westminster bridge Flashcards
context
- wordsworth is a famous romantic poet
- he wrote the poem on a coach on the way to france to meet his illegitimate daughter
- the scenery he saw in the morning helped him feel less anxious
tone
- relaxed and calm tone which is established through imagery
- tone is also surprised as he was not expecting to see the beautiful scenery
summary
- the poem is about the most beautiful sight that the poet has found, which is a view of london early in the morning before everyone woke up and the machines started working.
- he chose to show his admiration for this sight and to keep this memory
title
the title is a time and place so that the author can come back to it. it is so that he can remember the beautiful scenery
quotes
- “earth hath not anything to show more fair”
- “silent, bare”
- “all bright and glittering in the smokeless air”
- “ships, towers, domes, theaters and tempels lie”
- “lie open unto the fields, and to the sky”
“earth hath not anything to show more fair”
- hyperbole and archaic language
- he claims that this is the best view in the world and claims that anyone that disagrees with him is dull. confident tone.
- archaic words like “hath” create a lyrical feel to the poem
“silent, bare”
- adjectives
- reinforces that city is silent and bare (empty) without people
- list of creations are described as silent and bare on their own so idea that humans are the problem
“all bright and glittering in the smokeless air”
- adjectives
- emphasises unpolluted air
“ships, towers, domes, theaters and tempels lie”
- list
- man-made structures used to contrast with nature to show they are beautiful without presence of man
“lie open unto the fields, and to the sky”
idea that nature will take over eventually from fields(below) and sky(above)
structure and form
- petrarchan sonnet
- enjambment at the beginning
- exclamation marks to show surprise
- ABBA ABBA CDC CDC rhyme
petrarchan sonnet
- first 8 lines introduce the idea of beauty
- last 6 lines compare london with country side
poem
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!