comparing blake's london and wordsworths unpon west minster bridge

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How do the poets use Structure, language and form in the two poems to help present their visions of London?

William Blake’s ‘London’ 1793 and William Wordsworth’s ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ 1802 stage two contrasting views of London. Having both been written in the Romantic period, the two poets use their personal experience of London to illustrate the different visions of the city. Wordsworth adopted the Petrarchan pattern (abba abba cdcdcd) to create his flowing sonnet that describes the silent, undying beauty of London; the intimacy with his description could be inspired by classical poets such as Horaz, Virgil and Ovid. Blake however hardened to use a more harsh approach, delivering his dramatic reality of the dejected city. The two poems hold an expressive passion throughout and both have a deeper inner meaning than what’s seen at surface value.

At a first glance, these two poems seem the complete opposite. One compliments the natural beauty of London whilst the other only states the traumatic situations faced through a sinister, dark city. This style could have been inspired by Blake’s surrounding of the French revolution which was imminent over London, there’s a possibility that the murder and violence could have encouraged Blake to give his reality of the capital in the 18th century. Despite the obvious differences, the techniques and narrative set out by both poets are similar. Both Blake and Wordsworth chose to underline their visions of London by using some sort of rhyming scheme and iambs to manipulate the sounds and rhythm.

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Wordsworth’s undoubted admiration of London is expressed through his constant use of elegant praises. He masters a faint use of a strange paradox through the first lines saying earth has nothing more ‘fair’ which exemplifies a tranquil, natural beauty, undisturbed by the obvious industrial city. The paradox having been established at the beginning of the octave stating the impossible unity of both a natural beauty and industrial development is explained towards the end through the line, ‘like a garment, wear’. This reveals that the city is wearing the natural ‘beauty of the morning’ rather than being it. This structural technique ...

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