London Wordworth /Blake

Composed upon Westminster Bridge

The poem is composed in 1802 by William Wordsworth, one of the most important writers of the Romantic period. He uses Petrarchan form, a method that separates the first eight lines (octave) and the next six (sestet) with a fracture called volta, which emphasizes the traditional change in mood or theme.

Rhyme and theme

Rhyme: ABBA ABBA CDCDCD.

The lights of sunrise blend London and nature, and so the City is considered as a natural view and not the origin of modernity. This gorgeous scene reflects an asleep, calm, and clean London where cathedrals, theatres, and towers become dynamic with the glow of the rising sun. Wordsworth has a positive vision of London where political and social problems are not revealed.

London by William Blake

In this poem, Blake describes a very corrupted society dominated by the power of materialism and the contrast between upper and working-class. He doesn’t share the beautiful, modern, and perfect vision of Wordsworth.

Structure and theme

The poem is divided into 4 quatrains, in iambic tetrameter with a basic rhyme scheme: A/B/A/B.

First quatrain

The author is walking through every transitory street called chartered to connote the importance of money to live in this ephemeral world, where there are also some people (working-class) dominated by sorrow and sadness (for lack of money).

Second quatrain

The sentence ‘‘the mind-forged manacles’’ indicates the preoccupation for the lack of money of the working-class.

Third quatrain

Here Blake pays attention to two figures, a chimney-sweeper and a soldier, because they are archetypal representations of...