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Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Analysis



Author: Poetry of William Wordsworth Type: Poetry Views: 14415

Earth has not anything 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 the 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!





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||| Analysis | Critique | Overview Below |||

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Wordsworth uses a lot of positive language in the poem, making his views very clear about the sight before him. He uses words like “glittering”, “bright”, “glideth” and “splendour” to add a magical feeling to the poem. It is as though he is in awe of the sight he is experiencing. He uses personification throughout the poem to create a sense of the city being a living creature, and giving it a personality, “the river glideth at his own sweet will”, “the very houses seem asleep”.

| Posted on 2010-06-13 | by a guest


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Iambic Pentameter is the measurement of beats in a line of poetry. Pentameter means five beats. Wordsworth and Shakespeare as well as other poets often used five beats in a line as it makes the line read like the speaking voice. You will also come across poems using Iambic tetrameter and quatrameter, which are used because it makes the lines read in a singing voice (Hence Wordsworth's and Coleridges joint effort 'Lyrical Ballads' in which all poems where written in Iambic tetrameter or quatrameter and were therefore Lyrical).

| Posted on 2010-06-07 | by a guest


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can someone please help me with the iambic pentameter i dont get!!!:/

| Posted on 2010-06-05 | by a guest


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This Kind-off helped me.
Some of people's comment im talking about. Not much alot.
What we are told to do is, look at this poem and compare it with William Blake's Poem 'LONDON'.
and we have to write like more than 5 pages of essay. and this help me quite.so thankyou

| Posted on 2010-06-05 | by a guest


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Wordsworth draws paradoxes in his attention to the sun clothing the city. He has most probably seen London in other lights at other times of the day and so he is in awe of its majesty. Thrown bare to only sunlight before the city's heart beats when everyone awakes the city is calm and serene like the water which is normally fullof trading boats. Noisy and dirty. In addition the industrialisation has brought noise and dirt and chaos as well as pollution to the landscape but not at this early hour.

| Posted on 2010-05-24 | by a guest


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this website is not crap, but its not too useful either. u stupid people who posted the last few comments are just just complete idiots. what is your problem?

| Posted on 2010-05-20 | by a guest


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useless little website with retarded people trying to understand it. you guys can go finger yourself. m im sooo sexaaaay. call me ;)

| Posted on 2010-05-11 | by a guest


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u all r losers poofaces losers poofaces poofaces poofaces poofaces

| Posted on 2010-05-07 | by a guest


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he fingered his sister dorothy while writing this
.

| Posted on 2010-04-11 | by a guest


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i agree nothing but crap, this website is usless and half of the people commenting cant spell.

| Posted on 2010-04-05 | by a guest


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i'm doing this poem in form 6 and this information provided nothing but craip.

| Posted on 2010-03-09 | by a guest


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Wordsworth is one of the poet from the first generation ( who is live during the war between France and England) so, he saw the war, blood and suffereing. he was belived in nature as a main objective to be free. he is trying in this poem to show that the nature is your life and you deserive to live in this. nature is your safe and your beauty. After the war, England become an economic place so it become full of noise, screeaming and full of black smoke. Wordsworth was a wake in the morning to see another picture of London which is more beautiful than during the day (when people woke up and the smoke start to spread) the buldings are clear to see and the sky is blue and gletaring ( full of morning dew). you can try to see this picture that he saw and then you can guess that nature is always make every thing good and nice.

| Posted on 2010-03-06 | by a guest


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William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is one of the Romantic poets in English literary
history. He is famous for his celebration of the natural world. In this poem, though,
Wordsworth is not praising nature, but a city, which is man-made. Find two images
in the poem that are drawn from nature and explain how these images compare the
city to nature.
can someone please help me with that 1?

| Posted on 2010-02-28 | by a guest


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I have to do an analysis on this poem for a pschology assignment, I am absolutely struggling with it, if anyone can help me, please email me at would really appreciate any form of help. Thanks!!

| Posted on 2010-02-28 | by a guest


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I have to do an analysis on this poem for a pschology assignment, I am absolutely struggling with it, if anyone can help me, please email me at would really appreciate any form of help. Thanks!!

| Posted on 2010-02-28 | by a guest


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That is not true as he wrote it on the way to see his ex-wife. it is thought that maybe this sad thing made other thing seem uplifiting and nice, this may be why he described the polluted and industrialized of those days in that way... or so it is thought
hope this helped

| Posted on 2010-02-23 | by a guest


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I am doing an english essay and in it i have to explain how wordsworth connects to royalty in the line 'a sight so touching in its majesty' can anyone help me with this line thanks.

| Posted on 2010-02-07 | by a guest


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Wordsworth finds comfort in the fact that the beauty of nature can survive even in the middle of the city. It annoys me that people are finding paradoxes with this trying to make it anything other that a beautiful poem describing the utter peace of Wordsworths moment. Even if he is in utter peace I do beleive that he is only in peace because there are no people in this particular poem. This may imply that the only reason it is beautiful is BECAUSE there are no people in this poem.and that it is the people that make the London that we see in william Blakes "london".

| Posted on 2010-02-07 | by a guest


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how does william worsworth convey royalty in the poem ''A sight so touching in its majesty'' can someone help me connect this line to royalty please ...

| Posted on 2010-02-07 | by a guest


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thanks guys this really helped while i did it doggy with your mom :) yo can also tell her that ill se her next thursday.

| Posted on 2010-02-04 | by a guest


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I just had this poem on my Grade 10 English exam and i discussed how the calmness of the view off the Westminster Bridge is a calmness that can be experienced through death. Hense the line "Mighty Heart is lying still". A heart lying still is dead in my opinion, so that is what i talked about. Plus the fact that Dear God comes up in the line previous to that. Am I wrong?

| Posted on 2010-01-26 | by a guest


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Anyone who reads all of posts here hoping for help on how to analyse this poem, i would like to point out that someone posted it is in sonnet form and while this is true sonnets are not just 'love poems' they are used to convey 'grand themes' such as death, love, nature ect ect I am studying this as one of 15 wordsworth poems for my english lit A level and it's really not that hard nor is it 'stupid and old'. I suggest commenting on the industrial revolution which was going on in the time this poem was written, i'm sure you can make many points using that information, such as how the 'smokeless air' would have been unusual with all the factories and a rare sit is always something beautiful.

| Posted on 2010-01-15 | by a guest


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I am analyzing this also for year 10 coursework, i also have to contrast it against another poem (William Blake - London) and i am finding it very easy... you just need to analyze it word by word... there's no need to cheat...

| Posted on 2010-01-03 | by a guest


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There is a paradox here by comparing the nature to a crowded city which is constructed by rock and metal. Ee could not imagine smokeless fresh air in a city when we look upon it. Also there is nothing majestical in the high,lifeless buildings. So when Wordsworth is watching the city, he imagines a beautiful scenery which is directly oppposite to the cities by making paradoxes.

| Posted on 2009-12-21 | by a guest


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here "that mighty heart" is a metahor, referring to the capital status of London.
Under the nature's singer Wordsworth's pen,the sleeping city demonstrates morning beauty and serenity when it is not bustling with life. The poet shifts from his long-range view to a nearby view. Everything, from remote buildings to crystal-clear air and the first ray of sunshine and the river flowing slowly underbeneath,makes the city London a natural spectacle.
If you make a comparison between Blake's London and this poem, you'll find two totally different images of London--one severely polluted and full of social evils and inequalities, the other serene and beautiful.
hope the comment from China will help you somehow.

| Posted on 2009-11-30 | by a guest


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In the beginning of the poem, the poet is describing the beauty of the morning scene at Westminster Bridge. He says there is nothing more beautiful on earth - a scene which is "touching in its majesty". Wordsworth puts the beauty of such a scene down to the "smokeless air", an unusual thing for London in the 1800s, and part of the beauty that only the earliest morning can bring. He even goes so far as to suggest that no "valley, rock, or hill" has been so beautifully lit by the early morning, which, considering Wordsworth's preference for rustic figures and nature, would seem surprising until the penultimate line of the sonnet half-answers our questions. The beauty of the city is that it is sleeping. There are no people bustling about, there is no smoke... the sun (which note, is Nature) may only have such a deep effect on the city at this time, before the city becomes a city - whilst it is still just buildings

| Posted on 2009-11-23 | by a guest


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I'm a Chinese but we also learn and analysis this poem!

| Posted on 2009-11-21 | by a guest


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why does the poet mention valeys, rock and hill in describing a city?

| Posted on 2009-11-14 | by a guest


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"and all that mighty heart is lying still" Wordsworth is showing how the city has a symbolic heart, that the city is alive in a way. But it beats when people living in the city are rushing about etc. When everyone is asleep in the early morning, the heart lies still. He is basically saying that the city has a spirit of its own, due to the people living in it. They give the city life.
Hope I helped. :)

| Posted on 2009-11-10 | by a guest


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could talk about the use of enjambment and also the personification of the city.

| Posted on 2009-11-08 | by a guest


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does anyone know what "and all that mighty heart is lying still." mean?

| Posted on 2009-11-04 | by a guest


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Ok kids, don't be so dismissive of poems of centuries ago without it, we would not have evolved our language to what it is now. William Wordsworth was a romanticist poet, romanticism was all about a deep understanding and love of nature. So if your not stupid you can gather from this poem that its not about nature, its about a city, which is unusual for wordsworth as most of his poems are about nature e.t.c. However, this he is describing the beauty of the city before it has awakened, how nature has made it beautifull e.g the sun and the smokeless air. It is not yet controlled by humans.
You should put this into your own words or will fail. Teachers aren't stupid!

| Posted on 2009-11-03 | by a guest


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Im Spanish and I have to do this essay from this poem.
Its easy if you know what questions you have to anser to structure, languge, contex, themes, mood.

| Posted on 2009-10-22 | by a guest


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Damn im doing this Poem Today for my year ten coursework.
It is very confusing i had to write 11paragrapahs and finished them all but the teacher did put alot of red marks and mistakes next to my work and said i should ReDo alot of it!?
Anyone got a link of the WHOLE Summary and Alynasis so i can just, well you know cheat my way to an B or A
Thanks

| Posted on 2009-10-19 | by a guest


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A few days ago, on Friday, a teacher came into the school, hoping to be the next head of my school and he has the cheek to give us homework! He isn't even our teacher! He doesn't even work at the school I go to! So, he set us homework on writing a parody on this poem but, how the heck am I supposed to do that!? We're meant to write a parody-type version of it! WHT???

| Posted on 2009-10-18 | by a guest


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this is such a stupid poem even my mum says its alll crap they cant expect us to write about this in engkish its so old and stupid!!.

| Posted on 2009-10-05 | by a guest


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bad kid. learn to write your own essa and don't get yur essay from these dumb subsitue teachers sitting at home telling you there opinion on the poem!!

| Posted on 2009-09-30 | by a guest


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pretty bad we have to write about it in English and there's nothing to write about. D;

| Posted on 2009-08-21 | by a guest


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kids, this is such an easy poem to do. its in a sonnnet form first of all, which contrasts to his view of freedom becasuse a sonnet is a very restrictive poem structure. Also the sonnet form is a love poem innit so it shows his love for the City.
theres at least 3 marks for your essay ;)

| Posted on 2009-07-06 | by a guest


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kids, this is such an easy poem to do. its in a sonnnet form first of all, which contrasts to his view of freedom becasuse a sonnet is a very restrictive poem structure. Also the sonnet form is a love poem innit so it shows his love for the City.
theres at least 3 marks for your essay ;)

| Posted on 2009-07-06 | by a guest




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