Poet's Corner

"Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802"

William Wordsworth

Poem explanation

1    Earth has not anything to show more fair:



     Dull would he be of soul who could pass by



     A sight so touching in its majesty:



     This City now doth, like a garment, wear



5    The beauty of the morning; silent, bare 



     Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie



     Open unto the fields, and to the sky; 



     All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.



     Never did sun more beautifully steep



10   In his first splendour valley, rock, or hill;



     Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! 



     The river glideth at his own sweet will:



     Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;



     And all that mighty heart is lying still! 

Source: Exploring Poetry, Gale, 1997.