London in detail, and then goes on in the final six to compare the city in
that moment to natural wonders. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA CDCDCD, as is
fairly common for a Petrarchan sonnet.("Majesty" in the third line of this poem is
changed to sound like "by" in the second line, by the poet himself in order to
fulfill the ABBAABBA, rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet.)

2. Themes:
 Man and Nature: The dominating theme in the poem is Nature. London is not
introduced in its negative aspect, but it is inserted in natural scenery. The author
describes the beauty of the city as the towers, the cathedrals, the theatres and
the temples. Wordsworth personifies the city along with the earth and the sun.
This reiterates his conviction that the city, at this particular point of day, does
not clash with nature but becomes a part of it. "Composed Upon Westminster
Bridge" takes the view that the city can be surprisingly restful, and the speaker
goes so far as to compare it favorably with the solitude of nature.
 Awe and Amazement: This poem is a classic example of someone being taken by
surprise by beauty and just staring at it, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Also, the
speaker spends a significant portion of the poem talking about how great the
scenery is rather than describing it. The second half of the poem contains more
description than the first.

 Transience: The poem makes clear that London is only beautiful in the morning
and that it is not entirely responsible for its beauty in the morning. A number of
factors, including the unusual absence of any fog and the way the light strikes
the ships and buildings, combine to make a perfect scene. Because the speaker
knows that such a combination does not happen very often, he thinks that a
person would be foolish just to pass by, assuming there will always be other
chances to see such beauty. The speaker believes you have to take advantage of
such opportunities when you have them.

 Contrasting Regions (City, Countryside): Few writers, past or present, have
expressed their love for rural life quite so much as Wordsworth. Maybe that's
why it's somewhat surprising to hear him say that he never felt so calm as he did
when standing on London's Westminster Bridge. He seems surprised himself.
The city's freshness is more beautiful than the freshness of the countryside
because it runs counter to expectation. The element of surprise accounts for the
speaker's enthusiasm.

Mood, Tone: The poem’s mood and Tone is one of utter amazement, awe and surprise.
Setting: Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, wake up early to catch a coach to the port
of Dover, where they will cross over to Calais, France. As Dorothy wrote in

3. her journal, the time is around 5 or 6am. The streets are mostly empty, and
there's no traffic to hold them up. But when Wordsworth and his sister cross the
famous Westminster Bridge over the Thames River, they can't resist getting out
of their coach to marvel at the scene.
Unlike many a damp London morning, there is no fog, and the sky seems airy and
spacious. The sun has begun to rise, casting a bright yellow light over those
famous London landmarks. As the sun moves from the horizon, the buildings
begin to glitter, as do the innumerable ships docked along the crowded river.
The light makes London appear to be a completely different city.
In the second half of the poem, the speaker reflects on other times when he has
felt a similar sense of peace and wellbeing. He thinks of his explorations around
the English countryside, with its many green hills and valleys, but he decides that
even these cannot compare with the vision before him.

Devices and Imagery:
1. Wordsworth's claim that his vision of London is the best on earth is clearly an hyperbole,
not to mention impossible to verify. But it's an innocent exaggeration as he is so caught up
in the moment.

 Line 1: The claim that no sight is more beautiful than the view from Westminster
Bridge is a case of hyperbole.

 Line 3: To say that something is "touching in its majesty" is almost a paradox, a
contradiction in terms. A touching sight is intimate and personal, while a
majestic one is grand and public. With this phrase, Wordsworth comes close to
capturing the indescribable feeling of familiarity and distance all at once.

 Lines 9-11: Lines 9 and 11 have a parallel structure, in which he claims that the
effect of the morning light on London creates a beauty that has "never" been
experienced before. As in the first line, these claims are hyperboles.


2. Wordsworth uses personification in several places in the poem, in reference to the city,
sun, river, and houses. He creates the impression that nature is a living being with a soul.
It's as if all these forces have decided to come together to treat the speaker to a "One
Morning Only!" show of Nature's Greatest Marvels.

4.  Line 4: The morning beauty is compared to clothing, a "garment," in a simile.
Only people can wear clothing), so London must be personified.
 Line 10: "His first splendour" is a roundabout way of talking about the sunrise.
The sun is personified as a male.
 Line 12: The river is personified as a person who likes to take things at his own
pace. He's like the person in front of you at the supermarket who's going to
spend 10 minutes at the cash register and there's nothing you can do about it.
 Line 13: The houses are personified as sleeping people because the city is quiet
and still. In reality, the people inside the houses are the ones who are asleep.
 Line 14: The city is personified as a person with a heart. The heart is "lying still,"
perhaps because the city, like its houses, is asleep.
3. In "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge," clothes are a metaphor for the way the city and
nature in general seem to put on different appearances depending on the way the light
"dresses" them.

 Line 4: The morning light is compared to clothes worn by London. A "garment" is
just an article of clothing.