Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

“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).