Compare and Contrast William Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge and William Blake's London
William Wordsworth and William Blake wrote poems about London, but they presented their views from different angles. Wordsworth sees the beauty in London and Blake sees only the ugliness. William Wordsworth's "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" gives a step-by-step look at the awe-inspiring beauty of a London sunrise, whereas William Blake's "London" shows the dreary ugliness of London life by taking a stroll down London's streets.
"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" affects the reader with a sense of wonderment at the beauty that is created with a sunrise. London appears to be the most beautiful place on earth during a sunrise. The sun bathes the city in light and gives the reader a sense of purity and cleanliness. "London" affects the reader with an opposite feeling. The reader sees the unsavory side of London in the faces of its citizens. The citizens of London are unhappy with their lives, but they accept it with resignation. It is appalling how the Church uses the small chimney-sweeping children to clean the soot of London and the poor become soldiers that die for the monarchy. The purity and cleanliness of London is lost when young women become prostitutes. The death that falls upon a marriage is often transmitted through the diseases a prostitute passes on. A sense of anger is felt at a life that allows such sadness and darkness to fall upon the citizens of London.
Wordsworth and Blake use different techniques in their poems to present their views. Wordsworth uses personification to bring the beauty of the sunrise to life. London takes on human traits with "This city now doth, like a garment, wear! The beauty of...
... middle of paper ...
...y emphasizing the dreary bondage of the London citizens in "London." Wordsworth's use of imagery and rhythm places the reader in a calm and peaceful situation. Blake's use of imagery and rhythm places the reader in an angry tension filled situation. Wordsworth's readers have the wonders of a sunrise unfold before them and beauty is seen everywhere. Blake's readers become angry at the ugliness and unfairness of life and bondage and resignation are seen everywhere. Both authors achieved their tasks admirably.
Works Cited
Blake, William. "London." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 729.
Wordsworth, William. "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 1157.
Source #3: Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9th. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
For example, love, which is a powerful thing. But the rings power is so tempting that even love can't last forever. And as for the desire to do good, forget it. Even if you start with the best of intentions, the Ring will twist you until you're as evil as Sauron... or close, at least. Even Gandalf tells Boromir, “We cannot use the Ruling Ring. That we now know too well. It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil. Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone to wield at will, save only those who have already a great power of their own. But for them it holds an even deadlier power. The very desire of it corrupts the heart.” the ring implies that power even if it be used for the greater good will end up being being used for evil. This lesson is a useful one for not only the characters in the movie but for the people who read it. Remember, power struggles are everywhere, even on our
Jokinen, Anniina. "Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. N.p., 1996. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. http://www.luminarium.org/
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2002, G1-G32.
Kennedy, X J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth ed. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1995. Print.
Blake and Wordsworth both used their childhood experiences as a basis for their poetry. In the...
J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of too much power is summed up by Lord Acton when he once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." In Tolkien's first book of his fantasy based trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Rings tells a story of a quest to destroy a powerful ring throughout Tolkien's created "Middle Earth". This quest was headed by a "Hobbit" named Frodo Baggins who, in the end, becomes corrupted by power himself. This corruption begins when Frodo uses his ring to become invisible over and over again to escape certain situations. The quest to destroy the powerful "Ruling Ring" forms the basis for this story.
Miller, Arthur. Literature an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
Comparing Blake's London, Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3rd 1802 and Johnson's Inglan is a Bitch
London? and ? The Lamb? William Wordsworth, like Blake, was linked with Romanticism. In fact, he was one of the very founders of Romanticism. He wrote poems are about nature, freedom and emotion.
Potter, P. & Perry, A. (2009). Fundamentals of Nursing (7th ed.) St. Louis: Mosby Elsevier, 1029-1084.
In "London", William Blake brings to light a city overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the common, glorifying view of London and replaces it with his idea of truth. London is nothing more but a city strapped by harsh economic times where Royalty and other venues of power have allowed morality and goodness to deteriorate so that suffering and poverty are all that exist. It is with the use of three distinct metaphors; "mind-forg'd manacles", "blackning Church", and "Marriage hearse", that Blake conveys the idea of a city that suffers from physical and psychological imprisonment, social oppression, and an unraveling moral society.
...he thinking of their authors. Blake's short poem, simply entitled “London” is redolent with his opinions of the injustices of his time, and the dismal social situation of many of the city’s inhabitants. The city, for Blake, carries an aura of damp, cold, listless people and social institutions. Swift’s “A Description of a City Shower” achieves basically the same thing, although in a more humorous manner. It does, or course, comment on the sense of entrapment and depressing monotony of life, the superficial worries that bog down human existence. It is striking how many of these problems continue to plague modern society, as we have grown increasingly commercial through time. In the works of Blake and Swift, we see a reflection of nearly any large city in Europe today, perhaps minus the extreme and abject poverty that we now only associate with third world countries.
These two poems are both written about London, one titled 'London' is written by William Blake. The other 'Composed up Westminster Bridge' is written by William Wordsworth. Even though these poems are written on the same setting, they are opposite sides of a coin. 'London' shows the appearance of the city from the position of an onlooker, it shows the suffering of the common man. 'Westminster Bridge' tackles a different view point, it portrays London as the city really is. The rich upper classes sit on the high seats lining their pockets with the riches that the poverty stricken lower classes have made for them. All the time these people shield themselves against the poverty of the city.
During Wordsworth time as a poet he made it his mission to have poetry be read by not only the aristocrats but also now the common man something that has never been done. In both poems Wordsworth makes his poems relatable by incorporating themes that everyone can relate to even if they haven’t personally had that experience, although both poems do differ when it comes down to structure and form but also when trying to convey a message, these poems are important because these ideas have never been done before and now even the average Joe can finally participate in a conversation about poetry and this brings two world together.