Today's poem makes an interesting contrast with the (presumably written in
the same year) "London 1802" - the 'fen of stagnant waters' is nowhere in
evidence,replaced instead by a sight 'touching in its majesty'.
The city dweller in me notes that Wordsworth has exhibited his usual
facility at both observation and description.The 'silent,bare' beauty of
the morning,the city steeped in the early morning sun,the deep sense of
calm,are as real,and as worthy of the poet's pen,as any babbling brook or
forest glade.
He also does a beautiful job of blending the images of the city and his own
reactions to them into one organic whole[1],shifting voices effortlessly
while never losing the central theme.And the last line is simply exquisite.
[1] see my criticism of 'The Simplon Pass',poem #441
Notes:
Dorothy Wordsworth in her Journal July 31,1802,described the scene as
she and her brother left London,early in the morning,for their
month-long visit to Calais:"It was a beautiful morning.The city,St.
Paul's,with the river,and a multitude of little boats,made a most
beautiful sight as we crossed Westminster Bridge.The houses were not
overhung by their cloud of smoke,and they were spread out endlessly,yet
the sun shone so brightly,with such a fierce light; that there was
something like the purity of one of nature's own grand spectacles."
