Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 Questions and Answers
by William Wordsworth

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What is the "garment" the speakers refers to in "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"? Who is wearing it?
  The lines you're referring to read: This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning Notice the word "like" before garment. Wordsworth is using a simile here; there is no...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What is the appropriateness of the figure of speech in line 1 of "Composed upon Westminster Bridge"?
  The first line of Wordsworth's poem reads, "Earth has not any thing to show more fair:". This figure of speech imagines Earth putting on a show, and not only that, putting on her best show. This...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What role dues the wind play in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
  In Wordsworth's sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge," Wordsworth describes a view of the city of London early in the morning as the sun is just rising gently into the sky. He finds the scene...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  In William Wordsworth's poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," how does the speaker sense the "mighty heart" of London by viewing, from a Romantic perspective, the landscape of the city?
  In his poem titled “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, Sept. 3, 1802,” William Wordsworth writes in a Romantic mode about the “mighty heart” of the City of London. He does so in a number of ways,...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Compare and contrast "London" by William Blake and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth.
  William Blake was often scathing about the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the poorest members of society. What other men saw as progress and prosperity, he saw as degradation and...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What impression of London does the speaker create? How is this achieved?
  In Wordsworth's "Composed on Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," the speaker describes a scene of London laid before him that is beautiful, peaceful, and awe-inspiring, and he speaks of the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What does the poet want to suggest by describing the beauty of London in the poem "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
  Wordsworth is effectively saying that here is a place right at the heart of the city which is as beautiful as anywhere in nature. As with most Romantic poets, Wordsworth derived much inspiration...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What did William Wordsworth feel standing on Westminster Bridge early in the morning?
  He feels "a calm so deep" as the city is about to wake up for another day. Wordsworth is often regarded as a nature poet, someone who derived his inspiration primarily from contemplating the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Who was Lucy Gray?
  This question is a little confusing, as the character Lucy Gray does not appear in Wordsworth's "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge." "Westminster Bridge" is a sonnet—a lyrical work expressing an...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Refering to "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," show why the speaker feels so awestruck and amazed at his first sight of London so early in the morning.
  You might want to focus on the way that the poem personifies the city of London, making it seem human. Note that we are told that London "like a garment" wears "the beauty of the morning," the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  How does William Wordsworth vividly portray the city of London close to nature in the sonnet "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802?"
  Wordsworth usually praises nature, as opposed to cities and man-made structures, in his poetry. However, in this poem, he praises the city of London in the early hours of the morning. In the first...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge September 3, 1802," what two passages present London as a living being?  What is the effect of this personification?
  'This city now doth like a gament wear The beauty of the morning;' 'Dear God! The very houses seem asleep, And all that mighty heart is lying still.' In both these cases apparently inanimate...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Why does the poet use the words "calm," "bare," and "silent"?
  In this poem, William Wordsworth is ruminating upon the absolute and uncharacteristic calm that can be felt in London from Westminster Bridge in the early hours of the morning. At this point in the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What does the time of day have to do with the type of scene depicted in the sonnet "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" by Wordsworth?  
  The time of day and the location are the most important factors in this poem. William Wordsworth was known for writing romantic poetry based on nature and country scenes. By contrast, here he...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What are the important similarities between Blake's "London" and Wordsworth's "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"? Compare these two poems. What are the major questions and themes? 
  William Blake's "London" and Wordsworth's "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" are both about London. Blake's poem is four stanzas of four lines each and Wordsworth's is in sonnet...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What are Wordsworth's feelings about nature? In these poems: "The World Is Too Much With Us," "Westminster Bridge," and "Tintern Abbey."
  Nature in the Wordsworth poems you ask about is something to be thoroughly experienced, studied, and contemplated. For Wordsworth, nature is an essential, not an extra or hobby. Humans should...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Why is the air smokeless?
  The air is smokeless because it's early in the morning and no one's woken up yet. London is still asleep as the speaker passes over Westminster Bridge. He acknowledges to himself, Dear God! the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What are the two images in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 " that compare the city to nature?
  In the first image, Wordsworth compares all that he observes as he looks out across the city of London with the scenery that he would observe if he were looking out on a natural area from some high...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What is the significance of the title of William Wordsworth's poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
  In his poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,” William Wordsworth describes the image of London he and his sister saw as they traveled across the bridge early in the morning....

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What is the sight referred to here?
  In William Wordsworth's "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," the speaker describes watching the sunrise over the city of London and the river Thames. From the title of the poem,...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  How does Wordsworth use personifications in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge"?
  Personification is a literary device whereby non-human things and objects are endowed with human characteristics. There are a number of such examples in "Composed upon Westminster Bridge,...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," how does Wordsworth’s view of the sleeping city fit with his view of nature?
  Excellent question. It is very interesting that this, one of Wordsworth's most famous poems, is not actually based on the countryside or the Lake District of England, where he had been inspired to...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  According to Wordsworth, how does London look from Westminster Bridge?
  Wordsworth is taken by London's beauty from his vantage point on Westminster Bridge. He describes it as "touching in its majesty," and says that its beauty is the equal of any vista in nature (high...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," why is the city so in tune with nature in this poem? In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," why is the city so in tune with nature in this poem?
  I hate to disagree with the main point of your question, but I don't actually agree that this poem presents the city as being in tune with nature. I think that maybe you are confusing the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What is the theme of "Composed upon Westminster Bridge"?
  Your original question had to be edited as it contained more than one question. Enotes only permits you to ask one question at a time, so please refrain from asking multiple questions in the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  How does this quotation from "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" change the tone of the poem?Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;  
  The poem does change in tone, but the shift occurs earlier than in the line you cite here. Consider it in context: Ne'er saw I, never felt a calm so deep!The river glideth at his own sweet...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Why is there no mention of the people in London in the poem "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth?
  Wordsworth does not speak of the peopled bustling city because his subject is the comparison of the city’s calm in the early morning (before people are out of bed) to the calm of nature: "Earth has...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802," how do lines 4-8 help you to form an image of the city?
  In much of Wordsworth's other poetry, he celebrates the beauty of nature; not the beauty of cities and industrial centers. However, in this poem, Wordsworth marvels at the view of London from...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  In "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," what is the significance of the exclamation at the end of the poem?
  Certainly the ending of the poem is remarkable for the exclamation that seems to escape the mouth of the speaker involuntarily: Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Discuss how the sonnet form has been used to effect the sonnet, "Composed upon Westminster Bridge." its an essay for school. im very stuck and would like some help. i've never been good at writing essays and this is a hard one,...
  There are two basic types of sonnets: English (two divisions here include Shakespearian and Spenserian) and Italian (Petrarchan). The types are named for the most famous authors, William...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What are two images that are drawn from nature in the poem?  I need to explain how these images compare the city to nature.
  In this poem, Wordsworth is (unusually for him) talking about how beautiful the city is. He usually contrasts cities and nature, but now he is comparing them. He is using images from nature to...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  What is the theme of "Composed upon Westminter Bridge, September 3, 1802"?
  (eNotes educators may only answer one question per response. If you need more help, please resubmit further questions singly.) "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" expresses the...

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• Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  "Write an essay in which you explore the way the sonnet represents the city to the reader." I was absent for the explanation of this poem and my lecturer dislikes me and thus refuses to explain the poem to me. I'm not asking for the answer...
  The poem expresses Wordsworth's impression upon viewing London, particularly the part of London visible from Westminster Bridge, in the early morning. He notes various items making it obvious that...

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