Composed Upon Westminster Bridge ANALYSIS | William Wordsworth's poem & Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal
William Wordsworth COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE poem analysis | Dorothy Wordsworth's JOURNAL | Compares writing about Westminster Bridge by William and Dorothy Wordsworth. Analysis of Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, comparing William Wordsworth’s poetry & Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal entry about the same event, looking especially at paradox. Lecture includes contextual information about the symbolism of Westminster Bridge, Romanticism’s & Wordsworth’s conception of sublime nature, & London as the heart of industry, politics, religion, the arts, & law (“Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples”).
Wordsworth poetry / Wordsworth analysis / William Wordsworth poem analysis / Romanticism poem analysis
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Dorothy Wordsworth journal
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Dorothy Wordsworth journal
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Wordsworth Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
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Dorothy Wordsworth journal
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Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
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William Wordsworth poem analysis
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Dorothy Wordsworth journal
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William Wordsworth Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
Wordsworth Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
William Wordsworth analysis
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William Wordsworth
Wordsworth analysis
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Wordsworth poem analysis
William Wordsworth poetry analysis
William Wordsworth poem analysis
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge
Dorothy Wordsworth journal
William and Dorothy Wordsworth
Romanticism poem analysis
William Wordsworth Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
William Wordsworth analysis
Dorothy Wordsworth analysis
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge analysis
POEM (William Wordsworth Composed Upon Westminster Bridge)
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
JOURNAL (Dorothy Wordsworth)
we left London on Saturday morning at 1/2 past 5 or 6, the 31st of July (I have forgot which). We mounted the Dover Coach at Charing Cross. It was a beautiful morning. The City, St Paul’s, with the River and a multitude of little Boats, made a most beautiful sight as we crossed Westminster Bridge. The houses were not overhung by their cloud of smoke and they were spread out endlessly, yet the sun shone so brightly with such a pure light that there was even something like the purity of one of nature’s own grand spectacles. We rode on cheerfully
Пікірлер: 17
Does it change your understanding of William Wordsworth's poetry to compare it with Dorothy Wordsworth's journals?
I love your analysis and insight of this poem! It has very much changed my approach to Wordsworth (and particularly this poem); from comparing Dorothy's journals to his poems, to the historical context and paradoxical nature of this poem in particular. Especially the idea that strikes me the most is Wordsworth's poetry as an egotistical view of nature, focusing on the individual's thoughts rather than nature as a wholly independent and sacred design -- thank you for this insight!
"thou nature art my goddess. To thy law my services are bound" Edmund. Lear. Act 1, scene 2. Lear is probably the greatest play ever written. Catharsis on an unprecedented scale. Although indebted to the father of all tragedy: Aeschylus. Would love to hear you read "Lucy Grey" and "We are seven" extraordinary, beautiful, ethereal poems. Both by Wordsworth. This one is a very good, thorough broadcast. Thank you. Noel
@DrOctaviaCox
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the compliment. Octavia
Do you think that the apparent “fault” (in William Wordsworth’s own words) in the poem - that London is described as both bare and clothed - is in fact an insurmountable paradox?
@rmarkread3750
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, as a man whose experiences of nature occur beneath freeway overpasses and between concrete buildings, I find the paradox heartbreaking, Not a fault, but a source of power. When I take the semi-colon more as a half-stop than a pause, I see the city as a whole being (temporarily) clothed in the beauty of nature's morning while the component objects lie, as they always do, naked and vulnerable; awaiting man's incipient and inevitable pollution beneath the vacant, open sky.
I love your channel. It is so wonderful to sit down with you and hear your musings on the things I actually want to discuss.
@DrOctaviaCox
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for such a lovely compliment. I'm very glad that you enjoy my channel so much.
Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for this, really helped with the contextual side of the poem!
@DrOctaviaCox
3 жыл бұрын
Excellent - happy to help!
Wonderful.
@DrOctaviaCox
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Steven. Much appreciated.
❤
Mam please told me a important question " what has poet ment by mighty heart "? Kindly