Flashcards for Composed upon Westminster Bridge

William Wordsworth (the Speaker)

William Wordsworth, the lyric speaker in "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," serves as both the only character and the driving consciousness of the poem.

character

“Dull would he be of soul who could pass by / A sight so touching in its majesty.”

These lines are from William Wordsworth's sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802."

William Wordsworth (lyric speaker) · Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

“Earth has not anything to show more fair.”

This famous opening line comes from the poet-speaker of William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.

Poet-speaker (William Wordsworth)

“This City now doth, like a garment, wear / The beauty of the morning.”

These lines introduce William Wordsworth's sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," which he wrote while crossing the bridge at dawn, probably on his way to France with his sister Dorothy.

William Wordsworth (lyric speaker) · N/A — single-stanza Petrarchan sonnet

“Silent, bare, / Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie / Open unto the fields, and to the sky.”

These lines are from William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, penned after Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy crossed the bridge in the early morning on their way to France.

William Wordsworth (lyric speaker)

“All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.”

This line is from William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, which is one of the most celebrated Romantic poems in English literature.

William Wordsworth (poetic speaker/narrator)

“Never did sun more beautifully steep / In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill.”

These lines are from William Wordsworth's sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," which he wrote while crossing London's Westminster Bridge in the early morning on his way to France with his sister Dorothy.

William Wordsworth (lyric speaker)

“Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!”

This line is from William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, which is one of the most famous Romantic poems in English literature.

William Wordsworth (first-person poetic speaker)

“The river glideth at his own sweet will.”

This line is from William Wordsworth's sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," which is one of the most renowned poems in the Romantic tradition.

William Wordsworth (lyric speaker)

“Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; / And all that mighty heart is lying still!”

These closing lines are delivered by the poem's speaker — William Wordsworth himself — in his 1802 Petrarchan sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802."

William Wordsworth (the poetic speaker) · Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 (closing couplet / lines 13–14)

The City at Dawn

In William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, London at dawn represents the hidden beauty of human civilization when it's briefly free from its usual noise, commerce, and moral failings.

The River Thames

In William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, the River Thames represents the life-force of nature flowing through and beneath the bustling city.

The Sun

In William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, the sun symbolizes revelation and transformative clarity.

Westminster Bridge

In William Wordsworth's sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, the bridge represents the boundary between the human world and nature.

Sonnet

"Composed upon Westminster Bridge" is a Petrarchan sonnet made up of fourteen lines, split into an octave (rhyming ABBAABBA) and a sestet (rhyming CDCDCD).

Personification

Wordsworth consistently gives the city human qualities, especially in the final line: "And all that mighty heart is lying still."

Imagery

The poem's persuasive power lies in its vivid visual and atmospheric imagery.

Volta

The poem's volta occurs at line 9 — "Never did sun more beautifully steep" — where the focus shifts from depicting the outward scene (the city laid out before the viewer) to comparing it with nature's greatest wonders.

Hyperbole

The poem begins with one of the boldest statements in English poetry: "Earth has not anything to show more fair."

Pathetic Fallacy

Wordsworth expresses human emotions through both the natural and urban landscapes in the poem.

Metaphor

The poem's central metaphor portrays the city as a living, sleeping body, reaching a climax with the line "that mighty heart is lying still."

Simile

The poem's only clear simile is a key part of its structure: "This City now doth, like a garment, wear / The beauty of the morning."

Apostrophe

At line 13, the speaker suddenly speaks directly to the divine: "Dear God! the very houses seem asleep."

Enjambment

Wordsworth uses enjambment carefully to guide the reader's pace and create a sense of unfolding revelation in the poem.

Asyndeton

In lines 6–7, Wordsworth lists the city's landmarks without using conjunctions: "Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie / Open unto the fields."

End-Stopped Line

The last two lines of the poem come to a complete stop: "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."

fair

Beautiful in appearance; pleasing to the eye. Here it describes the visual splendour of the London cityscape at dawn, not fairness in the sense of justice or light colouring.

adjective · Chapter 1

dull

Lacking sensitivity or feeling; emotionally unresponsive. Wordsworth uses it to describe a person so deadened in spirit that they cannot be moved by extraordinary beauty.

adjective · Chapter 1

soul

The inner spiritual or emotional self of a person. Here it refers to a person's capacity for feeling wonder and being stirred by beauty.

noun · Chapter 1

garment

A piece of clothing worn on the body. The poem uses it as an image for the morning light draped over the city, as if London is wearing the beauty of dawn.

noun · Chapter 1

majesty

Impressive grandeur and dignity that inspires awe. It describes the overwhelming, stately beauty of the cityscape spread out in the early morning light.

noun · Chapter 1

domes

Large rounded roofs or ceilings, typically on important public buildings such as cathedrals or civic halls. They are listed as part of London's impressive skyline.

noun · Chapter 1

theatres

Buildings designed for public performances of plays or other entertainments. Listed alongside towers and temples as landmarks that make up London's skyline.

noun · Chapter 1

temples

Buildings dedicated to religious worship or public ceremony. Used here to evoke the grand, sacred-looking structures visible on the London skyline at dawn.

noun · Chapter 1

smokeless

Producing no smoke at all. Because it is so early in the morning, London's chimneys have not yet been lit, leaving the air unusually clear and pure.

adjective · Chapter 1

glittering

Shining with many small flashes of bright light. It describes the sparkling quality of the morning sunlight as it catches the city and the river.

adjective · Chapter 1

steep

Rising or falling sharply; having a very sharp slope. Used here to describe the dramatic, rugged face of a rock or hillside in the landscape.

adjective · Chapter 1

Ne'er

A contracted, poetic form of 'never,' used in verse to fit the metre. It emphasises that the speaker has not once in his life experienced anything like this calm.

adverb · Chapter 1

calm

A state of complete stillness and absence of noise or disturbance. Here it refers to the profound, almost supernatural quiet that has settled over the city at dawn.

noun · Chapter 1

glideth

An archaic third-person singular form of 'glides,' meaning to move smoothly and effortlessly. It describes the River Thames flowing without any apparent effort or interruption.

verb · Chapter 1

at his own sweet will

Moving freely, according to its own desire, without any force or constraint directing it. The phrase personifies the river as a living creature choosing its own unhurried course.

phrase · Chapter 1

mighty heart

A metaphor for the living, pulsing energy of the city itself, as though London were a great creature whose heartbeat is its constant noise and activity.

phrase · Chapter 1

lying still

Remaining completely motionless and silent, as a sleeping person lies without stirring. It conveys the idea that the city's usual restless energy has temporarily ceased.

phrase · Chapter 1