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Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802


Grade 11
https://www.slideshare.net/ronaldodegazon/composed-upon-westminster-bridge-analysis?from_action=save
Objectives: Describe your favourite environment at early morn. Describe the mood
2.Research biography of William Wordsworth
3. Read the poem and identify any similarities with what was discussed earlier
in groups analyse poetic elements: Subject, Themes, Devices/Language, Tone/Purpose, Structure
4. . Watch slide show then answer questions


Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 
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BY 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!


Analysis
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" is a lyric poem in the form of a sonnet. In English, there are two types of sonnets, the Petrarchan and the Shakespearean, both with fourteen lines. Wordsworth's poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, developed by the Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), a Roman Catholic priest. A Petrarchan sonnet consists of an eight-line stanza (octave) and a six-line stanza (sestet). The first stanza presents a theme or problem, and the second stanza develops the theme or suggests a solution to the problem. The rhyme of a Petrarchan sonnet is discussed under Rhyme Scheme and Meter,
SUMMARY
The persona in this poem is reflecting on the perfection of the city. He believes that there is nothing on Earth so beautiful as the city in the morning. Only a dull person would not appreciate such a majestic sight. He is awed by the calm of the city.      
LITERARY DEVICES
1.    SIMILE
The persona compares the manner in which the beauty of the morning settles over the city, to that of a garment on a body. This emphasizes the perfection of the beauty of the morning, just as a garment flows smoothly over a body.

2.    PERSONIFICATION
Lines 9-10: The sun is referred to as a male who rises sharply and beautifully. This emphasizes the beauty of the city in the morning. The use of this personification also helps the reader to personalize this beauty.
Line 12: Like the sun, the river is personalized as well. This allows the reader to see the river as real, instead of a thing. It comes alive and we can visualize it’s movement, gliding, as beautiful.
Line 13: When some-one is asleep, they are usually peaceful. Therefore, when the persona describes the houses as sleeping, he is emphasizing the peace that exists in the city in the morning. The inhabitants of the houses are asleep, therefore the houses are quiet and peaceful.

IMPORTANT WORDS/ PHRASES
4.    ‘fair’
The word fair, in this context, literally means beautiful. The persona is setting the stage for the reader, introducing the fact that the city is beautiful.
5.    ‘majesty’
This word implies that the city is regal in it’s splendour. Therefore, it is beyond beautiful and has become stately.
6.    ‘steep’
This word describes the way in which the sun ascends into the sky. It is stressed that it does so in a beautiful manner.
MOOD/ ATMOSPHERE
The mood of the poem is pensive, or thoughtful. The persona is expressing his thoughts, and reaction to, the city in the morning.
TONE
The tone of the poem is one of awe.
THEMATIC CATEGORIZATION
Nature,
places.                     
https://csecenglishmadeeasy.com/category/english-b/page/2/



Questions
1.       What role dues the wind play in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
2.       What is the appropriateness of the figure of speech in line 1 of "Composed upon Westminster Bridge"?
3.       What is the "garment" the speakers refers to in "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"? Who is wearing it?
4.       What impression of London does the speaker create? How is this achieved?
5.       What does the poet want to suggest by describing the beauty of London in the poem "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
6.       What did William Wordsworth feel standing on Westminster Bridge early in the morning?
7.       Refering to "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," show why the speaker feels so awestruck and amazed at his first sight of London so early in the morning.
8.       How does William Wordsworth vividly portray the city of London close to nature in the sonnet "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802?"
9.       In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge September 3, 1802," what two passages present London as a living being?  What is the effect of this personification?
10.   Why does the poet use the words "calm," "bare," and "silent"?
11.   What does the time of day have to do with the type of scene depicted in the sonnet "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" by Wordsworth?  
12.   Why is the air smokeless?
13.   What are the two images in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 " that compare the city to nature?
14.   What is the significance of the title of William Wordsworth's poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
15.   How does Wordsworth use personifications in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge"?


Comments

  1. Shaquille RobertsMarch 3, 2020 at 10:06 AM

    There is no wind because Wordsworth emphasizes the stillness and calm of the scene. He even says the waters of the Thames flow of...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shaquille RobertsMarch 3, 2020 at 10:08 AM

    This figure of speech imagines Earth putting on a show, and not only that, putting on her best show. This display is the most "fair," or pleasant, the speaker has seen. The figure of speech is appropriate because the rest of the poem goes on to detail the wonderful natural environment Wordsworth observes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shaquille RobertsMarch 3, 2020 at 10:10 AM

    This City now doth, like a garment, wear
    The beauty of the morning
    Notice the word "like" before garment. Wordsworth is using a simile here; there is no literal "garment" in the poem. The city (London) is wearing "the beauty of the morning" like a garment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shaquille RobertsMarch 3, 2020 at 10:12 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shaquille RobertsMarch 3, 2020 at 10:13 AM

    In Wordsworth's "Composed on Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," the speaker describes a scene of London laid before him that is beautiful, peaceful, and awe-inspiring, and he speaks of the city as "touching in its majesty." It can be inferred that the speaker is seeing the city very early in the morning, perhaps at or around sunrise, before London has really awoken.

    ReplyDelete

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