Compare London and Westminster Bridge Essay

These two rimes, though written within 10 years of individually other, convey very different computes on capital of the United Kingdom. They were both written during a time of revolution and change. Both these poems were written at the turn of the 19th century, in Georgian times, to illustrate the authors escorts on the city of London. At the time, the industrial revolution was underway and there was a abundant growth in the population, overdue to medical advances and a much light-colored culture with prostitution in the formation of new cities.There was a revolution started in France and because it was a respected country within atomic number 63 at the time, with its pi unmatchableers in architecture, gardening and thought, the French had major influence in England. Being its neighbouring country it caused ripples of change and rebellion in European thought. This touch on many people in England the poet Blake was one of them. His revolutionist ideas were conveyed in this p oem, London. This was turnaround to Wordsworths poem, Upon Westminster Bridge, which picked out the imagery of London and its glory, without relating that the frivolous consummations of the monarchy and the church, created a huge gap between the rich and the poor, which Blake picked up on.Wordsworth was most probably innate of the fact that the mass of the English population in London was poor, because he was a tourist in the city. Or he could have realised the fact yet looked past it deciding that it would make a bankrupt poem to elaborate on Londons splendour. The poem besides, seems immensely over the top and many people may just soak up the poem at its face value and dislike it, but Wordsworths poem describes London as glittering in the flowerpot little communication channel and having a calming aura.These statements, I think might be sarcastic. At the time it was written, the Industrial revolution was happening and the chimneys of most factories would be blurting smoke for most hours of the day, and even if they had stopped over night the remnants of months of coal combustion would non dissipate within 8 hours. Also to describe London as calming is a little far fetched. London is the sprightliness of the United Kingdom, a port and an important centre of commerce. It is near impossible for us to imagine it as calm even in The witness of the morning Wordsworths most famous works are dedicate to the beauty of the awe-inspiring lake district, so it is not hard to imagine he could have been shocked and repulsed by London.Upon Westminster Bridge sets off on the develop Earth this could mean that London was the centre of the commercial world, and that at the resembling time was the best place on Earth to be. This could be another(prenominal) example of sarcasm due to London existence half-built during the revolution. Its face inwardness though is to start the poem off as a consistency of nature and architecture. The low gear line shows Words worths typical cancelistic view upon the city, as he relates with many of his other poems. He was an early amatory poet he admired nature and natural form, his extreme idyllic view on London could be seen as sarcastic or ignorant.The trice line is monosyllabic yet that doesnt have any relevant dynamic force-out on the style of the poem. Dull is the first forge that goes against the happier grain of the poem. It relates a feeling of miserableness and boredom, and could be seen to insult the reader that doesnt agree with his poem, as he would have a dense, someone, and an unopened, unreactive mind. This could be a reason why many take the poem on face value, because no one would want a dull soul as the poem suggests. The end of the line uses enjambment to attach the second line to the third. This line creates imagery the word sight implies our soul would be touched by London.Majesty is a powerful word, exaggerating the general romantic theme of the poem and an overview of Eng land as a powerful and unequaled nation with high status in the world. Line 4 uses a simile and personification to make the city seem as one single body, wearing the beauty of the morning, possibly as a disguise to cover the corrupt people it houses.Wordsworth is viewing the city in the morning, when the city would be very quiet and peaceful. Wordsworth was also standing on Westminster Bridge from which he had a higher, isolated view over the impression of London. At dawn, London would be showered with the golden light of the sun, the river would appear to luster and the un-crowded streets would be filled with crisp air. The ground would be covered with dew, only idealistically perfect compared to the reality that within one hour of his view, the streets would awake and the alone scene would change.Blake had a completely different viewpoint on London, his first line opens with a romantic wander by means of the chartered streets, this is a contrast, he himself whilst romantic a nd free thinking, is in a city governed by rules, entrapments and corruption. He then repeats this idea in the next line with the chartering of the themes, unrepentant to Wordsworths gliding river, this implies that London is overpowering nature. He then alliterates label 3 times to give an exaggeration of the theme of suffering.Every from the tertiary line is then repeated in the second stanza to generalise everyone as saddened, depressed and constricted. Blakes poem is different to Wordsworths in its entirety. Blake is describing from a low viewpoint, in the streets between the dirty houses, at roughly 1030 at night, with a serious, constricted and darkened theme. Wordsworths is from a higher viewpoint on the bridge, at about 530 in the morning with not many people about with a joyful, elated theme.The techniques, each use to create these effects are also different, Wordsworth uses a typical romantic style sonnet, and both Poems use their structure to underline the words in them. William Blakes London is written in four, four line stanzas. Each line of each verse has the like number of syllables this creates a regimented, almost mechanical effect. It uses alternate line rhyming to make the poem sound regular and accentuates the close word of each line. Each verse of the Blake poem attacks a different aspect of London. It is devolve that Blake found London a very corrupt and immoral place.Whereas in contrast Wordsworths poem is written in the form of an Italian sonnet the octave of which describes the man made elements of the city, the last sextet refers to natural beauty. This poem also uses alternate line rhyming to create the effect of order. It is written in prose using iambic pentameter. This device brings attention to emphasise the meaning of the rhyming words.William Blakes poem conveys his feelings in a more abstract style, when he uses the people and buildings of London to represent the institutions which they are associated with. He uses the image of a church to criticise religious establishments and a castle to signify the state, and authorities that control it. He gives the image of the soldiers sigh running in blood down palace walls. here he is attacking the monarchy and government for condemning young men to expiry by sending them off to fight in foreign wars. He uses hyperbole to criticise London and the sadness and malice of the people who alive there. Blakes London brutally painted is a dark, dirty, disease ridden and deprive place Unlike the Wordsworth poem it leaves you in no doubt as to the authors feelings on the subject.In the last verse of Blakes, it gives us his time measure midnight, and he shows us the corruption of innocence, with youthful harlots. The last stanza accentuates the uncleanness of the area, how London was plagued with diseases and how life in the slums of the city is very short. It may be an example of the typical life of people in London. With children being the product of pros titution and sexual promiscuity, the children are then raised in a poor, unhygienic even uneducated area then follow and die due to blights and diseases.Marriage is supposed to be a happy occasion, but here it shows to be an institution, which carries people to their deathbeds. This may be due to sexually transmitted diseases, which were ravaging through the population at the time. Blakes entire poem is blunt and to the point, describing what was going on and that he was discontented about it and the fact that people were ignoring it. Wordsworths poem is far less melodramatic than Blakes, it is a snapshot in time of London in the morning, with no look at the types of people who live there, or of their pasts and futures.Blakes overall poem display a message of sadness and rebuff towards London, its monarchy and the authorities housed there. I think that the style of Wordsworth is very in effective at relating his like for London as it seems to almost be sucking up to Londons builde rs and rulers and so it does not provoke strong feelings or thoughts. Even if the reader acknowledges there is sarcasm in the style, it still does not show accurately the problems of London or that anything should be done about it.Blakes poem on the other hand is very effective at relating his own feelings towards the city, and of provoking our own so that we are appal by the conditions and mistreatment people were forced to live with at the time he wrote this. I prefer Blakes poem because the atmosphere he builds, through his phrases and his technique, is far more powerful than the atmosphere Wordsworth attempted to make. It is far more descriptive and flows more poetically than Wordsworths and I believe he was overall a better writer.