The second poem is ‘Composed Upon West-Minister Bridge….’ which is written by William Wordsworth; this poem is about how the atmosphere around London and how it differs from the early morning to the late afternoon. In the morning the atmosphere is clean and steady whereas in the afternoon it’s smoky and cloudy. He writes about how he admires the view of London and how people are missing out on this magnificent view of the day. If you didn’t see this view, it would show that you’re insensitive, you had no feelings and you were dull. He describes this view as powerful and grand and calls it ‘its majesty,’ he says this just because it rhymes with ‘pass by,’ which is on the line above this. He is so high up that he can see all the skylines and he can see the horizon of the countryside. As the sun rises, you can see the sun lighting up the city. He has a feeling of calmness by watching this sight of awe. There are no people moving because it’s so early in the morning and the town is still.
The poet’s tone is that he has a positive attitude about London. He is in high spirits when seeing this wonderful view so early in the morning of London. He believes that this is the most beautiful place to be on Earth at this very moment. He also assumes that if you haven’t seen this view then you haven’t got no spirit in you at all, because you are missing out on such a sight. He puts his message across by being very affirmative and putting a grudge against the people who haven’t seen this sight. He expresses himself through his awe of the view. His choices of words are very vivid and vibrant. He uses similes and a lot of personification, to describe this city. There’s no humour in the poem but a lot of detailed expressions.
Rhymes are used to make the poem more appealing in order to maintain the rhythm. The formation of this poem is in the form of a sonnet. London is a very beautiful place and nothing on Earth is more beautiful than this morning.
The final poem is called ‘London’ and is written by William Blake; this poem is about fears, and gives a darker view of London at that time. It talks about how people are affected by the plague of poverty and how little children are sent up chimneys to clean them. Also, how the people are mentally and physically trapped because there’s so much grime and dirt. He writes about the harsh conditions that drag everyone down and how the prostitutes would regularly give birth. All the people are miserable and they are trapped in an environment of gloom. How in every voice you hear the cry of fear. He writes about the psychological handcuffs that restrict you. Now that soldiers have returned they risk death everyday. When you get married it is the happiest day of your life and the atmosphere around you is blissful, whereas in this poem the poet describes the poem as being a funeral carriage. Even though there is a wedding it feels like a funeral and people are still in fear. The poverty has increased immensely. The people’s expressions are described as sad, mournful and sombre.
The poet’s attitude to this poem is distressing; he doesn’t look on the positive of ‘London’ but on the negative side. He writes about how the people have caught the plague and how everyone is miserable. The mood of the poem is dull and wretched; it has no life to it. It feels like the life has been taken away and been replaced by the plague. His choices of words are old fashioned; he uses words like ‘harlots’ ‘blights’ and ‘manacles.’ Similes, personification and metaphors aren’t used. The only imagery used is rhyme, which I believe makes the poem even drearier. The construction of the poem is in stanzas; this is to separate the poem up. Because the plague has spread everywhere and ruined peoples lives there's isn’t a social area of this poem. The historical and cultural contexts tell us that in the Victorian epoch, the children were the chimneysweepers because they were little enough to get up there, this was also cruelty to the children as this was their child labour. Also, contraception wasn’t available, prostitutes were giving birth frequently. Back then it was more of a manufacturing era; therefore there was a lot of smoke and filth in the atmosphere. This caused the churches to turn black. I believe that, Blake sees nothing to admire except hardship and suffering.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
‘Conveyancing’ and ‘Composed Upon West-Minister Bridge…’ show a comparison by giving a positive attitude towards London. ‘Conveyancing’ talks about the movement of different transportations and ‘Composed Upon West Minister Bridge….’ talks about the beautifulness of the still city in the morning. Both the poems are written in full detail, ‘Conveyancing’ has a lot of rhyming, emphasis, rhythm and has a lot of humour. There is a lot of action and deeds. Also in this poem, it talks about how there is a lot of traffic and noise. The poem is split up in stanzas so it's straightforward to read. Many old- fashioned words and phrases are used to indicate the type of language used. Humour and light-hearted jokes are used to highlight the poem, so it's more amusing to read. It's observational and imaginable, so that it's easy to understand. This poem is a contrast to ‘Composed Upon West Minister Bridge…’ by the way in which the linguistics have been used. There is a lot of personification, rhythm and similes. The atmosphere is calm, serene and cool. The poem talks about the glorious view of London in the morning and how there are no people moving around. All the houses are asleep. Also how the sun lightens the city with its superb shine. There's no action in this poem but the poet is still observing. The atmosphere is calmer, whereas in the first poem there is a lot of traffic and hustling.
‘Conveyancing’ and ‘London’ show a contrast. ‘Conveyancing,’ talks about the different types of transport and the action happening in London. ‘London’ shows the darker side of the city and of how people’s lives have changed because of the poverty. The poet writes a lot about fear, woe and tears, whereas in ‘Conveyancing’ the poet uses witty and humorous jokes. This poem is very mournful, but in ‘Conveyancing’ the poem is light-hearted. In ‘Conveyancing’ a lot of imagery is used. A lot of imagery is used in ‘London’ as well because of the restricted manacles and the children crying.
‘Composed Upon West Minister Bridge…’ and ‘London’ is another contrast. ‘Composed Upon West Minister Bridge…’ talks about a bright atmosphere whereas ‘London’ writes about a dull atmosphere. ‘Composed Upon West Minister Bridge…’ talks about how the sunrises and lightens the city, whereas in ‘London’ if the sun-rose there still wouldn’t be any joy in the city because of the spread of the plague. In both ‘Composed Upon West Minister Bridge…’ and ‘London,’ both poets use Imagery, expressing good and ghastly language.
MY FAVOURITE
Out of all the three poems, I have read and looked at, I would say that my preferred poem would have to be ‘Composed Upon West-Minister Bridge…’ This is because the poem shows a calmer tone and a positive mood about London. The poem is written out and structured in a sonnet; therefore, it's not too long and it’s concise. The poet uses a lot of linguistic imagery, which makes the poem more interesting. If I had to describe this poem, I would say that it as very, vivid and vibrant. The way the poet describes this poem is exalted. He uses personification to describe London in detail, rhyme to keep up the rhythm and he uses simile to compare London to beautiful garments. I especially liked this poem as the mood is subtle and has a tranquil atmosphere. Although there isn’t any humour, you can still imagine this awed view that Wordsworth portrays. I believe that this was the only poem where the poet expressed his feelings in full detail by using different types of linguistic features on his view of London
