Westminster Bridge and Abbey by Daniel Turner (fl. 1802-1817). This is the old bridge, opened on November 18th, 1750, and replaced in 1862. Judging by the shadows cast by the warehouses as we look southwards, this picture was painted one reddish morning not long after Wordsworth gazed from the bridge, and contemplated dawn over the great city. The Treaty of Amiens on March 27th, 1802, had ended the French Revolutionary Wars and, encouraged by his warmhearted fiancée Mary Hutchinson (whom he married that October) Wordsworth seized the opportunity to cross the Channel. But the peace was crumbling. By the time the Wordsworths were touring Scotland in August 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte had annexed Piedmont and Elba, occupied Switzerland, refused to quit Holland and stirred up Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803) to rebellion, and war had broken out again.
Introduction
The following Sonnet was written, William Wordsworth recalled, “on the roof of a coach, on my way to France.” It was July 1802, and he was off with his sister Dorothy to visit his old flame Annette Vallon and their daughter Caroline; he had not seen Annette since the French Revolution had so cruelly parted them nearly ten years before. His journey from London took him across Westminster Bridge at dawn.
Composed upon Westminster Bridge
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 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.*
From ‘Poems of William Wordsworth’ (1922) by William Wordsworth (1770-1850), edited by Myron R. Williams with an Introduction by Matthew Arnold (1822-1888). Additional information from ‘Wordsworth (English Men of Letters)’ (1909) by F. W. H. Myers, and ‘Wordsworth’s Formative Years’ (1943) by George Wilber Meyer.
* William’s sister Dorothy recorded the moment in her diary: “July 30, 1802. Left London between five and six o’clock of the morning, outside the Dover coach. A beautiful morning. The city, St Paul’s, with the river, a multitude of little boats, made a beautiful sight as we crossed Westminster Bridge; the houses not overhung by their clouds of smoke, were spread out endlessly; yet the sun shone so brightly, with such a pure light, that there was something like the purity of one of Nature’s own grand spectacles. Arrived at Calais at four in the morning of July 31st.” Wordsworth had been forced to leave France late in 1792, at the height of the French Revolution. His sincere attempts to bring Annette and Caroline to England looked doomed after France and Britain went to war in February 1793, and ended when his Uncle William absolutely refused to help the penniless poet to find money for any such purpose. William married Mary Hutchinson in October 1802.
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Précis
In July 1802, William Wordsworth left London for France in the early morning. As he sat atop the stagecoach, he looked out from Westminster Bridge and savoured the eerie silence of the city, bathed as prettily in sunshine as any mountain-side. No smoke, no sound rose from it, as if man and woman, brick and tile, all slept. (58 / 60 words)
In July 1802, William Wordsworth left London for France in the early morning. As he sat atop the stagecoach, he looked out from Westminster Bridge and savoured the eerie silence of the city, bathed as prettily in sunshine as any mountain-side. No smoke, no sound rose from it, as if man and woman, brick and tile, all slept.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, besides, may, not, since, unless, who.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 More. So. Tower.
2 Bare. He. Touch.
3 Have. Open. Saw.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Scene.
Seen.
2.
Bare.
Bear.
3.
Sew.
So.
4.
Dear.
Deer.
5.
Heir.
Air.
6.
Sole.
Soul.
7.
Cite.
Sight.
8.
Him.
Hymn.
9.
Wear.
Where.
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Bare.
2.
Beautiful.
3.
Deep.
4.
First.
5.
Hill.
6.
More.
7.
Most.
8.
Steep.
9.
Still.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding -less.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
x
0
Add
Your Words ()
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