Composed Upon Westminster Bridge William Wordsworth Poems in

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge William Wordsworth, Poems in Two Volumes (1807) Millennium I p. 335

FIND YOUR WAY 1. • 2. • What elements of the city are mentioned? Ships, towers, domes, theatres, temples, the river Thames, the houses. Find the adjectives used to describe them. These elements are said to be “silent”, ”bare”, “bright and glittering in the smokeless air”. 3. How does the beauty of the sunny morning in the city stand in comparison with the beauty of Nature? • The beauty of the city in the sunny morning is superior to that of a natural landscape. The poet says that “Never did sun more beautifully steep / In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill”, meaning that Nature in its wildest aspects is not more beautiful than the sight of London in the morning. 4. From the poet’s wonder at the sight of London we guess that its aspect is different from what he is accustomed to. How different, do you think? • He is accustomed to a city which is usually noisy, crowded, busy and with a lot of smoke. 5. What feelings does Wordsworth experience? • He experiences a deep sense of calm (l. 11), which he hyperbolically says he never felt before in his life.

6. Whom or what might Wordsworth be referring to in the last line? Give reasons for your answer. • The exclamation of the last line restates the powerful beauty of the city of London stressing the qualities usually attributed to Nature: silence and calm.