POEMS

An African Thunderstorm”
The poem opens with storm winds and thunderclouds blowing in from the west, violently
churning up items in their path. The storm's senseless destruction is like that of an
invading insect swarm (like a biblical "plague of locusts"), or like an insane person
running after nothing.
The speaker describes the clouds that ride the wind as "pregnant" and "stately,"
implying that they're full of rain and possibly full of ominous significance, but are
grand-looking as well. These clouds hover over the hilltops like the dark wings of some
evil creature. The trees bending in the path of the strong wind that passes by.
The poem turns to the responses of villagers in the storm's path. Children scream with
excitement, and the noise is blown around by the wind as it churns. Women frantically
scramble, rushing in and out of doors, as the babies they're carrying fearfully cling to
them. Nearby trees continue to bend in the strong wind.
The women's clothing is ripped off by the storm, exposing their naked bodies, and then
waves in the wind like torn up flags. Lightning flashes vividly, thunder rumbles the
ground, the air smells like fire and smoke, and a violent rain begins.

Colonialism and Social Turmoil

“An African Thunderstorm” is both a vivid description of a gathering storm and a
symbolic depiction of social unrest. As the speaker narrates the arrival of a massive
downpour in an African village, the poem’s language and imagery link this storm “from
the west” with the turmoil brought by Western colonization (that is, the invasion,
subjection, and exploitation of African peoples by European and majority-European
countries). In this way, the poem can be read as an allegory for colonialism, which it
depicts as a violent force that destabilizes everything in its path.
“From the west” is a loaded phrase when applied to Africa, where “the West” is often
associated with Europe, the U.S., and colonial history. Thus, as the speaker describes
the storm's arrival in biblical, almost apocalyptic terms, readers can deduce that the
speaker is also talking about upheavals in African history (including in the poet’s native
Malawi) set in motion by colonialism.
The speaker compares the storm, for example, to a “plague of locusts,” which might
evoke the biblical Plague of Egypt in which God sends a crop-destroying swarm to force
the Egyptian pharaoh to free the Israelites from bondage. As the clouds settle on the
hills “like sinister dark wings,” the poem might again be evoking the Angel of Death from
those same Plagues—or else a predatory or scavenging bird. These details mark the
storm as an omen of swift, destructive change. And in doing so, they imply that colonial
violence (and the struggles for independence in its wake) has the power to upend life as
people know it.
Ultimately, the storm brings violence, violation, and social disruption that parallel
colonialism’s legacy of military violence, cultural erasure, and economic, environmental,
and sexual exploitation. The wind tears off women’s “tattered” clothes, for instance,
“expos[ing]” their bodies. Symbolically, this image suggests that colonialism is a
violation and/or a stripping away of culture. It also evokes the specific violence women
faced in these circumstances, including sexual assault.
By comparing the clothes to “tattered flags” and the storm’s progress to a “march,” the
poem further links the storm with war and political change. At the same time, the
comparison of the storm to a “madman chasing nothing" links it with irrationality, chaos,
and absurdity—suggesting that colonialism itself is irrational, chaotic, and absurd.
While literally conveying the experience of a big storm, these details symbolically
suggest an overthrow of human order, the kind that accompanies war and other social
upheavals. Again, this “sinister” event “from the west” mirrors the violations and cultural
destruction that have accompanied Western violence against African peoples.
Where this theme appears in the poem:
● Lines 1-33

​
​ Humanity vs. Nature
“An African Thunderstorm” demonstrates human vulnerability in the face
of nature’s power. As a violent storm slams into an African village, the
poem depicts the natural world as more flexible and durable than that
created by human beings—as something that can “bend” during a storm,
in contrast to the villagers, who might be devastated and broken. At the
same time, the poem offers hints of human resilience in the face of the
approaching crisis.
The power of the storm speaks to the power of nature more broadly to
disrupt human life. The storm’s first actions in the poem (“hurrying,”
“Turning sharply,” “Whirling,” “Tossing,” “chasing”) emphasize its speed,
restlessness, and ferocity. The thunder, lightning, and rain are “blind[ing]”
and “pelting”; they “rumble,” “tremble,” and “crack.” These words highlight
the storm’s disruptiveness and violence.
The villagers’ response to the storm, meanwhile, suggests their
vulnerability to nature’s might. Unlike the trees, which can simply “bend to
let it pass,” the villagers are driven into hurry and fear. Children excitedly
scream or cling to mothers; adults rush around performing unspecified
activities. The poem does not explain where the men of the village are or
what they’re doing, nor how the women “Dart[ing ] [...] Madly” are
preparing for the storm. Instead, it simply shows nature’s power causing a
breakdown of normal social order. Nature has thoroughly, if temporarily,
disrupted human life.
However, the “delight” of the screaming children is an exception to the
atmosphere of dread. Their joy might be read as naïve and ironic, but it
might also be read as an expression of an irrepressible human spirit. The
speaker also mentions the “smell of fired smoke,” which is another
ambiguous image. This smell might come from outdoor fires getting
doused by the rain, from indoor fires of villagers waiting out the storm, or
 even from lightning strikes. In other words, it might further demonstrate
nature’s disruptive power, or it might speak to human resilience.
The poem doesn't show the ultimate impact of the storm on the village,
instead ending just as the rain begins “pelting.” It's clear that nature has
enough power to cause human panic. At the same time, the storm seems
to do mostly superficial damage: it tears clothes, but for the moment, at
least, does not kill people. Thus, the poem illustrates nature’s power to
destroy the things humans make—and by extension, human culture—but
does not show the destruction of humanity itself. It portrays nature’s power
as formidable, but not necessarily as apocalyptic: humanity, in this poem’s
vision, might be able to endure any chaos nature can throw at it

​ “An African Thunderstorm” Symbols

​
​ The West
The storm's approach "from the west" may be the poem's most important
symbolic detail. In global politics, the "Western world" is associated with
Europe and countries of majority European descent, such as the U.S.,
Canada, and Australia. The history of Africa, including the poet's native
Malawi, has included long periods of colonization, exploitation, and
cultural "Westernization" by Western powers. The storm can be read as a
symbol of this violence, and of the larger social upheaval it's caused.
Of course, the storm could also just be a storm and "the west" could just
mean "the west." But the context of Rubadiri's other poetry argues in favor
of the symbolic reading. He uses a more blunt version of the same
symbolism in another of his early-career poems, "The Tide that from the
West Washes Africa to the Bone":
The tide that from the west
With blood washes Africa
Once washed a wooden cross.
Here is a disaster "from the west" that's clearly symbolic (the continent has
never literally been engulfed in blood) and associated with colonial
violence, Christianity, etc. "An African Thunderstorm" is likely using a
subtler variation of the same idea.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:

● Line 1: “From the west”

​
​ Clouds
Clouds are a shape-shifting symbol in this poem. Indeed, clouds
themselves are symbolically associated with shape-shifting and change!
Storm clouds, like those that turn up in line 2, are traditionally a symbol of
impending danger. The poem leans into that symbolism:

● This village is literally about to experience a bad thunderstorm, and,

symbolically, the clouds seem to represent some larger, destructive
societal change on the horizon.
● In personifying these clouds as pregnant women "rid[ing] stately"
on the wind, the speaker suggests that they're heavy and swollen
with the rain they're about to shed. But they're also pregnant with
meaning: they're "sinister," like omens. They seem to signal a
momentous change—a new season, or maybe a new era, that's
about to be "born."

​ The speaker also compares the clouds to "hurrying" figures and to "dark
wings" that "perch" on the "hills." (The jumbled syntax of the first stanza
leaves some ambiguity as to whether it's the clouds or just the wind being
compared to "locusts" and a "madman.") This series of comparisons helps
the reader visualize the clouds swiftly approaching, then seeming to slow
and settle over the village. It also calls to mind various sinister presences
from African, Middle Eastern, and European myths and
religions—shape-shifting gods, spirits of the dead, horsemen of the
apocalypse, birds that foreshadow death, and so forth—without
necessarily evoking one in particular.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:

● Lines 2-9: “Clouds come hurrying with the wind / Turning / Sharply
/ Here and there / Like a plague of locusts / Whirling / Tossing up
things on its tail / Like a madman chasing nothing.”
● Lines 10-13: “Pregnant clouds / Ride stately on its back / Gathering
to perch on hills / Like sinister dark wings;”

​
​ Locusts
The speaker compares the storm to "a plague of locusts"—that is, to a
swarm of crop-eating grasshoppers. This image symbolizes impending
disaster for the village that the storm is about to hit. By extension, it may
symbolize political disaster for Africa, though perhaps with some
possibility of liberation implied.
The locust symbolism in this poem builds on that fact that locusts have
appeared as omens of devastation or doom in literature for thousands of
 years. For example, locusts show up on numerous occasions on the Bible,
always in the context of disaster. Sometimes they're associated with the
thwarting of human efforts (as in Deuteronomy 28:38: "Thou shalt carry
much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust
shall consume it."). In the Book of Revelation, they appear in monstrous
form as a sign of the apocalypse.
Most famously, they appear in Exodus as one of the Plagues of Egypt that
God sends to compel the Egyptian Pharaoh to release the Israelites from
bondage. If the poem is read as a political allegory, then these locusts
links the storm with the political crises and freedom struggles of modern
Africa.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:

● Lines 6-8: “Like a plague of locusts / Whirling / Tossing up things

on its tail”

​
​ Dark Wings
The poem compares the storm clouds to "sinister dark wings" that "perch
on hills." These wings link the storm with horror and death:

● They might make readers think of a bird traditionally associated

with death, such as a vulture or raven. (Vultures are scavengers
that feed on carcasses; they're also a familiar form of wildlife in
many parts of Africa. Ravens, crows, and blackbirds are unlucky
omens in many cultures.) Bats are another dark-winged creature
associated with death, especially in Gothic and horror literature.
● Alternatively, these may represent the dark wings of an angel, such
as the "Angel of Death," which appears in some versions of the
Exodus story containing the "plague of locusts." (As a final plague,
God, or his angel, kills the Egyptians' first-born sons while sparing
those of the Israelites.)

​ That biblical symbolism, in turn, may be politically loaded. Christianity, as

spread through missionaries, was a major element in Western colonizers'
efforts to "civilize" and "save" the African peoples they considered inferior.
If this poem is read as an allegory for Western political violence, perhaps
it's drawing an unflattering, ironic comparison between Western colonizers
and the deadly plagues from their own Bible.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:
 ● Lines 12-13: “Gathering to perch on hills / Like sinister dark wings;”

​
​ Clothes
At the end of the poem, clothes become a complex symbol. As the wind
tears at them, they "wave like tattered flags." And as the wind rips them
away, they "expose" the bare bodies of the village women.
On one level, then, these clothes are associated with protection and
privacy; with human-made objects (as opposed to natural ones, such as
the "trees" that withstand the storm); with human culture, including political
culture ("flags"); and perhaps even with civilization itself. This storm
seems capable of damaging or destroying all these things. In this way, it's
a vivid demonstration of nature's power over humanity.
Reading the poem allegorically, these flying, "tattered flags" might also be
a reference to the devastation of colonialism, which many Africans
experienced as political chaos, cultural destruction, and even physical
violation. The eras of colonization and decolonization brought many literal
changes in the flags (and clothing) of African peoples. The speaker may
also intend some irony with respect to colonizers' claims that they were
"civilizing" Africans. Here the impact from "the west" is de-civilizing—a
savage assault on dignity, privacy, and safety. In other words, colonialism
is ripping up the social fabric of this society.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:

● Lines 27-29: “Clothes wave like tattered flags / Flying off / To

expose dangling breasts”

​ Wind
Wind is symbolically linked with change, including political change. Think
of political sayings such as "the way the wind is blowing" or "putting your
finger to the wind" (i.e., testing public opinion). The word also appeared in
the "Wind of Change" speech British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
delivered in 1960, when a number of African countries (including
Rubadiri's) were still under British control:

● In this speech, Macmillan treated the independence movements

sweeping Africa as a kind of unstoppable force, suggesting that
British colonialism in the region was nearing its end: "The wind of
change is blowing through this continent."
● Thus, the "wind" in the poem may be symbolically linked with
particular changes in Africa during the time Rubadiri was writing.
 ● At the same time, it may also be linked with prior turbulence
originating "From the west."

​ Strong wind is also associated with the power of nature in general, and
sometimes with divine power (as in the case of the winds that bring and
remove the "plague of locusts" in Exodus). The wind in this poem is linked
with merciless and overwhelming force, whether that force is interpreted
as natural, divine, or political. It has the power to stir up chaos, transform
its surroundings, reduce human communication to mere noise
("Screams"), and damage or destroy markers of human culture and
identity ("Clothes," "flags").
Where this symbol appears in the poem:

● Lines 1-9: “From the west / Clouds come hurrying with the wind /
Turning / Sharply / Here and there / Like a plague of locusts /
Whirling / Tossing up things on its tail / Like a madman chasing
nothing.”
● Lines 14-15: “The wind whistles by / And trees bend to let it pass.”
● Lines 17-19: “Screams of delighted children / Toss and turn / In the
din of the whirling wind,”
● Lines 25-26: “The wind whistles by / Whilst trees bend to let it
pass.”
● Lines 27-29: “Clothes wave like tattered flags / Flying off / To
expose dangling breasts”

​ “An African Thunderstorm” Poetic Devices &

Figurative Language
Metaphor
Most of the poem's figurative language occurs in the form of similes, but it contains
several metaphors as well.
For example, the thunderclouds are metaphorically "pregnant": they're heavy with the
rain they're about to release, and apparently with some larger significance as well.
(Compare the phrase "a pregnant pause," meaning a pause that's likely to be followed
by some meaningful statement.) The speaker also says that these pregnant clouds
"Ride stately" on the "back" of the wind: that is, the wind blows them along, and they
look impressive and grand as they approach.

● Note that both of these metaphors are more specifically a kind of

personification. This, in turn, supports an allegorical reading of the
poem wherein the storm clouds represent the looming thread of
political violence.
Another important metaphor also occurs in the last line of the poem, which describes
"the pelting march of the storm." As the thunderstorm advances and brings a
hard-driving rain, the speaker compares it to a "march[ing]" army that's "pelting" the
village with bullets or other projectiles. This imagery subtly links the storm with other
forms of violence Africa has suffered during its history, including military violence "from
the west" (that is, the political West).

Gabriel Okara And A Summary of

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time is a free verse poem that focuses on a father's attitude to cultural
change and times past, before the incoming Western culture affected the native African
way of life.

● In the poem the man (presumably a father) addresses the son, telling him in a
rather nostalgic manner, how things used to be. People were different back then,
more genuine it seemed, and that is what the speaker would like to do now -
return to a restored world - if he can only learn from the youngster.

Back then people weren't after your money, they could look you in the eye and smile
real smiles. But nowadays, although the smiling teeth are on show, and they'll shake
your hand, all they want to know is your financial status.

And so the poem progresses, the early stanzas revealing more of the negative changes
that have occurred during the father's lifetime. He is old enough to have watched decent
human standards drop to the wayside as western ideals (together with capitalism)
gradually took over.

The speaker wants to relearn from the as yet untainted son; how to laugh and be
genuine again. It's rather a pathetic plea, coming from the adult to the youngster - for
what can the son realistically do? Can the clocks be put back? Can an ancient culture
be retrieved from the overwhelming modern culture?
 ● The themes are: how society changes, cultural shift, capitalism, values.

Perhaps the tone is ironic, perhaps the speaker knows deep inside that he'll never
regain that purity, he won't be able to turn back time and relive life as a transformed
person. That's why the title could be from a fairytale; the speaker's wishes are a fantasy.

First Stanza

The first line suggests that this poem is going to be based on a story, is a kind of story
or or fairytale?

The speaker is addressing his son, so this could well be a father beginning to explain
how things used to be, how people 'they' used to laugh with their hearts and eyes. Back
in the past.

In contrast, nowadays laughter is more of a show of teeth, and the eyes are cold and
looking for something other than the real person.

So already the present is being judged by the past. And from what we can gather from
these first six lines, the speaker prefers the attitudes of the people from the past. There
is the feeling that negative change is here.

Second Stanza

The art of shaking hands has also changed. In the past a greeting was genuine, a
person welcomed for who they were. But nowadays people shake hands with one eye
on your status, your financial status.

People are no longer genuinely warm towards others. People are on the make, wanting
to get something from you.

Third Stanza

People invite you round to their homes making out as if you're important to them but if
you don't measure up socially or your status isn't quite right, you're not invited again.
The alienation continues. People nowadays are artificial and fickle because of the
change in culture.

Fourth Stanza

The first three stanzas outline the speaker's perception of changing culture and attitudes
and values in his country.

This fourth stanza describes how the speaker himself had to change and learn in order
to comply. He uses a comparison - faces to dresses - to highlight the various personas
he took on, all the while smiling.

The repeated use of face affixed to various places and situations is highly visual.

Fifth Stanza

He also has become adept at the heartless hand shake and hollow toothy smile, plus he
knows how to deceive people with his farewells and welcomes and false politeness.

Basically he is saying that he has become an integral part of this new culture. It's been
quite an education for him.

Sixth Stanza

But he is not happy being a conformist. He wants to regain a former innocence the
youngster still holds. He wants no part of this new culture and all these muting things.
That word muting means to deaden in this context.

What he wants most is to be able to laugh in innocence again - he likens himself to a

snake, his teeth hold something toxic, even dangerous.

Seventh Stanza

He comes clean. He wants the son to show him how to regain this lost innocence. How
to laugh and smile like in the old days when he was young and carefree and the culture
encouraged openness and honesty a pure identity.
Literary/Poetic Devices in Once Upon
A Time

Alliteration

When two or more words close together in a line begin with the same consonant,
creating different sound textures:

hands without hearts....these muting things....So show me,

son,...when I was

Assonance

When two or more words are close together in a line and have similar sounding vowels,
again creating different sounds:

upon a time, son....like a fixed portrait smile....was like you. I

want....

Caesura

A break in a line where the reader pauses, usually through punctuation:

'Feel at home! Come again.'

they say, and when I come

Enjambment

When a line runs on into the next with no stop or pause, maintaining the sense. For
example the first two lines of this stanza:
And I have learned too

to laugh with only my teeth

and shake hands without my heart.

Simile

When something is compared to a different thing, using the words like or as. For
example:

I have learned to wear many faces/like dresses -

with all their conforming smiles/like a fixed portrait smile.

like a snake's bare fangs.

What Is The Tone of Once Upon A

Time?

The tone of Once Upon A Time is nostalgic and perhaps a little ironic. The speaker
dearly wishes to relearn how to smile a genuine smile again, how to laugh without
pretension - but will he really be able to learn from the youngster?

The speaker is earnest, he clearly wants to get back to a time he perceives as pure and
innocent and good...in the old African culture, before the Western values crept and took
over.
Analysis of Composed Upon
Westminster Bridge

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 is Wordsworth's delicately

wrought dedication to the capital of England, the city of London.

From that grand opening line, with its showy declaration, to the steady iambic beat of
the metropolitan heart, this sonnet aims to do one thing: romanticise what might be
deemed ugly.

This is a whole new view of a great city before it has properly woken up. The speaker is
adamant that a person would have to be dull...of soul not to be affected by such a vista,
both moving and majestic.

● The fourth line is interesting because it sets the reader and speaker in the
absolute present; the reader is looking through the eyes of the artist as it were,
as dawn lights up the architecture and the great river.

And the metropolis comes alive in the following line - it wears the morning, a calmed
personified giant. Wordsworth brings in that most romantic of notions, beauty, and
attaches it to what is potentially one of the least beautiful of places, a growing, heaving
city.

But this is a city of dream-like quality, as yet unpeopled, set in fresh light, at rest, at
ease with fields and sky, not yet subject to the smoke of the chimney stacks or the smog
of industry.

The poet could be forgiven for thinking that this is not London he's looking at but some
other natural habitat, perhaps a mountain or a series of lightly lit cliffs and rocks.

In lines 9 and 10 the feelings of the poet reach a kind of fever pitch, an echo of the
opening line sounding - he has never seen anything like this dawn, this splendid
sunlight.
He is clear in his heart and mind. He's never felt so calm. It's as if the city has him in a
trance. Perhaps we've all experienced similar feelings when waking up really early in
some great city, and venturing out to take in that special atmosphere, when there's no
one around at all and the streets are deserted.

Wordsworth interprets these feelings he has about the overview from that bridge; he's
trying to capture the emotion generated by the things he observes. From a ship to a
dome, from the river to the houses, the whole suspended shabang.

As to the sonnet's inherent beauty, that is up to the reader, but there are some intricate
rhythms involved in these lines, and the pace is controlled with clever syntax.

Certain lines stand out for their sense of wonder - lines 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 - and overall the
word intimacy isn't lost to the differing rhythms.

One oddity is line 13 that starts with Dear God! - you can just picture Wordsworth on the
carriage top exclaiming. He liked to use such phrases in some of his poetry, an attempt
to reflect the more common human response.

So, in conclusion, beyond reality lies the romantic, be it a city turned into a natural
phenomenon as in this sonnet, coated, some might say, in too sweet a layer of wonder.

Wordsworth's 'strongly felt emotions' come through loud and clear and he certainly
created a timeless piece that beguiles, irritates and puzzles as it takes the reader along
into a shared metropolitan experience.

​ Nature vs. Civilization

In “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,” the speaker
contemplates early-morning London from a bridge. In the clear, quiet dawn, the
speaker’s takes in the city and its natural surroundings, seeing them as both
separate and unified. By comparing the city to the natural world that surrounds it,
the poem emphasizes the challenge of locating a clear border between the two.
The poem arguably goes so far as to suggest that there isn’t one, and that the
city itself is an extension of nature.
With its title, the poem opens with an image of a bridge—a symbol of the bond
between the human and the natural world. A bridge is a human-made structure
that spans a natural feature (in this case, the River Thames). It puts distance
between people and the water yet also creates a space for people to appreciate
the water from a new angle. In that sense, the bridge allows people to both
 overcome nature and immerse themselves in it more deeply. As an image, then,
this bridge represents the link between these two worlds.
The poem’s first lines then develop the connection between the city and nature
by describing the city itself as a natural feature of the Earth. In fact, according to
the speaker, the city is actually better looking than any other feature of “Earth,” to
the point that the sight of it is “touching.” “Earth” is a word that more strongly
connotes the planet’s green and blue wilderness than the image of a city, yet in
the speaker’s description, the Earth seems proud to “show”—as in “show
off”—early-morning London as if the city were its offspring.
The speaker also challenges perceived borders between nature and the city. The
speaker lists some of the manmade structures he or she looks upon—“Ships,
towers, domes, theatres, and temples,” which at first might suggest a contrast
between urban and natural scenery. Yet even as their variety is evidence of
human beings’ technical skill, it is also indebted to the various forms of nature:
mountains, cliffs, canyons, trees, etc. These structures lie “Open unto the fields,”
as if to acknowledge their debt, “and to the sky,” as if to locate both the city’s
aspirations and its limits. Furthermore, the city’s openness suggests a fluid
border—that there is no clear line where the city ends and nature begins. This is
further exemplified when the speaker notes that the river glides through the city
“at his own sweet will.”
Finally, the poem judges this mix of city and nature as somehow even better than
“pure” nature. In fact, the city seems the ideal stage for contemplating the
“beauty of the morning,” as the morning sunlight is somehow better appreciated
when cast upon the waking city. “Never did sun more beautifully steep / In his first
splendour, valley, rock, or hill,” the speaker says. Rather than reveal the city’s
ugliness, the sunlight enhances its fairness. The cityscape seems to glitter with
more majesty than “valley, rock, or hill” ever did. Like mountains, the buildings
are also “silent” and “bare”—imagery that suggests the city itself as a place of
peace and renewal.
It’s worth noting that Wordsworth wrote this poem during the Industrial
Revolution, meaning that the idyllic London his speaker describes was probably
far from the reality of urban life at the time. In this sense, the poem can also be
understood as a vision of what an ideal city could be, or perhaps simply an overly
rosy vision spurred by the relative clarity of a morning not yet encumbered by the
smoke of industry.

​
​ Individuality vs. Community
In describing London, the poem’s first-person speaker alludes to a range of
human experience. The poem emphasizes a tension between the individual
speaker and the city he or she observes, implicitly questioning how best to
conceive of a city’s identity: does a city actually have an identity, or is it just a
bunch of disparate pieces in close proximity? By expressing opinions in the first
person and personifying aspects of the city, the poem suggests it’s possible to
look at it both ways—specifically, that an individual perspective helps us see the
 city as a unified whole. The poem both acknowledges the city’s size and diversity
while asserting that it has a unique and cohesive identity based on its many
disparate parts.
From the beginning, the poem emphasizes that its perspective is both limited and
panoramic. The title precisely identifies time and place: “Composed upon
Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.” Its specificity narrows the perspective
to a single spot in a single moment in time. However, from this precise location,
the speaker is positioned to take in a broad and inclusive view of the city.
The poem’s first three lines further emphasize the tension between the individual
and the city, or between the part and the whole. Because they make opinionated
claims about the beauty of the city, the first two lines confirm that a single
city-dweller (or city-visitor) is speaking. The third line, however, widens the
scope. This poem isn't about particular street-level relationships, but rather about
the broader, vaguer “majesty” of the city; though filtered through one person's
perspective, this is a poem about the whole of London. And by speaking with
such conviction, the speaker suggests that the sight of the city can be
emotionally stirring for any viewer. The speaker, therefore, prepares to participate
in the collective of the city’s literal waking, an experience that’s all the more
“touching”—more majestic—when shared.
At the same time, the speaker sees the city for its resemblance to a single
person who, “like a garment” wears the “beauty of the morning.” In this way, the
speaker conditions the reader to the contradiction of one (i.e. the city) equaling
many (i.e. its many distinct inhabitants). The speaker also seems to be reminding
the reader that the city would not exist if it weren’t for living, breathing human
beings. Though writing during a time of exploding industry, the speaker asserts
that, more than any factory, people are what make up a city’s identity.
The speaker concludes with a striking image that represents both the individual
city-dweller and the city as a whole: “the very houses seem asleep; / And all that
mighty heart is lying still!” The speaker notably moves from the plural “houses” to
the singular “heart,” a metaphor for the sleeping city. Again, this suggests that the
city’s many individual residents together form one identity. This heart is a giant
life force, on the brink of setting over a million lives into motion. The “mightiness”
of this solitary heart ends the poem on a note of strength: the unified identity of
the city is what gives it, and all the individuals who live there, potential.

​
​ Fleeting Beauty
The poem takes place at dawn, a moment of fleeting tranquility before the city
wakes up and interrupts the speaker’s calm. This sense of impermanence
infuses every aspect of the poem. It repeatedly reminds the reader that the city
represents change, in the sense that it has transformed the landscape and
reordered human life. Thus, the poem argues that beauty and tranquility are
impermanent—but it also insists that despite the change, beauty can always be
recovered.
From its opening lines, the poem describes a version of the city that will not last.
The city is “fair” and “touching in its majesty.” In the morning sunlight, it is “silent”
and “bare.” The speaker does not say what will come next, but given what we
know about London during the Industrial Revolution, we can safely assume that
noise and roughness will replace the silence and fairness once people wake up
and start going to work. Other pieces of the poem’s context also imply the
impermanence of the speaker’s vision. Presumably the speaker is in transit, not
just standing on the bridge, but walking across it. The day is specified too,
emphasizing the momentary nature of the vision.
By omitting, or merely hinting at, the characteristic features of an industrial city,
the poem emphasizes the impermanence of what the speaker sees. The speaker
describes the spread of buildings as “All bright and glittering in the smokeless
air.” With the words “bright” and “glittering,” the speaker conveys a sense of total
clarity. But this clarity only exists thanks to the absence of smoke in the air. The
speaker implicitly reminds readers that the city will only look this way as long as
the factories aren’t churning.
Also unusual in a busy industrial city, the “river glideth” without anything blocking
or diverting it. The river runs “at his own sweet will,” that is, without human
interference. This tranquil image contributes to the speaker’s deep calm. Given
the context of the poem, however, it’s arguable that the speaker says this
knowing that, given the factories and slaughterhouses that line its banks, the
river is growing more polluted—and less naturally beautiful—every day.
The ecstatic language in the second half of the poem suggests that despite the
constant change, an attentive observer can always find beauty in the city. The
speaker describes the city as if seeing it for the first time. “Never” did the sun
“steep” anything so beautifully in its light; “Ne’er” has the speaker felt a “calm so
deep.” From the earlier descriptions, it’s clear the speaker understands this
beauty’s fleetingness. These ecstatic expressions of a fresh vision suggest that
the fleetingness makes the beauty more emotionally moving, because it’s so
precious. The poem suggests that by embracing the stillness, silence, and clarity
of mornings such as these, the city-dweller can learn to appreciate the briefly
beautiful moments that only a city can offer.