Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘London, 1802’ is a poem by William Wordsworth, a Petrarchan sonnet about England’s decadence at the turn of the nineteenth century. The sonnet was first published in 1807 in “Poems, in Two Volumes”.
The poet emphasizes the need for John Milton’s virtuous example. The speaker notices that selfishness has resulted in a lack of happiness and virtue and invokes John Milton, seeking his wisdom and guidance to confront the social and spiritual ills of contemporary England.
In 1738, Samuel Johnson wrote a long poem titled London. In that poem, Samuel Johnson also described the various problems of London, including an emphasis on crime, corruption, and the squalor of the poor. William Blake wrote a short poem of 16 lines titled London published in 1794. In that poem, Blake expressed his disappointment in the socio-political situation of London during that period, emphasizing the effects of Industrialization, Moral Corruption, Poverty, Exploitation of the masses, and Universal suffering.
In 'London, 1802', William Wordsworth castigates the English people as stagnant and selfish and eulogizes seventeenth-century poet John Milton. The speaker laments that 19th-century England has failed to maintain certain standards. These standards, the speaker believes, were perfectly exemplified by the 17th-century poet John Milton, a writer widely admired for his artistic innovation, religious devotion, and moral compass.
Structure of London, 1802:
‘London, 1802’ is an Italian sonnet or the Petrarchan sonnet. The poem has 14 lines. The first 8 lines are known as the octave, which is made up of two four-line quatrains. The next six lines make up the sestet, which itself is composed of two three-line tercets. Wordsworth followed the standard structure of the Italian sonnet and split the octave and sestet with ‘volta’ in the first line of the sestet.
In a standard Petrarchan sonnet, the Octave is used to describe a problem while the volta is used to offer a possible solution to the problem. That is what Wordsworth does in his poem. In the first eight lines, he describes England as a swampy marshland of "stagnant waters" where everything that was once a natural gift (such as religion, chivalry, and art, symbolized respectively by the altar, the sword, and the pen) has been lost to the scourge of modernity. In the sestet, he celebrates Milton, praises the famous poet and his way of life, and presents it as the antidote to England's societal decline.
The poem is written in Iambic Pentameter, with frequent disruptions as the poet used trochees instead of iambs in some instances. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBACDDECE. Though the speaker remains unidentified, he or she is a citizen of England, respects its past glory, and admires John Milton. One may safely assume that the speaker is Wordsworth himself.
The poet used Apostrophe, Caesura, Personification, Metaphor, Simile, Metonymy, Enjambment, and Consonance in the poem. The poem's tone is pleading and praising as the speaker pleads and praises the dead poet Milton to reappear and lead his countrymen to better ways of living.
Summary of London, 1802:
The Octave Lines 1-8
“Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.”
The speaker begins with the use of Apostrophe as he calls out John Milton, the 17th-century poet. The speaker exclaims that England needs Milton now in 1802 though he died in 1674, thus, Milton cannot answer his call. (Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses someone (or something) that is not present or cannot respond in reality. )
The poet used Trochee (Milton) with the stressed-unstressed metrical foot, he changed the meter back to iambic pentameter after the caesura. However, this abrupt opening of the poem emphasizes the importance of Milton. The speaker mentions that Milton is the need of the hour and expresses his plight, for England has become like a swamp full of still water (fen). The speaker uses ‘she’ for England, personifying the country as a woman (she is a fen). Fen is a low, marshy body of water. Such bodies of water often develop a filmy appearance and rank odor, emphasizing the sense of decay and rot being evoked. The poet used Enjambment as the sentence continues from the first line to the second without punctuation. The speaker uses a metaphor and says England is not just a fen, but a fen "of stagnant waters," which means England has lost its energy and momentum.
When looking at England’s prosperous history, and comparing it to the country’s current religious values, Military, literature, and common life, the speaker feels they are no longer the same.
Wordsworth used Metonymy while describing England becoming ‘stagnant’ and corrupt. In lines 3-4 (“altar, sword, and pen, / Fireside the heroic wealth of hall and bower”) means the church, the army, British writers, and homes.
The speaker mentions the reason for this decline of his nation in line 6 and says ‘we are selfish men.’ The speaker continues to call upon Milton and seeks his help to uplift the people of England, to the former glory, he prays Milton to rise from death and bring the English ("us") "manners, virtue, freedom, power".
The Sestet Lines 9-14
“Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.”
The first line of the sestet serves as the volta. After describing the problem the speaker is facing regarding England, his nation, he offers a solution that lies within the means and way of life that Milton followed. The speaker says that Milton’s "soul was like a Star," he was different even from his contemporaries in terms of the virtues listed above. The speaker tells Milton that his voice is like the sea and the sky, a part of nature and therefore natural: "majestic, free." The speaker also compliments Milton's ability to embody "cheerful godliness" even while doing the "lowliest duties." The speaker deliberately compares Milton to things found in nature, such as the stars, the sea, and "the heavens." Wordsworth was a nature devotee and for him, being likened to nature is the highest compliment possible. Furthermore, the speaker also offers a contrast between the highly devoted religious life that Milton led while living an ordinary life as everyone. The speaker says that though Milton was a highly successful and celebrated poet, he led an ordinary life with no sham and pompousness. The speaker wishes his countrymen to learn and follow the simplicity of life that Milton followed.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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