“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” is a sonnet written by William Wordsworth, arguably the most prominent of the English Romantic Poets. The title marks a specific place and time—a viewpoint over London’s River Thames during the Industrial Revolution—and is typical of Wordsworth, whose work often deals with both the power and fleeting nature of remembered moments. The poem’s speaker contemplates the city at dawn, seeing it for its breathtaking beauty while also acknowledging the industrial forces transforming it. When published, the poem appeared alongside sonnets that explicitly criticized industrial England.
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The Full Text of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
1Earth has not any thing to show more fair:
2Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
3A sight so touching in its majesty:
4This City now doth, like a garment, wear
5The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
6Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
7Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
8All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
9Never did sun more beautifully steep
10In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
11Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
12The river glideth at his own sweet will:
13Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
14And all that mighty heart is lying still!
The Full Text of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
1Earth has not any thing to show more fair:
2Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
3A sight so touching in its majesty:
4This City now doth, like a garment, wear
5The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
6Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
7Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
8All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
9Never did sun more beautifully steep
10In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
11Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
12The river glideth at his own sweet will:
13Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
14And all that mighty heart is lying still!
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Summary
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Themes
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Nature vs. Civilization
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Individuality vs. Community
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Fleeting Beauty
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
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Line 1
Earth has not any thing to show more fair:
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Lines 2-3
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty: -
Lines 4-5
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; -
Lines 5-7
silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky; -
Line 8
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
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Lines 9-10
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; -
Line 11
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
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Line 12
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
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Lines 13-14
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Symbols
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Morning
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Hyperbole
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Personification
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Paradox
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Anaphora
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End-Stopped Line
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Metaphor
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Sibilance
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Caesura
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Apostrophe
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Enjambment
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Fair
- Touching
- Doth
- Bare
- Glittering
- Smokeless
- Steep
- Splendour
- Glideth
- Mighty heart
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Speaker
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“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
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More “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” Resources
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External Resources
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Ian McKellen Reads “Westminster Bridge” — Watch the British actor, of Lord of the Rings fame, read the poem in his own dramatic interpretation.
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Poetry Pairing — Read “Westminster Bridge” alongside a more recent travel article about London.
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William Wordsworth's Biography — A medium-length biography of William Wordsworth, including information about his upbringing, political beliefs, poetic theories, and contemporary poets.
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William Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads — A long essay in which Wordsworth articulates his theory about what poetry should be, and explains how he goes about making it.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Wordsworth
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