Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

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Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

Earth has not anything 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!

"Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" is an 1802 sonnet by William Wordsworth.

[edit] Summary

In this sonnet, Wordsworth captures and celebrates the calm early morning view from his vantage point of Westminster Bridge in 1802 in an idyllic still life scene. One should note his trademark simple language, reflecting simply his own personal thoughts on the scene, and the rhyme scheme (abba abba cdcdcd) in this sonnet. This scheme divides the first eight lines and the next six. In the first eight, he describes early morning London in detail, and then goes on in the final six to compare the city in that moment to natural wonders. It is significant that he feels that this sight is more beautiful than any natural one as he was a great nature lover and lived in the countryside. The compact description of London in lines six and seven emphasise the compactness of the city, and long vowel sounds such as "glideth" and "silent" emphasise the calm feeling of the occasion.