London in “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” and “London” Essay

William Blake and William Wordsworth were some(prenominal) key figures of the amative era. Characterized by its emphasis on passion, emotion and creativity, the Romantic Movement occurred in Europe in the late eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries. Blakes capital of the United Kingdom(1794) and Wordsworths Composed upon Westminster twain(1803) are good examples of poems from the Romantic era, as both poets share a sense of emotional involvement in their works.However, similarities between the two do not extend beyond their mutual idea capital of the United Kingdom. Blakes dark and bitter portrayal of the urban center contrasts astutely with Wordsworths awe-struck account of a sunrise viewed from Westminster Bridge. Contrasts can be set in motion in all cycloramas of the two poems, and both poets employ a regeneration of techniques to effectively state their genuinely unalike feelings some the push-down storages and sounds of capital of the United Kingdom.The t c hampion in Blakes capital of the United Kingdom is iodin of bitterness and negativity, with him using such run-in as weakness and woe. The theme of the poem is a replete(p) description of capital of the United Kingdom, and withal specifically foc social occasions upon the bulk and how they live their lives. The human being aspect of the poem is introduced early on with in all reckon. The poet has a genuinely subtle approach at getting his pass along of corruption across to the reader, but the feeling that is received from the poem is one of a strong nature.capital of the United Kingdom consists of four quatrains (four specify alternately create verbally stanzas), with relatively short nisuss, emphasising the wish of embellishment and emotion in the poem. thither is a hard-and-fast structure and poesy device throughout the poem. The rhyme scheme is clear (ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH) and the rhyme itself is strong, rhyming such words as curse and hearse together, thus corre sponding with Blakes harsh views on London life. Blake use of goods and servicess iambic pentameter, except for the third quatrain, where dactylic pentameter is used kinda. This gives the poem a strong and steady wheel as it is read, which helps to emphasise the monotony and employment of the lives Blake describes.The wording is relatively easy to understand, and is not archaic, for example in every metropolis of every man. However, some language is used that is not in use in the present day e.g. woe, blights and whore. The language is surprisingly accessible for a poem that was written everyplace two hundred years ago. Many emotive words are used such as visit, fear, blood and plagues. procedure of the word plague would have been particularly strong at the quantify of writing, as the poem was written only 150 years by and by the Great Plague itself. Blake uses often of adjectives e.g. young personful Harlot and hapless pass, giving a clear picture of what he thinks L ondon is about.The resource that is used is mainly human, hapless soldiers sigh for example. When translation the poem, a clear picture is depicted of London without referring directly to London, but instead through the description of people and sounds. Lots of sound imaging is used I hear is mentioned twice, the word cry is repeated three ages and there is a soldiers sigh. Also, by describing the human situation, Blake leads the reader to infer that London is not a very nice place, because, for example, there are youthful harlots, which demonstrate how innocent youth has been corrupted by the city. This is as well as evident when it says every infants cry of fear. The soldiers sigh, which runs on blood run through palace walls is Blakes way of exposing the guilt and responsibility of the wealthy (palace), thought classes.Repetition is used a lot every is used flipper times, to emphasise the negative situation that Blake is alluding to is widespread and affects everyone. The use of the word cry three times to stress sadness and desperation of the situation. The repetition of lines five to seven ensures that the reader is aware of the seriousness of the situation Blake is describing. The punctuation mark in the poem is quite dim-witted. Stanzas end with an end backtrackped line. Full halt and commas are used widely, but no exclamation marks. Simplistic punctuation and drop of embellishment adds to the cold, realistic portrait of Blakes London. An elision is an inattention of letters to concern one shot. Blake uses a lot of elisions I wander thro , separately chartd street . This demonstrates the importance of rigid structure and daily round to the sense of this poem.In Wordsworths Composed Upon Westminster Bridge the heart is verifying and there is a sense of awe and respect for the city exhibit by the use of such words as loftiness and wideness in the poem. The general theme of the poem is again of London, but this time focussing on aestheticism, nature and architecture, which can be seen from the view from Westminster Bridge at dawn.Composed Upon Westminster Bridge is a sonnet. The rhyme scheme used is ABBA ABBA DEDEDE. The rhyme is generally clear and regular, although Wordsworth does use para-rhyme in lines two and three bleak would he be of soul who could pass byA sight so touching in its majestyAlthough the rhyme scheme is regular, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge does not receive any apparent cycle pattern, and the poem has an almost prose- worry quality, which makes the reader think of the inbred, flowing, harmonious run intos Wordsworth is describing.Wordsworths language is in places quite old fashionedThis city now doth, like a clothe ,wearThe steady of the morningThe language is also to a greater extent(prenominal) elaborate than Blakes, for example, Blakes Thames does flow, whereas according to WordsworthThe river glideth at his own seraphical willWordsworths language is also very emotive e.g. majesty, splendour and mighty heart, and he uses a lot of adjectives, e.g. smoke-free air, bright and glittering. Wordsworth uses a lot of natural imaginativeness in the poem e.g. Earth has not a thing to register more fair, the beauty of the morning, the fields and the sky. This helps to study a sense of harmony between the urban and the natural. Further, through embodiment and pathetic fallacy, Wordsworth is able to give human characteristics to the city, adding to the sense that London is a bread and butter organism, a part of the natural environment. Personification is evident in lines four to fiveThis city doth, like a garment, wearThe beauty of the morningIn lines nine to tenNever did sun more beautifully steepin his first splendourIn line thirteen the very houses seem asleep. In the last line of the poem, Wordsworth speaks of the mighty heart of the city, which further adds to the sense that London is a living organism. Pathetic fallacy can be seen in line twelve , The river glideth at his own sweet will.Wordsworth uses a lot of enjambmentDull would he be of soul who could pass byA sight so touching in its majestyThis lends a smooth, flowing and diffuse quality to the poem, and supports the emphasis placed upon nature in the poem. Similes are also used, e.g. the morning is exposit as being like a garment. In this way, Wordsworth is able to detract from the commonly held idea that London is austere and threatening, and instead promote the idea that the city is friendlier and more harmonised with nature. Wordsworth also uses contrasts to emphasise this harmonyShips, towers, domes , theatres, and temples lieOpen unto the fields, and to the sky.Use of punctuation in this poem is very interesting. Wordsworth only uses one full stop throughout, preferring instead semi-colons and commas, all of which help the poem to run smoothly. The poem also features three exclamation marks, which help to exaggerate the central idea. This effect is amplified by the inclusion of the expression Dear God. All this helps Wordsworth to express how powerfully he feels about London.The differences between these two poems are clear. For example, whereas Blakes tone is dark and bitter, Wordsworths is awe-struck and celebratory. Differences also arise in terms of the theme or central idea of each poem. London deals with the human aspect of the city. It is set at night, and virtually ignores the environment of London. In this way, Blake is able to cotton up the effect the city has on its people, and, by leaving the city itself undescribed, emphasises its scene as a cold, uncaring place. In contrast, Wordsworth focuses entirely on the esthetics of London at dawn, and the relationship between the urban environment and nature. By removing the human aspect of the city, Wordsworth can ignore the difficult lives of its people (as described by Blake) and concentrate solely on the physical and natural aspects instead (note the smokeless air).The two poe ms are also structured polarly, and feature variations in terms of rhythm and rhyme. Composed Upon Westminster Bridge is a sonnet, with a generally clear rhyme scheme and no apparent rhythm pattern. By using a single stanza, and an almost prose-like style, Wordsworth is able to express a flowing, smooth quality, mirroring the free, unrestrained natural aspects he deals with in the poem. London, on the other hand, features four quatrains, and is rigidly structured in terms of rhythm and rhyme. This allows Blake to highlight the monotony of the lives he discusses in the poem, and reflects the sense of duty and lack of free will involved in the struggles faced by the citys inhabitants (note the inclusion of a soldier, some one with no control over his own life).Blakes language is generally simple and easily comprehensible. By avoiding the elaborate language preferred by Wordsworth, Blake emphasises the lack of hope or joy in his city. Wordsworth, in contrast, favours a very convoluted style of language, which adds to the celebratory mood of the poem. In both cases, the poets use language to effectively fuck off their opinions about London. Also, both poets use a lot of adjectives, which is characteristic of the involved, creative style of the Romantics. Imagery is central to both poems.However, Blake and Wordsworth use different methods to create a detailed picture of London for the reader. Wordsworth chooses to concentrate on natural, familiar images, and through the personification of these natural images, gives London a softer, less threatening identity. Blake chooses to paint a picture of London by describing the sounds which can be heard, and by giving details of the people that live there. Interestingly, Blake is able to give a very comprehensive image of London, without discussing the city directly. In this way, London is portrayed as nothing more then an influence on its people. Blake, unlike Wordsworth, does not see the city as an organism in its own r ight, and this is emphasised by his use of imagery.Finally, literary devices both Blake and Wordsworth employ clever use of literary techniques to aid the expression of their feelings towards London. Wordsworth uses enjambment to give Composed Upon Westminster Bridge a flowing, natural feel, and punctuation is used to maximise the celebratory tone (i.e. only one full-stop, use of exclamation marks). Blake uses repetition to emphasise his idea of the monotonous cogency and misery of the people of London. His use of simple, unembellished punctuation helps to further convey this idea, by highlighting the rigidity and restriction which govern the lives of Londons inhabitants. Elisions are frequently employed to aid the rhythm, which demonstrates the importance of a rigid structure to the sense of London, in complete contrast with Composed Upon Westminster Bridge.Although London and Composed Upon Westminster Bridge both deal with the subject of London at a similar time in history, they share very belittled common ground beyond this. Blakes grim, desperate city seems a million miles away from Wordsworths elaborate celebration of a city at dawn. Although both poets use similar techniques to express their very different feelings about the sights and sounds of London, these techniques, such as imagery and literary devices, give different effects in each poem, depending on how they have been used. These two poems may seem to be very similar, but Blake and Wordsworth have used lots of different methods to demonstrate beyond doubt their very different feelings about the sights and sounds of London.