WBCHSE Board Class 11th UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE || SAQ || Line by line analysis || Textual Question Answers || Short Questions & Answers || Broad type Questions || Exam Oriented Questions & Answers || 2023 English Suggestive Notes

Upon Westminster Bridge, (September 3, 1802) by William Wordsworth

LINE BY LINE ANALYSIS

1. Earth has not anything to show more fair ?

Wordsworth opens the sonnet with hyperbole or exaggeration, stating that the earth has no other sight as beautiful as the city of London beholds. The morning scene visible from the Westminster bridge is so attractive or impressive that the poet thinks so. Nothing can be compared to the beauty of the early morning.

2.. Why does the opening line seem to be striking ?

The opening line seems to be striking because the poet of Nature makes an exceptional statement about the beauty of the city of London.

3. Dull would he be of soul who could pass by-

The poet believes that anyone who could see the sight and pass by without being stunned or attracted by the scenic beauty of the city has no aesthetic sense to appreciate the beauty of Nature. Such a person would be dull. Except a dull fellow, everyone would be emotionally moved by the grandeur (royalty/ majesty) of the sight visible from the bridge.

4. A sight so touching in its majesty:

The phrase represents the poet’s emotion. He states that there is nothing more fair on the earth than the sight which he sees. The sight which touches his heart is pleasant and breathtaking.

5. What is the sight referred to here ?

The beautiful scene of the city of London visible from the Westminster bridge in the early morning, is the sight referred to here.

6 . What does the poet feel about the sight ?

The poet feels that the sight is highly impressive in its majesty /splendour.

7. This city now doth, like a garment, wear- why does the poet mean by this ?

By this line, the poet personifies the city to be able to wear a garment. According to the poet the bright light of the morning sun covers the city of London just as a dress covers the body. Bathed in the light of the morning sun, the city looks extremely beautiful.

8. ‘The beauty of the morning; silent, bare’ 

The poet states that the garment he is referring to is the personified morning which is steeped in beauty and rich in silence.

9 . What does the poet refer to ? Why is beauty ‘silent’ ?

This beauty is ‘silent’ because it is early in the morning, and the whole city is now at rest. There is no noise. 

It is bare because in the smokeless air of the morning everything is distinctly visible. It is the time before the fire is lit and smoke from the chimneys curl into the sky.

10. Ships, towers, domes, theaters, and temples lie

Here the poet moves on from describing the beauty and silence of the morning to a list of man-made structures. These are though man-made but part of nature. 

11. Open unto the field and to the sky;

Objects like ships, towers, domes, theatres, temples are spread all over London and open to the bright and sunny sky. As the air is smokeless all is clearly visible from the Westminster Bridge.

12. All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

What does the poet refer to by all ?

By the word ‘all’ the poet refers to everything visible from the Westminster Bridge. He has mentioned some of them- ships, towers, domes, theatres, temples, open fields and the sky.

13 . Why are they bright and glittering ?

In the smokeless air, the morning sun shines on everything in the city of London. So everything looks bright and glittering.

14. ‘Never did sun more beautifully steep’-

He opens the sestet with a sense of disbelief and exaggeration (hyperbole) where he says that he has never seen the sun rise more beautifully. Steep used in the sense of soaking in splendid sunlight and therefore almost radiating this wonder.)

15. In his first splendour, valley, rock or hill :

He describes the sun lighting up hills, rocks and valleys, once again elements of the natural landscape that usually do not come to mind when we think of London.

16. ‘‘Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep !’’ 

Using anaphora by repeating the word ‘never’, he emphasizes his belief that this sight brings him a sense of calm and peace that he has never experienced before.

17 . What is ‘So deep’ and why ?

The silence is intensely deep as the time is early morning and the whole city is now at rest. People are still in bed, so there is no noise.

18. The river glideth at his own sweet will :

Wordsworth also draws our attention to the fact that irrespective of whether man has the eyes or the vision to praise or glorify nature, nature carries on exhibiting its beauty and running its course. He personifies the river Thames to have a will of its own.

19 . What is the name of the river mentioned here ?

Why has the poet used a pronominal adjective here ?

The poet has used the pronominal adjective ‘his’ to personify the river. The river flows freely. The river is considered to be a person guided by his own ‘sweet will’.

20 . What does the poet mean to say ?

The poet means to say that the river Thames flows freely. It is not disturbed by the ships and the sailors. At this hour of the morning there is nothing to disturb the natural flow of the river.

21. ‘Dear God ! The very houses seem asleep’ :

Wordsworth uses exclamation and apostrophe by addressing God directly and once again personifies the beautiful city of London by mentioning that the houses seem to be asleep in the early morning hours.

22. And all the mighty heart is lying still !

He ends the sonnet by making a direct reference to the significance of the city, by referring to it as 'mighty-heart’. Continuing to give the city human time qualities, the city of London appears to be in a state.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTION

1. What type of sonnet is this poem ?

Upon Westminster Bridge is a Petrarchan sonnet or Italian sonnet.

2. What garment did the city seem to wear ?

The city seemed to wear the garment of morning beauty.

3. What type of poem is ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ ?

The poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ is a sonnet.

4. When did the poet view the city ?

In the morning, the poet viewed the city.

5. Why is the beauty of the city ‘silent, bare’ ?

The beauty of the city is silent because it is early in the morning and the whole city is now at rest. It is bare because in the smokeless air of the morning everything is distinctly / clearly visible.

6. What did the poet never feel before ?

The poet never feels such calmness in the early morning. The poet thought so after seeing the natural beauty of the city of London in the early morning.

7. What is London compared with in the last line of the poem ?

In the last line of the poem London is compared as a giant.

8. What is referred to as ‘mighty heart’ ?

The city of London is referred to as a mighty heart.

9. Why is the air ‘smokeless’?

In the early morning the air is smokeless because the fire is to be lit and the chimneys of the factories are yet to emit smoke.

10. ‘Dull would he be of soul who could pass by’ -Explain the meaning of the quoted line.

By the line the poet wanted to say that a person who saw the early morning beauty of the city but did not express his joy or wonder, he might be a dull soul.

11. Apart from the city, which two agents of Nature are also personified in the poem ?

Apart from the city, the two agents of nature personified in the poem are rivers and houses.

12. ‘Dear God’-What feeling does the expression convey ?

The expression conveys that the poet feels joy and wonder when he watches the beauty of London in the early morning from the Westminster bridge.

13. “A sight so touching in its majesty”-Which sight is referred to here ?

The sight of London in the early morning is referred to here.

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