Discover

'"Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"' is an 1802 poem by William Wordsworth.

Contents

Summary

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

Popular Usage

External links

Summary

In this sonnet, Wordsworth captures and celebrates the calm and peaceful view from Westminster Bridge in 1802 (in an idyllic still life scene) .

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

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:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Popular Usage

It is also part of the English Literature GCSE course in some British examination boards, including the Welsh Joint Education Committee

External links

★ The Wordsworth Trust