Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” may seem a relatively simple poem to those living after the Romantic Movement. However, in Wordsworth’s time it epitomized a changing style in writing, as well as subtle social commentary directed at an increasingly more industrialized world. Many of the themes and styles that Wordsworth pioneered would in fact give rise to the poetry that became so typical in the century that followed.

Wordsworth was born at a time of great change in Europe. During his lifetime he saw both the Industrial Revolution, as well as the French Revolution, and both of those revolution’s effects on his country and across the world. It was a dynamic time, which the novelist Charles Dickens called “The best of times…the worst of times…the age of wisdom…the age of foolishness” (A Tale of Two Cities). On one hand, new inventions and machines were making life easier for some; England saw the growth of a larger middle class. On the other hand, many of those who owned the new business were exploiting factory workers, causing increasing hardship for the lower classes.

Against this backdrop, Wordsworth became a champion of the common person. He believed in the importance of the individual, and like Enlightenment thinkers, believed that human beings should be given their freedom to live as they chose.