2.4 Upon Westminster Bridge

Std 11 English Yuvakbharti

Short Notes on Poem Upon Westminster Bridge

ICE BREAKERS
• (i) A bridge connects people at either sides of a river or valleys in cities or villages. Discuss with your partner the importance of a bridge to both-the cities and the villages and complete the table.
Cities
Helps to reach other part
Helps to cross the road
Overbridge helps to smooth traffic
Avoids accidents

Villages
Shortens the distance
Saves time
Saves life
Increases contacts


(ii) Building a bridge needs careful planning. Think about what goes on before the actual construction begins.
Proper planning
Inspecting sights
Measurement
Drawing of the bridge (Blueprint)
Estimate
Purchasing land
Tendering

• You might have visited a bridge. Complete the web describing the sights you could see from the bridge.

BRAINSTORMING
Complete the following statements.
1. He would be dull soul who .......
2. ....... lie open to field and sky.
3. ....... never steeped so beautifully.
4. The city wears.......



1. The garment is compared with morning
2. The morning looks beautiful because it is silent.
3. Guess the meaning of ‘glideth’. It is archaic word meaning glide , here swim .
4. Guess what is referred to as the ‘Mighty heart’. People of the city

(A1) For preparing questions based on the poem, overall understanding of the poem is a must. Discuss with your partner and prepare a set of five questions.
For example:
a. What is the name of the bridge?
b. What does the city wear?
c. What is the beautiful morning compared to?
d. Mention the beautiful sights referred to in the poem.
e. State beautiful sights that can be seen from the bidge
f. How is the river?
g. What does the poet tell to the god?

(A2) (i) Choose the correct alternative for the given lines. Focus on the inference of the poet.
(a) ‘Earth has not anything to show more fair:’
The line means-
(1) The poet thinks that the place was not so good.
(2) The poet thinks that there is another place which is more beautiful than this.
(3) The poet thinks that there is no place on the earth which is as beautiful as this one.
(b) ‘Dull would he be of soul who could pass by’
The line means-
(1) One can walk over the bridge and ignore the surrounding beauty.
(2) One can halt at the place to enjoy the beauty.
(3) Anyone with an appreciative mind would not be able to ignore the beauty.
(c) Never did sun more beautifully steep. The line means -
(1)The sun did not shine so beautifully.
(2) The sun rise was more beautiful the poet had ever seen.
(3) The sun did not rise more beautifully that morning.
(d)
(ii) ‘Earth has not anything to show more fair.’
This line expresses the poet’s feelings. The sight he saw from the bridge is beautiful. There are a few more lines similar to the above. With the help of your partner find them and discuss what they express.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

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

The river glideth at his own sweet will:



(iii) The poem creates a delightful picture of the city, rich in its natural beauty. Work in pairs, groups and pick out the lines from the poem which give the pictorial effect to the poem. Write it in your own words.

This city now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning;


Ships, towers, domes, theaters, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

(A3) Find out the words and phrases which describe the following. One is done for you.
sight touching in its majesty
air smokeless
river sweet will
house asleep
morning like a garment
sun steep in his splendour
Heart mighty
Sky bright




(A4) Read the line :
(i) ‘The city now, doth, like a garment wear’. The poet imagines that the city is wearing a beautiful garment. Hence, the figure of speech is personification. Find out more examples of personification from the poem.

Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour
(ii) ‘Dull would he be of soul who could pass by.’
This line of the poem can be rewritten as:
'He would be of dull soul.'
The figure of speech is known as ‘Inversion’.
Find out one more example of Inversion from the poem.
Never did sun more beautifully steep

Ne’er saw I
(iii) The poem is a Petrarchan Sonnet. The poem is divided into two parts-
(a) An Octave
The first part comprising eight lines.
(b) A sestet
The second part comprising six lines.
Read the first four lines of the poem. The rhyme scheme is a b b a. Read the rhyme scheme for next four lines. It is a b b a. Now read the first three lines of the sestet and note the rhyme scheme. It is c d c. The rhyme scheme of the last three lines is d c d. This is the common design of a Petrarchan Sonnet.
(A5) (i) Write the appreciation of the poem.
The poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ is a Petrarchan sonnet. In this poem the poet describes the beauty of the bridge. It is a romantic poem. The poet was mesmerised with the panoramic landscape, beauty, calm and quiet nature seen from the Westminster Bridge.
Theme: The theme of the poem is the beauty of the common things seen from the poet’s eyes. The nature is filled with varied beautiful object. The beauty lies in the eyes of beholder.
Poetic Devices:
The use of poetic devices like metaphor, simile, personification adds pictorial beauty to the poem.
The poem is a sonnet (14 lines) which is divided into two parts i.e Octave and sestet . The rhyme scheme is abba abba cdc dcd. The figures of speech like inversion adds special effect. There is use of archaic words. The poet has used simple and lucid language.
Message
Ordinary things also look beautiful if seen from the poet’s eye.

Audio Files of the Poem