The lovely
poem "" bydescribes London as it was before the ravages of the Industrial Revolution
filled it with pollution and colored the buildings pallid shades of gray. In Wordsworth's
vision, the air is clear and smokeless. It seems to be just after sunrise, as the poem speaks of
the "beauty of the morning," the "first splendor" of the sun, and the
still-sleeping houses in the "bright and glittering" dawn.
Wordsworth is struck by the peace and calmness of the scene, as exemplified
by the river gliding along and the ships and buildings set against the open sky. The poet writes
that the city wears the morning's beauty like a garment, which means an article of clothing.
When in the last line he writes "that mighty heart is lying still," Wordsworth is
comparing the city to a living being at rest.
Historically, Wordsworth once wrote that he composed the poem, or at least got the idea
for the poem, while riding over the bridge on the roof of a carriage. We can imagine how
beautiful the vision of the city in the first light of morning must have been to inspire him so
much that he wrote this amazing poem.
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