Presentation of the City in Poetry

Presentation of the City in PoetryPre-1914 Poetry Comparative getComp are the ways in which the metropolis is presented in William Blakes capital of the United Kingdom (1794) and William Wordsworths Composed Upon Westminster bridgework, September 3, 1802.In your response you should consider The techniques that the poets use to convey their impressions of the urban center. The way(s) in which the poets embroil references to social, political and personal c formerlyrns and the extent to which the poems are shaped by these.By 1800, London was the biggest city in the world, with a population of over one million. It was a global centre of advocate and imperial glory, set against a backdrop of revolution. Although William Wordsworths Composed Upon Westminster distich, September 3, 1802 and William Blakes London (1794) both concern the city of London and were compose in the a desire(p) period, they present the city in very varied ways. Westminster Bridge is in celebration of the citys majesty and is rarely bitter, Wordsworth only ever writes slightingly of its citizens. In London however, Blake who was himself a resident of London, presents the city as a place crawling with corruption and rife with disease. In this essay I give explore the structure, form and setting of the poems, the poems main themes, language and imagery, how the poems portray people and society in London and the sights and sounds of the city, in order to compare in knowledge the different ways in which the city is presented.The poem London comp examines four quatrain stanzas, written in iambic tetrameter. Each stanza offers a view of various aspects of the city as seen by the cashier on his wander ( store 1). Westminster Bridge is an Italian sonnet, which is a single fourteen-line stanza. It is written in iambic pentameter. Traditionally, the sonnet form is associated with bask poems, and indeed Westminster Bridge could fall under this classification. The poem is allegoryically di vided into cardinal breaks, an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet. It is conventional for the octave to offer the description or problem and the sestet the resolution. In Westminster Bridge, Wordsworth uses the octave to detail the scene laid out before him, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie (line 6), and the sestet to describe his emotions, Neer saw I, never felt, a calm so deep (line 11). London was published in Songs of Experience, one of Blakes anthologies. As the anthologys title suggests, London represents Blakes personal see to it, and so the first person dominates, I wander through each chartered street (line 1). This reinforces that the issues presented in London are of personal concern to Blake. Similarly, Westminster Bridge is written in the first person, as it is a personal experience creation composed by Wordsworth at the very moment that he beholds the described scene. However, it does not dominate the poem to the same extent as it does London. W ordsworth also aims use of the third person, The river glideth at his own sweet go forth (line 12). He does this as he describes his emotions in order to make clear that the experience manifests itself as open to all who would care to observe it, rather than using the rather selfish alternative, The river glideth at my own sweet ordain. The rhyme scheme of London is ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH, for example street, flow, meet, woe (stanza 1). This conveys a sense of control, authority and monotony, which is also echoed in the poems language. The meter is rarely interrupted, the poem continues with one review article and revelation after another in order to furiousnesse the extent and number of the problems that exist, not wanting to dwell on any one run as if treating them with disgust. Westminster Bridge conforms loosely to the ABBAABBACDCDCD rhyme scheme of the Italian sonnet. The rhythm is to a greater extent often interrupted, with shape of punctuation and enjambement creating cha nges in the flow. Dear divinity the very houses seem sleepy-eyed (line 13), is an example of a caesura which enhances this moment of epiphany in which Wordsworth realises that the tranquillity of the scene is such that the even the houses appear to be sleeping. Alternatively, this exclamation could literally be Wordsworth expressing his thankfulness to God for the scene. In examining an extract from Wordsworths The Prelude, I believe it is sensible to assume that the exclamation Dear God is a spiritual answer because he uses guardian saints (line 179) in a simile describing fronts of houses in London. Indeed, Wordsworth was a religious man who said in 1812 that he was will to shed his beginning for the Church of England. It could also be an echo of line 2, Dull would he be of soul who could pass by, a reflection of those who are asleep and not recognising the true splendour that the city can offer. Aside, it is also very important to consider the time setting of the poems as it has a direct bias on how the city is portrayed. As London is set at midnight, the image of a dark, sordid London is carried through, midnight streets (line 13), which gives an image of the alleys where unbridled or promiscuous activities whitethorn take place. London is not capturing a particular moment in time exclusively more of a journey through life, In each margin call of either man / In every infants cry of fear (lines 5-6). This is so because it demonstrates not only suffering across the demographics of London, but also across time. The idea of a journey through time is also illustrated in the original engraving of the poem, which shows a young boy pleading with a gimpy old man. Westminster Bridge by contrast captures a single moment in time on September 2nd 1802 and is set during the early morning, at sunrise, The beauty of the morning (line 5). This allows Wordsworth to see the city quite literally in its best light, Never did the sun more beautifully steep (line 9) , giving the superior opportunity for the synthesis of nature and the city.Political and social issues, shape the poems heavily, particularly London. Blake focuses quite intently on political issues, specifically in the third stanza. any blackening church appalls, (line 10) refers to the industrial revolution. This line highlights Blakes adversity toward the revolution. Blake grew up in London and so this might be the reason for his rejection of the change in society, but I find the example he gives particularly interesting because he was noted as being a dissenter, rejecting the Church of England, yet he highlights how the traditional religion of the country is being damaged by industry. Alternatively it may refer to his disgust at the infrequent cleansing of the city, which has instead been left to foul and degenerate. The mere association of the church with corruption is incongruous. Blake also attacks the monarchy in stanza three, And the hap slight soldiers sigh / Runs in bl ood down Palace walls (lines 11-12). The phrase hapless soldier refers to one of many ill-fated soldiers who were sent off by the country to wage war, often against their will and without any care being given to them for their troubles. condescension providing an invaluble service in protecting the country, the monarchy saw soldiers as mere pawns in the game of war, insignificant, indistinguishable and easily replaced. The other thing noted to run in blood down palace walls is the chimney-sweepers cry, which is similarly ignored by the monarchy. Blake particularly despised the slave trade and so he felt potently nigh such matters not being address by the countrys leaders. Palace could equally refer to the houses of parliament, with criticism falling squarely on the shoulders of politicians rather than the monarchy. The criticism of the Church and monarchy is a common theme in Blakes poems, for example in The Chimney Sweeper (ii) from the same anthology in which London was publish ed, Songs of Experience, Blake writes And are gone to laudation God his Priest King / Who make up a heaven of our misery (lines 11-12). And are gone, refers to the parents of a chimney sweeper, who have abandoned him. The narrator condemns God and the King for having tried to glorify his miserable existence by false promises of a striking life, which have not panned out. In the first stanza, he describes the streets and the river Thames as chartered (lines 1 and 2). The word chartered, which is repeated, likely refers to the exclusive and executive nature of the streets. Chartered literally means having special privileges, and so Blake is probably referring to the great number of wealthy businesses in London, garnering money and turning profit, juxtaposed with the weakness, woe and poverty of those on the street. Wordsworth also makes this contrast when he describes London in The Prelude, The wealth, the bother and the eagerness / The glittering chariots with their pampered ste eds, (lines 161-162) and The scavenger that begs with hat in hand (line 164). Charted may also refer to the fact that the streets are well known and well trodden, mapped, charted. Westminster Bridge makes handing over reference to the industrial revolution, All bright and glittering in the smoke-free air (line 8). This line conveys a sense of freshness and purity with smokeless suggesting that the morning air is free of the industrial pollution that is so apparent during the day. Wordsworths view of the industrial revolution is very different to that of Blake because he acknowledges in this line how nature and man are able to co-exist in the city. In the final line, And all that mighty heart is lying still (line 14). Wordsworth refers to the British Empire, which by 1802 was at its peak. London, being the UKs capital, formed the heart of the Empire in a political sense. This personification reinforces the idea that London formed a vital organ of the Empires body, and so it is part icularly notable that Wordsworth describes London as lying still because it really emphasises the tranquillity of the scene. Mighty heart is also a particularly effective metaphor for a city because it is a concentrated area of bustling activity during the day akin to a machine. Westminster Bridge is more shaped by personal concerns rather than social and political concerns.In London Blake describes the London set during the industrial revolution and the effects that it has had on society as people part with tradition and become helpless. In stanza two the anaphora, In every In every In every, acts to emphasise the universal nature of the suffering and sorrow. ace of the most striking metaphors in London is mind-forged manacles (line 8). It refers to the social restrictions induced by life in the city, resonating with the poems rhyme scheme. I find mind-forged to be in particular interesting because it suggests that these manacles do not in fact exist but are the cultivated in the minds of the people. Blake is suggesting that the people of London bend to conform to the power and control of authority, where this is not necessary. mind-forged seems to suggest the subversion of the peoples power, attitudes of defiance and non-conformity, perhaps even stretching to suggestion of a breakdown of democracy and freedom of speech. The phrase implies that the manacles, which are shackles that consist of metal loops that can be locked around the wrist, have been imposed by some figure of authority. The juxtaposition of the mind-forged and manacles thus conflates he who is control and he who has acted to suppress. Wordsworth gives glancing insights into what he thinks of the society in London, Dull would he be of soul who could pass by (line 2). Interestingly this is one of the only moments in Westminster Bridge that could be construed as critical or bitter, showing contempt for anyone who does not appreciate the sight. Or perhaps Wordsworth is rationalising his overly emotional reaction, which could be interpreted as effeminate, by justifying that anyone who didnt react in this way would be dull. Amplifying what little insight Wordsworth gives into society in London with information from an extract from Wordsworths The Prelude, in which he describes his experience in London when he was 18, I feel that Wordsworths view of society in London is in agreement with that of Blake. The endless stream of men and piteous things (line 159), implies loss of identity in London, which compliments manacles in London. Blake notes tag of weakness, marks of woe (line 4) in every face he meets. The repetition of mark gives emphasis to the weakness and woe, Blake could have quite easily chosen to use more diverse language but the harsh repeated sound of marks really enhances the image. Marks tends to suggest that these are aberrations that have not always existed but have recently appeared as a result of changes in London, the industrial revolution perhaps. The la st stanza bears a few very striking images that give further insight into people and society in London. How the youthful harlots curse (line 14), refers to the rise of prostitution. It is particularly shocking to hear that it is a youthful harlot, it appears that even the youths of society have been corrupted and subverted, having to turn to prostitution in order to scratch a living in such desperate times. curse refers to the spread of venerable disease as a result of such activities. This curse is described as blasting the newborn infants tear and blighting with plagues the marriage hearse (line 16). The oxymoron marriage hearse, ends the poem with a very strong image, starkly juxtaposing the charm of marriage with the hearse, used to carry a dead person to the place of burial. Blake himself condemned the absurdity of marriage without love and this is reflected in marriage hearse because any relationship resulting out of an encounter with the youthful harlot would like be a relati onship without true love. Alternatively, marriage hearse, could refer to a social restriction as mind-forged manacles does, that is to say that marriage is as a mans death, once he has committed to it he no longer has the same free will to do as he please. The strong plosive constants of but, blasts blights and plagues emphasises the harshness of what is being described.Wordsworth uses rich descriptions of the sights and sounds of London. He is in great admiration of the beauty of London and starts the poem with a superlative, hyperbolic tone. Earth has not anything to show more amusement park (line 1), suggesting that this is the epitome of beauty on Earth. I find the simile, The City now doth, like a garment, wear (line 4), particularly interesting as it indicates the morning thrash about appears to surround the city as a garment does a body, tending to suggest that the tranquillity of the morning is cloaking the true nature of the city which is perhaps less appealing. In London Blake describes the grim sounds he hears in order to imbue the poem with a mood of pathos. For example in stanza two, In every cry of every man / In every infants cry of fear / In every voice, in every ban (lines 5-7), the repetition of cry across the two generations is striking, and the choice of infant is particularly shocking. This idea can be found in Blakes poem Infant Sorrow from Songs of Experience which links closely with London, Into the formidable world I leapt / Helpless, naked, piping loud (lines 2-3). piping loud corresponds with the cries of fear, dangerous world with idea that the suffering is universal in London. In Westminster Bridge, Wordsworth celebrates the wondrous variety of London by asyndeton, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie (line 6). These images bring together the components of the Empire and variety within London, with ships signifying trade, towers business, domes St. Pauls, an icon of London, theatres entertainment, and temples religion . In London however, Blake sees the same marks in every face, the same generic cries in every voice. As Westminster Bridge is romantic poetry Wordsworth integrates nature and the city because the reconciliation of man and nature is a refer tenet of Romanticism, as pioneered by Wordsworth himself. The features listed in line 6 are described as lying open unto the fields and to the sky (line 7). This appropriation of the city in a pastoral context refers to how the rural-urban fringes of London would be more apparent in 1802 because it was a smaller city. Wordsworth is saying that the city is in fairness not so far removed from nature as some may believe and in fact they can co-exist in perfect harmony. He also highlights how man and nature harmonise, The river glideth at his own sweet will (line 12), implies that the scene appears to conform to Wordsworth wishes, flowing past so gently in a way that completes the scene as if just to please his own wishes. In contrast Near where the charted Thames does flow (line 2) in London, ravages the idea of the calm flowing Thames by associating it with chartered, implying that is over run by commercial usage, to satisfy the greed of wealthy city businessmen. In order to show the extent to which Wordsworth feels positively about the city, if not anything to show more fair (line 1), was indeed not praise enough, he compares the sight of the city to things of nature, furthering the synthesis of nature and the city. Never did sun more beautifully steep (line 9), gives an image of the sun glinting on the roofs of the buildings as it slowly rises over the cityscape, imbuing and saturating it with natural light, and is enhanced by the sibilance of sun and steep. In the line, In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill / Neer saw I, never felt, a calm so deep (line 10), Wordsworth directly compares the cityscape with valleys, rocks and hills but concludes that he has never felt so touched and calmed by any of these scenes so much as he is by the calmness of the city. This is particularly notable bearing in mind that Wordsworth lived in the countryside and enjoyed nature, yet finds the conflation of the city and nature to be more beautiful than any purely natural experience. However, the idea that this is short moment, The city now doth (line 4), reminds us that disdain the fact that it looks good at this moment, it will not last. This sort of nave expression of joy is seen in Blakes poem Infant Joy, from Songs of Innocence. Sweet joy betide thee (line 12), is the adults hope for the childs wish for joy to be fulfilled but in befall there is a grim acknowledgement of how such joy will probably not be achieved.In conclusion I find William Wordsworths Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 and William Blakes London to present London in very different ways. Westminster Bridge is panegyric, a love poem to the City with a tone of exultation and infatuation with the beauty of the scene that befa lls him. The way in which it appropriates London in a pastoral context and integrates the city and nature is a refreshing vantage point considering the political and social issues of the time. London however appears to describe an in all different London to Wordsworth because of Blakes focus on political issues. Overall, I find Blakes vision to be the most convincing because of how the poem is written as a first person experience by a citizen of London who is able to most appropriately empathise with people facing adversity and compare how the city has changed over time rather than capturing a single moment as Wordsworth does. The poems are both shaped by political and social concerns but Blakes London draws on social and political issues much more than Westminster Bridge, particularly focussing on the industrial revolutions impact on society in London, whereas only passing references are made in Westminster Bridge which is shaped to a much greater extent by personal emotional conc erns of the moment. These personal concerns are fleeting and short-lived because once the garment of the morning has been hung up, the underlying problems become apparent once again.BibliographyWordsworth was a religious man who said in 1812 that he was willing to shed his blood for the Church of England, http//www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/ww/religion1.htmlDictionary definition of manacles, http//www.onelook.comthe reconciliation of man and nature is a key tenet of Romanticism, as pioneered by Wordsworth himself, http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_poetry