Compare and Contrast the depiction of London in Wordsworths Upon Westminster Bridge and Blakes London Essay Example For Students

Compare and Contrast the depiction of London in Wordsworths Upon Westminster Bridge and Blakes London Essay Wordsworth traditionally wrote poems of a rural theme, focussing particularly on nature and the natural world; this can be related to the fact that he spent most of his life living in the Lake District and so it is a little unusual for Wordsworth to have written a poem based on London. It was written on what he saw as he passed by London on his way to Dover and shows his perception of London from Westminster Bridge. Many would argue that since he didnt look deeper into London and see the downside of the city life, that his poem creates an outlook on London that would more commonly be associated with tourists as opposed to Londoners. Blake on the other hand, is a Londoner, and his view on London seems darker and casts a rather gloomy image about the place. The poems were only written four years apart from each other, and there is no strong evidence to suggest that such a large change occurred between the two dates that the poems were written. Wordsworths Upon Westminster Bridge is a classic sonnet in terms of structure. It is split into the octet and sestet and is composed using iambic pentameter each line having ten syllables with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. The octet, as is traditionally the case, describes the subject in question (usually sonnets are meant to be love poems based on women subjects, however, in this instance the subject of Wordsworths love is London). For the remaining six lines (the sestet), the poet will respond to the octet, normally using his/hers emotions as the basis for content. William Blakes London uses a far more basic and customary format with the regular four line stanzas and in this instance using iambic tetrameter, which yet again involves moving from unstressed to stressed syllables, however, there are only eight syllables per line as opposed to the ten syllables per line seen in Wordsworths sonnet. Biasness is unequivocally present in both Wordsworths and Blakes poems, they both set out to show the reader that theyre right though both poems completely contradict each other. Wordsworth appears to have nothing but praise and admiration for the majesty of London, whilst Blake is stern in his condemnation of London, and prefers to display its darker side. The time of day at which both poems were written reflects the difference in attitude towards London. Wordsworth writes his in The beauty of the morning a time of day traditionally associated with peace and tranquillity and that often brings about a more optimistic outlook towards life as a whole. However, contrast this with Blake, who appears to have constructed his poem at nightfall. Not only does this create a dark and gloomy image, but it is also the time of day commonly associated with the criminal side of cities when the likes of prostitutes are more likely to be seen. Both times of day produce conflicting images in readers minds and it provides the base on which the rest of the poems are compiled on. Wordsworth has chosen quite a audacious opening to Upon Westminster Bridge by proclaiming that; Earth has not anything to show more fair Its an emphatic way to open the poem and clearly drives across just how much Wordsworth was taken in by London and its alleged beauty. The statement itself is clear and unambiguous and it draws the attention of the reader immediately. Immediately Wordsworths feelings towards London are known and the tone is set for the rest of the poem to follow up the resounding start. Wordsworth has further managed to make great use of the iambic pentameter, with the word Earth being the stressed syllable, it further emphasises the point Wordsworth is attempting to make. Personification is quite frequently used throughout Upon Westminsters Bridge and helps create a delusion of grandeur. The city now doth like a garment wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare. The use of personification here creates the image of luxury and wealth and this type of image is maintained throughout. Later on, the river glideth at his own sweet will Here the personification is perhaps more apparent, but nonetheless it still describes appearance and further produces an image of majesty and luxury. What is more than a little surprising is just how far Wordsworth goes to explain fully his reaction upon seeing London. Ispahan Carpet EssayJust like the streets, the Thames is chartered and another pivotal word used is flow. Wordsworth prefers to say that the river glideth which alters the characteristic of the river, making it seem more spontaneous and exciting, however, by stating it flows, he is taking away the spontaneous characteristic of the river, it creates the image that like the city, the river is nothing special and in the end, is just another river. Throughout his poem, Wordsworth talks about the tranquillity of London how the houses seem asleep and how he has never felt, a calm so deep! The exclamatory punctuation seen at the end helps contribute to the generally exciting and enthusiastic aura. However, in comparison to this, Blakes poem seems to suggest a slightly unruly and awake London. Blake includes about the youthful harlots curse and chimney-sweepers cry and this provides a sense of a London that is never quite at peace. It would perhaps be a little nai ve to suggest that Blake views London as an ever boisterous city, though he certainly seems to imply that London never sleeps and is rarely, if ever, inactive. A large emphasis in Blakes poem is placed on dark imagery such as youthful harlots curse and Runs in blood down palace walls. However, out of all the varying imagery Blake uses, one of the cleverer uses of language in the poem is arguably In every infants cry of fear The word that will clearly stand out is fear and that is the most apparent inclusion of the dark imagery in that particular phrase, however, the infant is quite a significant choice of people. Normally infants arent expected to be fearful, they are commonly perceived to be cheerful and excite able, joy is a word that would be more commonly associated with infants as opposed to fear and that in itself is quite a powerful use of imagery. The conclusion of Blakes poem is an image of darkness, almost a sense of hidden danger (midnight) prostitution and of course its resultant disease. However, Blake appears to leave potentially the most dark and potent line of them all till the end; And blights with plague s the marriage hearse. It virtually slows down the whole poem to breaking point. Marriage was frequently seen as the most sacred of vows, yet here it is, in the most poignant of statements, perhaps a symbolism of the decayed and general corruption of the London life. On the other hand, William Wordsworths poem seems to predominantly build up to a crescendo of excitement, to a point until he can no longer hold back the true extent of his joy at seeing London. The proceeding twelve lines, although served a purpose of their own, appear to be building up to a short two-worded phrase that perfectly sums up the whole of Wordsworths attitude towards the city. The exclamatory punctuation seen at the end of Dear God! gives the impression as being the climax of the whole poem. This is then followed up in the last line and a half, by a prevailing mood of peace and contentment, alas that might heart is lying still. The impressions that both poets aim to make are entirely different, a factor that is reflected in the type of language used. Wordsworth, who seeks to describe the sense of majestic freedom that he saw in London, uses only positive diction; never a bad word about London is uttered so as not to spoil his image of grandeur. In comparison, Blake, who seeks to express his disgust in the nature of London and the lifestyle that is lead within its boundaries, uses only negative language and never an optimistic word is written. In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in between these two representations, though through the biased eyes of these two poets, the true variation that London has to offer is displayed magnificently.