Compare and Contrast Wordsworth's Poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge with God's Grandeur

Ў®Composed Upon Westminster BridgeЎЇ and Ў®GodЎЇs GrandeurЎЇ are both traditional poems written in the romantic era which looks upon changes that need to happen and looks away from those to the places which havenЎЇt been affected by the misery of the world. Ў®Composed Upon Westminster BridgeЎЇ is a typical romantic sonnet expressing WordsworthЎЇs love for the beauty and amazement of London. This is in much contrast to Ў®GodЎЇs GrandeurЎЇ

in which Hopkins expresses his feelings towards the beauty of nature in comparison to the wretchedness of man. Both poems have endeavoured to use their different rhyme schemes, language and similes to propose their own strong views on the world.

Ў®Composed Upon Westminster BridgeЎЇ and GodЎЇs Grandeur both use a traditional petrachan sonnet as the structure for their poem. Ў®Composed Upon Westminster BridgeЎЇ uses this sonnet format of two quatrains followed by a sestet (the traditional form of a love poem) to show WordsworthЎЇs intense love for London. Ў®GodЎЇs GrandeurЎЇ uses the form of the sonnet but uses an octave followed by a sestet to help aid him in showing his two different views on the world today. Hopkins has used the first quatrain to declare his idea of GodЎЇs presence and the second quatrain to show how mankind have rejected and destroyed the nature and beauty of the world around us, Ў®Generations have trod, have trod, have trod.ЎЇ To relieve this pressure Hopkins has fostered through the octave he uses a characteristic volta in order to show a shift in the argumentative direction between the octave and sestet. In the sestet, Hopkins argues that despite of the interdependent deterioration of human beings, God has not abandoned the Earth Ў®And for all this nature is never spentЎЇ. Hopkins creates a sense of hope and renewal in the sestet by showing an image of God as one who Ў®broodsЎЇ over the fallen world. Similar to a nurturing mother, the Ў®warm breastЎЇ nurturing the baby bird as God protects the world. The two poets have used the contrite form as they talk about the poem but have showed their different independent views in the way in which they have interpreted this.

The two poems use contrasting rhyme schemes to show their different views on life. Ў®Composed Upon Westminster BridgeЎЇ uses a musical rhyme scheme to connect with the romantic and enchanting nature of the poem,

Ў®The city, now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,ЎЇ

This is much different to the scheme used in Ў®GodЎЇs GrandeurЎЇ that uses a galloping rhythm to help emphasise the treading, destructive nature of man on the countryside, Ў®And all is seared with trade, bleared, smeared with toilЎЇ. Ў®GodЎЇs GrandeurЎЇ also uses a strong iambic pentameter to aid this galloping sound. However, Hopkins slightly strays from this on the fourth line as he follows a stressed syllable with a second stress. This emphasises his rhetorical question, Ў®Why do men then now not reck his rod?ЎЇ. Hopkins uses variation in language from the expected to ensure the point is carried across.

A comparison between Ў®Composed Upon Westminster BridgeЎЇ and Ў®GodЎЇs GrandeurЎЇ exists in the language, both written in the 19th century ensures that words not common today such as Ў®guidethЎЇ and Ў®reckЎЇ are used. The language used by Wordsworth enables him to show his love for London. The romantic nature of the language Ў®never did sun more beautifully sleepЎЇ, his positive