✫Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 — William Wordsworth✫
••CONTENTS:
✫Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802✫
By — William Wordsworth
TEXT
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!
✫Word Notes and Annotations✫
•Earth (n) : the world
•Fair (adj) : beautiful / lovely
•Earth has not anything to show more fair : the sight of the city of London at dawn from Westminster Bridge is the most beauteous one. It has impressed the poet so much that he thinks no scene in the earth is as beautiful as it.
•Dull (adj) : unfeeling / heartless
•Of soul (phr) : spiritually
•Touching (adj) : stirring
•Majesty (n) : splendour
•Dull would he be of soul ………….. in its majesty : A majestic sight that stirs the inner mind of the onlooker. Earth has many beauty. But according to the poet, the beauty of London in the early morning above from Westminster Bridge is unparalleled. Nobody can ignore this beauteous sight. But a person, indifferent to such a glorious beauty, is sure to be dull because of a lack of aesthetic sense.
•Doth : old form of does (poetical use)
•Garment (n) : dress
•The city now doth like a garment wear : the lovely lustre of the morning sun covers the city of London. So the poet imagines that the city wears the beauty of the morning like a garment.
•Bare (adj) : uncovered ; The beauty of morning is to be bare because of the smokeless pollution free atmosphere of the morning. Everything is glittering brightly. Nothing is there to obstruct the poet’s vision.
•Theatres (n) : houses for dramatic performance.
•All bright and glittering …….. in the smokeless air : In the morning, the air is free from smoke. The sun is just up. The household is yet to begin. No smoke comes out of the chimneys. No smoke is there either from factories or vehicles. So, the air is free from dust and smoke. So, everything looks bright and glittering.
•Steep (v) : sooked
•Splendour ( n) : grandeur
•Never did sun more beautifully steep ……. Valleys, rocks and hills : The morning sun transforms all the nature’s objects by its rays. The poet had seen sunrise often. But he had never seen such exquisite grandeur of the rising sun. It seemed to him the most charming sight. The sun glittered upon every spot in and around the city. So the poet thought that the sun had never shone more beautifully on the valleys, rocks and hills.
•Ne'er saw I, never felt, a clam so deep! : The poet was deeply impressed by the perfect calm and silence prevailing around the city of London in the early morning because the whole city was in rest. People were still in beds. There was no noise. It was the profound calm just before the beginning of a busy day.
•Glideth (v) : flows freely without any obstruction.
•The river ( n) : the poet speaks about the river Thames. It flows through the city of London.
•The river……..own sweet will : It is early morning. There is no boats or ships taking journey. They are all anchored. The course of the river is not obstructed by the movements of the vessels. So, the river Thames flows freely and smoothly.
•Dear God! : The poet addresses God, who is the creator of all loveliness upon the earth. The exclamation shows the poet’s joy and wonder at the sight of the beautiful objects of nature clad in the light of the morning sun.
•that mighty heart : London is the capital of England. It is the heart of the country. As heart makes every organ of human being vibrant, so London makes every part of the country active. It is a powerful suggesting immense human activities — industrial, political, cultural, commercial— taking place each day.
•Lying still : The city is quite motionless and noiseless in the morning as the people are asleep.
✫About the Poem✫
The poem “ Upon Westminster Bridge”, was originally dated September 3, 1802. But this was corrected and changed to July 31, 1802 in the later editions. It is a Petrarchan sonnet. The rhyme scheme of the sonnet is abba abba cdcdcd.
The poet is touched by the untrained beauty of the morning over the city of London. In this poem, William describes the pure and peaceful beauty of his city before the bustle and hurry of the day have started. The poet is moved by the extraordinary beauty of the morning that wraps up the city in tranquility.
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