Throughout the rest of the poem, personification is used on a big scale. “Old Father Thames raised up his reverend head” In stanza 8, the River Thames is described as being a person when, obviously, it is not. By using this method, personification can help bring the poem to reality and give the reader a more clear and personal view of what was actually happening at the time that the events in the poem took place. Also in stanza 8, the word ‘Simois’ is used.
“But feared the fate of Simois would return”.
This word comes from the Greek word ‘Simoeis’ which was a river of the Troad and its God. The main reference comes from ‘ The Illiad’.
“The ever dash flowing Simois”, is taken from the Greek lyric number 4. Simois and Skamandros were the rivers of the Troad and its God. In the Trojan War he tried to drown Akhilleus but was driven back by Hephaistos with a great flame. Several of the poems studied used Greek mythological references. I think Dryden used the word ‘Simois’ in his poem because the circumstances for its original use were so alike to the events that took place in London.
The second poem, “A City Fire” by John Gay, is like the first poem, about the events that took place during the Great Fire of London in 1666. However, this poem is written more in a ‘birds-eye’ style rather than a first person style like the first, as the events that are described are written in a way that makes us feel like we are above the action rather than in the centre of it. The poem begins by describing the screams and noises of distress that could be heard throughout the duration of the fire. “At first a glowing red enwraps the skies, And borne by winds the scattering sparks arise”. The fire is illustrated as a wind-born array of flames and sparks blocking any views of the sky and tearing its way from beam to beam through the streets.
“From beam to beam the fierce contagion spreads;
The spiry flames now lift aloft their heads”
The fire grew bigger every minute and reached dangerous levels of destruction; it started to destroy the beams of the old wooden buildings that lined the streets at that time. Wood was the easiest material that fire could burn so the flames would have had no trouble easily leaping from building to building, destroying everything in its path. The rest of the poem continues to describe the flames annihilating the streets of London. Metaphors are used on a number of occasions to create a sense of the reader actually being present at the time.
“The heavens are all a-blaze, the face of night
Is covered with a sanguine dreadful light”.
The reader often expects poems to end on a light note, however, this has not happened in this case as the fire is still at its peak when the poem comes to an end. Like the people of London we are left with a feeling of loss and anxiety.
Although more than 13,000 houses, 87 churches and the main buildings in the City had all been destroyed with, amazingly, only 5 deaths being recorded. The Great Fire had left Londoners with a great task - rebuilding their city. The only positive outcome from the Great Fire happening was that it helped to douse and mostly obliterate the plague, which had been roaming through the city of London for hundreds of years, killing thousands in its path.
The foundation of the Bank of England in 1694 spurred the growth of London and, by the time George I came to the throne in 1714, it had become an important financial and commercial centre. Aristocrats with West End estates began laying out elegant squares and terraces to house newly rich merchants. Architects developed stylish medium-scale housing. They drew inspiration from the great European capitals, as did English painters, sculptors, composers and craftsmen.
The poems “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3 1802”, “January, 1795” and both of the poems called “London” are written about the different authors’ impressions of London at that time.
The basic history of that time was the poor quality living conditions, the Civil Wars and news of the historic events that happened around the time like The Great Fire of London in 1666 and The Great Plague of London in 1665.
Around the time William Wordsworth lived, there was terrible political and industrial upheaval. The direct response to this was for musicians, poets, authors and others to focus on Nature. Much of their work between 1680 and 1800+ dwells on children, animals, sea, flowers and trees. This habit of looking and concentrating on Nature and all its natural beauty - and the fact it doesn’t require man to grow or blossom and it stays the same forever - is known now as the Romantic era. At the time, poems were also used as a means of spreading news. This was because there was no other way of informing people of what was happening in various places at the time due to the high amount of time it took to travel from place to place to inform people.
“London” by William Wordsworth was the first poem studied that was not about the Great Fire but the overall atmosphere and feel of everyday life in London at the time. From the poem, we are given the impression that, at the time, London was full of people and always full of life at any time of the day. “Of a busy world! Before me flow, Thou endless stream of men and moving things!”
London was the core of the Industrial Revolution at the time, with many big industries being situated in the city. Therefore, it should not surprise the reader when the poem describes the masses of people and business taking place; this is the result of the many people settling in the city because of the need for workers in the factories.
“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” also by William Wordsworth shows us an alternative-Romantic impression of London at the time. It was written, as gathered from the title, on Westminster Bridge in the middle of London. From here, Wordsworth was able to look upon mainstream London and put his thoughts down on paper, which resulted in the existence of this very different poem.
“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”
The reader is told of how divine and stunning the sights are that Wordsworth can see. Although in the last poem we are told of the ‘busyness’ and crowded streets of London, in this poem the city is described more as a peaceful and beautiful place. It may normally be busy and full of industry but according to Wordsworth, when overlooking, London is seen as a place of wonder and opportunity:
“This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning: silent, bare”
Personification is used in the sentence above because the City is described as being human, “like a garment”, that ‘wears’ the beauty of the morning.
“Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will”
Again personification is used to describe the way the river moves along at “his own sweet will” and is described as completely relaxed and calm.
William Wordsworth shows how passionate his feelings are for London in this poem, however, in the earlier poem by Wordsworth, his views are completely different. This may be because he wants readers to understand that he understood London was a 2-sided place, a place of prosperity but also failure.
In “January 1795” by Mary Robinson, each stanza consists of two lines rhyming in pairs, as in “deserted”, “perverted”, “soaring” and “deploring”. We identify this rhyming pattern as AABB. The poem was written about the author’s ideas and views of London around the same time as Wordsworth’s poem was composed. Throughout the poem, Mary Robinson considered characters and different aspects of life as she observed them in 1795. Her views are completely different to those of Wordsworth’s because she points out that London may have been a place of wealth and beauty but, like everything, to all advantages there are disadvantages:
“Pavement slippery, people sneezing,
Lords in Ermine, beggars freezing:
Titled gluttons dainties carving,
Genius in a garret starving.”
The richest people in London were not necessarily the cleverest as this sentence shows, many of the poorest citizens could possibly have become some of the wisest Londoners but because they didn’t have the opportunities like the rich, any prayers of theirs to become wealthy and not overlooked could not be answered.
“London” by William Blake, was written in 1794 and was one of Blake’s “Songs of innocence and experience”. The tone of the poem is bitter and pessimistic with Blake always looking on the dark side of events; he sees London as a dirty and degrading place with nothing of beauty or dignity around the streets of the capital city.
“I wander thro’ each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”
The rhyming pattern of this poem is ABAB. A rhyming pattern of ABAB adds rhythm and smooth movement to a poems structure and the way it is read. It has a sense of relaxation, which makes the reader feel more comfortable when reading the poem. This structure is usually used for nursery rhymes or poems with a happy outcome, however this poem is quite the opposite so it is surprising to find that Blake used this structure in describing his bleak view of London. This may have helped the reader to gather a more unrealistic view on Blake’s opinions and not take what he said too seriously. Therefore, Blake may not have achieved the desired effect that the poem was intended to have.
Adjectives were notably used widely when the poems studied were composed. “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3 1802” has adjectives throughout every line to create the desired effect that Wordsworth wanted in his poem. For example: “bright”, “glittering”, “smokeless” and “beautifully”. If these had not been used, I feel the poem would not have the ‘life’ and ‘energy’ that it possesses. The adjectives also help to have a clear effect on the reader as when reading the poem, we are enlightened by the words used to describe the surroundings by Wordsworth and feel as if we are experiencing first hand the view before him. This poem offers a positive and uplifting effect on the reader when read.
“January, 1795” is also full of adjectives and again I feel they were used to create the desired effect that the author, Mary Robinson, wanted.
“Lofty mansions, warm and spacious;
Courtiers cringing and voracious;
Misers scarce the wretched heeding;
Gallant soldiers fighting, bleeding”
Although this poem is long, it has a snappy rhythm that has a good effect on the reader, this is because it doesn’t feel as long winded when read and with the use of adjectives helps to entice the reader to keep reading. Because this poem has split opinions, it has balanced perceptions and leaves a positive and negative impression on the reader. Like “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3 1802”, the adjectives boost the overall interest of the poem, without them the poem’s length is realized and, in my opinion, the readers interest in the poem might otherwise wane.
Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighbouring words and many of the poems studied use alliteration to add to the rhythm structure of the piece. “January, 1795” uses alliteration at various points to support this idea. “Courtiers cringing and voracious” This adds to the constant rhythm and beat of the poem.
In the poem “The Fire of London” personification is used. Personification is a figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to an animal, object, or idea.
“At first they warm, then scorch, and then they take;
Now with long necks from side to side they feed;
At length, grown strong, their mother-fire forsake,
And a new colony of flames succeed.”
The author John Dryden is describing the flames as they run amok through London during the Great Fire, but he has used personification to give the impression that the flames have necks and are beast-like like a hydra. A hydra is a mythical beast, which is ‘many headed’. Interestingly, hydra now also refers to water, this could be why the author choose to use personification in this way to describe the Thames at the time. Personification is also another means of creating an atmosphere and image that the author desires.
The poems “The Fire of London”, “January. 1795” and William Blake’s “London” all rhyme and consist of either an ABAB or AABB rhyming pattern. The pattern ABAB is created by the 1st and 3rd line rhyming and the 2nd and 4th line rhyming, for example:
“I wander thro’ each chartered street (A)
Near where the chartered Thames does flow, (B)
And mark in every face I meet (A)
Marks of weakness, marks of woe” (B)
The pattern AABB is created by the 1st and 2nd line rhyming and the 3rd and 4th line rhyming, for example:
“Some in luxury delighting; (A)
More in talking than in fighting; (A)
Lovers old, and beaux decrepit; (B)
Lordlings empty and insipid” (B)
“A City Fire”, “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” and William Wordsworth’s “London” do not rhyme or have a rhyming pattern. I think the poets who wrote these poems chose not to have a rhyming pattern as to have a more mature based poem and to sound more factual and correct. I prefer poems that rhyme because they can still be as historically accurate as other poems but more interesting to read.
Poems such as “A City Fire” by Gay and “London” by Wordsworth are shorter than the others that I studied and both only offer one or two images. For example, “London” only describes, using around 10 lines each, two or three different images. These poems do not tend to offer such a clear image of events that took place in London than the longer poems. However, although the longer poems may offer more information, they tend to be more confusing as there is so much more information is these poems and this can become bewildering to the reader.
To add to the confusion, the poems by William Wordsworth are contradictory and offer an almost entirely opposite image to London in the 18th century. The poem “London” shows the more industrial and busier side to the city, the side that offered opportunities and hope for the citizens of London: “On strangers, of all ages; the quick dance
Of colours, lights and forms; the deafening din”
However, his other poem “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” prefers to describe the side of London that Wordsworth saw as a more calming and divine place which was “Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.”
The end of the poem does reveal that the scenes that Wordsworth described were in the early morning. When industrial factories are in use, a mass of smoke is produced from the many tall chimneys that are lined up on top of the buildings; this poem was obviously written before work had started in the factories, but because the industry work started early in the morning, this poem could only have been written at the crack of dawn before the industrial business of London, described in his other poem, had begun, or on a Sunday, when work at the factories did not take place. This could explain the spiritual element that the poem entices.
I think Wordsworth felt it necessary to write two such poems so different in content about the same place to portray his split views of London and to try to show people that although it is the capital of England and was full of industry and business, it could also be a very calming and beautiful place before the workers started their day. I think that when Wordsworth wrote “London”, he had only witnessed the one side of city life, so when he witnessed the other side portrayed in “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”, he wanted to write a poem showing this perspective so as people who had read them both, and had not been to London before, could form their own opinion of the capital. However, although both of these poems seem to express a positive image of London, the disadvantages are not mentioned in either of the poems but, although not obvious disadvantages, the fact that London is described as busy and full of people in “London” could be taken as a disadvantage.
The poems on the Great Fire of London offer very similar views. Each poem shows a different side to the events that took place during the fire but they each do support the other when describing what happened. The poems each have a main point that they explore and describe. “The Fire of London” depicts the events, in detail, that happened using many adjectives and onomatopoeia to support. “A City Fire” also tells of the events but in a more short and snappy form. Both of the poems are very similar in what they describe, for example:
“And frighted mothers strike their breasts too late
For helpless infants left amidst the fire.”
“The Fire of London” describes how mothers tried helplessly to save their children who were amongst the fire. A similar sentence can be found in “The City Fire”:
“Moved by the mother’s streaming eyes and prayers,
The helpless infant through the flame he bears”
From this selection of poems, I have learned a great deal about the society of London at the time they were written, especially on the subject of The Great Fire of London. Before I studied these poems, I knew that London was a great place for opportunity but did not fully understand that there was another side to London, which did not offer much opportunity for the poorer people in the city.
The poems I prefer that we have studied are the ones that rhyme, although they are all very complex and well written poems and I think that they are all of great merit to the author. I preferred the poems that rhymed because they were more interesting to read and study, and I like the lyrical balance.