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Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
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Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“London, 1802” by William Wordsworth (1807)
In this poem, the speaker takes a decidedly critical view of London and its inhabitants, declaring that they have lost their way and their happiness. He calls upon John Milton, a poet most famous for having written Paradise Lost, to come back to the city to show erring human beings how to find their way again. This presents a decidedly different view of the city than Wordsworth depicted in “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,” and it is perhaps the more typical view the Romantics had of the age they lived in, and why they needed poets and poetry to redirect individual’s attention back toward nature and tranquility.
“Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798” by William Wordsworth (1798)
Whereas “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” is somewhat of an outlier in Wordsworth’s poetry, “Tintern Abbey” is a more typical example of his work. In this poem, the speaker, very likely Wordsworth himself, is escaping the city and revisiting the idyllic image of the Wye River. Here he reflects that this scene of tranquility has given him much pleasure when in the city (Lines 26-30). This exemplifies Wordsworth’s relationship to nature and the attitude he articulates more clearly in “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads,” where this poem was originally published.
“On Westminster Bridge” by Ted Hughes (1963)
The work of Wordsworth has continued to be an influence on writers into modern times. The poet Ted Hughes wrote a response to Wordsworth’s “Composed upon Westminster Bridge,” in which he directly responds to Wordsworth, much the way Wordsworth directly addressed Milton in the poem “London, 1802.”
Further Literary Resources
“Preface to the Lyrical Ballads” by William Wordsworth (1801)
This document, more than any other, outlines the tenants of Romanticism and the aims of Romantic Poetry. Wordsworth articulates what he sees to be the prevailing ills of his day and the ways in which he believes Romantic poets can address those ills. This is an invaluable piece of reading for anyone who wants to understand the historical and literary context that shaped most of Wordsworth’s work.
“Wordsworth” by Ashton Nichols (2011)
This article on Dickinson College's Romantic Natural History site draws a line between the work of William Wordsworth and the oncoming Environmentalist movement and Ecological poetry. Wordsworth was writing at a time before the word “environmentalist” had entered the lexicon, yet his work articulated ideals that later environmentalists would come to champion.
“Romantics and the Industrial Revolution” by The Saylor Foundation
This article gives a brief summary of the way in which the Industrial Revolution shaped the ideals of the Romantics, including Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, and Shelly. It also addresses the poem “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” and discusses how this poem is specifically influenced by and a reaction to the inevitable growth of cities in England.
Listen to Poem
Sir Ian McKellen is a classically trained British actor, accustomed to reading poetry aloud via his many performances on stage and screen in the works of Shakespeare, to say nothing of The Lord of the Rings. Here he reads “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” as part of the free online “Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing” course at the University of Warwick. The course instructs how reading poems, plays, and novels can reduce emotional strain and lead to greater peace of mind and well-being.
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By William Wordsworth
