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.