Monday, January 20, 2020
What ideas do Blake and Wordsworth present and how effectively are :: English Literature
What ideas do Blake and Wordsworth present and how effectively are they presented? Both poets lived through both the eighteenth and nineteenth century. I believe these poems were written just around the turn of the century. During this time the Industrial Revolution was underway and Britainwas becoming a very advanced country. It was a time of big change for everyone and I think the poets both explain that in their poems. Not only was it the Revolution, it was about the same time as the Romantic Movement, when poets would write about beauty, love and purity. The whole population attended church every Sunday. They all believed God was ubiquitous (these people were called Pantheists). It was an extremely religious age and anyone who did not respect God would be treated with disrespect. Both poets had to remember this when they wrote their poems. Both poems are about the same place (London) but both poets have different views. In my opinion they are both harshly critical of the city and its population. William Wordsworth "Composed upon WestminsterBridge" is written in a fourteen line sonnet, the first eight describing the man made elements of Londonand the last six talking about the natural beauty. He has written it in prose using iambic pentameter to help emphasise the meaning of the rhyming words, each line has the same number of syllables. The poem itself is descriptive, with a strong rhyming scheme. It contains anachronism, in the third to last line he uses archaic English to describe the river. This shows he has a wider ranger of vocabulary than other poet at that time. He uses assonance throughout the poem along with adjectives and punctuation on every line. Wordsworth is very optimistic with his feeling towards London. His philosophy is to appreciate the Londonview and the beauty of nature everywhere. I get the impression he believes God gave us our senses and the ability to remember the beauty in everything around us. He personifies everything, the sun, river, and even the city itself. He gives them functions that are unique to humans. He says: "The City now doth like a garment wear The beauty of the morning:" This makes the reader think that the city is not just an inanimate collection of buildings but actually alive, bustling with life. I interpret this personification to mean that the city is disguising itself in the beauty of the morning sun, not revealing this true ugliness. Knowing the way Londonwas back then, during the Industrial Revolution, it is clear to say that Wordsworth is exaggerating its beauty. He uses effective imagery and praises all achievements in the world, both by man and in nature.
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