London Wordworth /Blake

Composed upon Westminster Bridge,Wordsworth

The poem is composed in 1802 by William Wordsworth,one of most

important writer of 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.

RYTHME: ABBA ABBA CDCDCD

The lights of sunrise blend (fondono)London and the nature and so

the City is considered as a natural view (visione naturale) 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 (bagliore) of the rising sun (sole

crescente). Wordsworth has a positive vision of London where

politic and social problems are not revealed .

London, 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 , so he doesn’t share the beautiful , modern and

perfect vision of Wordsworth. The poem is divided in 4 quatrains , in

IAMBIC TETRAMETER with a basic rhyme scheme : A/B/A/B

st

1 quatrain (strofa) : the author is walking throught every transitory

street called CHARTERED to connote the importance of money to

live in this ephemere world, where there are also some people

(working-class) dominated by sorrow and sadness (for lack of

money).

nd

2 quatrain : the sentence ‘’the mind-forged manacles’’ indicates

the preoccupation for the lack of money of working-class

rd

3 quatrain : here Blake pays attention on two figures , a chimney-

sweeper and a soldier , because they are archetypal that represent