Comparison of William Wordsworth

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Chavi Littlestone Year 10                                             14 September 2009

English Coursework

A comparison between ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ and ‘The Solitary Reaper’ written by William Wordsworth

Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ was written describing the beauty of London early in the morning and it uses different styles including metaphors and personification. The poem uses archaic language. ‘The Solitary Reaper’ also uses archaic language, the person in the poem is wistful and wishes that he knew the girl and is affected deeply by this girl and her song.

The speaker in this poem is travelling over the Highlands, and he sees this beautiful sight and enjoys the mysterious song of the solitary reaper. He is overwhelmed by the experience, by the beauty of what he sees and hears that he contemplates the option of just staying there, up on the top of the hill, looking down on the lush valley in the beauty of the entire situation. However, he does not do this; he simply stays for a few moments, long enough for him to remember the this event for the rest of his life, and then he goes on his way, with the girl's tune ringing in the back of his mind.  

While both these poems are descriptive, ‘The Solitary Reaper’ describes the lone figure of a girl who is reaping in the field alone over a passage of time, whereas ‘Westminster Bridge’ is describing the whole city at an early hour of one morning.

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In both poems Wordsworth is a ‘solitary’ onlooker. In the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’ Wordsworth is alone when everyone has left the countryside except for him and this solitary girl singing in the field that he mentions in line one:

 

“Behold her single in the field”.

In ‘Westminster Bridge’ Wordsworth is alone walking on Westminster Bridge enjoying the peace of the morning.  The poem does not state that he met anyone.

In both poems Wordsworth uses language and an interesting choice of words and sentences to express his thought.  In ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ he personifies ...

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