Upon Westminster Bridge – APPRECIATION Of the poem

Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth

-APPRECIATION Of the poem

‘Upon Westminster bridge’ is a Petrarchan sonnet written by the renowned Nature poet William Wordsworth. It is a 14-line poem divided into an octave and a sestet. The poem is about the poet’s feelings of fascination and wonder as he watches the early morning in the city of London from the Westminster bridge.

The poet has used poetic devices such as Hyperbole, Personification, Alliteration, Metaphor  and Simile. The use of Simile –‘This city now doth, like a garment, Wear the beauty of the morning’ creates a picturesque image. The  artistic use of end-rhymes gives a song-like rhythm to the poem. The rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdcdcd.

The main message of the poem is the beauty of the city in its natural setting before the routine activities have begun. This highlights the negative impact of industrialization which the poet believes may ruin the city. Overall, the poem is brilliantly outstanding and allows the readers to visualize the picture painted by Wordsworth. The tone of the poem changes from overwhelmed to calm, to excited and amazed by the end. The poet’s calling out to God in sheer amazement is indeed a sublime finish to the beautiful sonnet. This poem validates the fact that Wordsworth was a true Nature poet.

I like this poem for it’s simplicity, freshness & picturesque depiction. This over 200 years old poem has the supreme power to take anyone close to nature.