Composed on Westminster Bridge, September 2, 1802

A Perfect Day: September 3, 1802

In William Wordsworth's poem, “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,” William Wordsworth illustrates what he sees while standing on Westminster Bridge and gazing out at London. In the subject matter, explains the vast amounts of beauty that overwhelm him. The poem begins by saying, “Earth has not anything to show more fair” (1). Immediately, he oozes excitement from the beauty he encounters, setting the mood for the rest of the poem. In this quotation, he implies that he has stumbled upon the quintessential beauty of the world and is experiencing a once in a lifetime feeling. He then goes on to to paint a picture of what he sees. The first thing that he does is list a number of man-made things that take his breath away: “Ships, towers, domes, theaters, and temples lie” (6). After admiring the man-made things, he shifts gears and starts to talk about the natural things that he sees as well. He starts by listing them as he did when talking about the man-made things: “Never did sun more beautifully steep / In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill” (10). Here, he hints at the main theme of his poem by blending the beauty of nature with the beauty of man-made things. He explains how lucky he is to have come across this picture-perfect view of London by saying that it was the first time that the sun had ever illuminated something in such a beautiful way. Another factor that impresses Wordsworth is the calmness. London is usually a extremely busy city with things always happening, but as Wordsworth gazes at London, he makes note of the fact that the houses are still and everybody is asleep. Even in the first couple of lines, it becomes clear that the goal of th poem is for Wordsworth to exemplify his astonishment of the view.

Wordsworth uses a plethora of literary devices to emphasize his tone of amazement. The first literary device that he incorporates into his poem is personification. He personifies the city of London itself because he believes that only something with human-like characteristics could possibly be that