Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth
Two Sonnets That Describe London and Nature Around It
Feb 27, 2009
Nature and poetry can save the world. So thought William Wordsworth, and through several sonnets in Lyrical Ballads, he strives to persuade readers to share this belief. Two such poems are “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” and “London, 1802.” Although they seem upon first perusal to be poems of conflicting ideas about England, the two poems actually have a very similar purpose. Both serve to show that London is an impressive and beautiful city only when mankind is absent.
The Meaning of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge”
A superficial reading of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” leaves readers longing to visit London and witness firsthand the city’s splendor. Describing the city at sunrise, Wordsworth says that nowhere on Earth is as breathtaking. Readers who merely scan the poem can easily be fooled into believing this is a simple sonnet praising the beauty of the city and nature surrounding it.
Upon more careful analysis of the poem, however, one realizes that this is a scene only beheld when the city lies silent and bare. When the townspeople are asleep, Wordsworth writes, the beauty of the natural world in and around London is obvious. Once the people awake and begin their hectic, metropolitan lives, however, the magical spell is broken. No longer is the city one of majesty and magnificence.
"London, 1802"
What London becomes once its citizens fill the streets is described in “London, 1802.” Readers who examine this sonnet directly after “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” are able to understand why the city is only commendable when its people slumber.
The English, like people all around the world, have been affected by the decades preceding 1802, which were fraught with violence, social upheaval, urbanization, and chaos. The world was transforming rapidly, and England was not immune to this change. London, though tranquil and picturesque when people are absent, has become fraught with selfish, materialistic men. People have forgotten to revel in nature; they are too busy living in an industrialized, nature-deprived world to enjoy simple pleasures such as admiring a tulip or marveling at a butterfly’s beauty.
The Need to Return to Nature
What the English need, Wordsworth writes, is a talented poet to remind them of the joys found in nature. He maintains that only an exceptional poet, like John Milton, can effectively convey the truths found in nature. With such immense talent, Milton was able to influence many people, which is what Wordsworth himself hopes to do.
Wordsworth hopes to become as well-known and treasured as Milton, for then he could successfully remind the English that they must return to nature to recover the happiness that has been absent in their lives. Holding himself in high esteem, Wordsworth believes that his poetry can save not only London but all of England – and maybe the entire world.
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