Ted is analyzing the sonnet “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.” As you read the sonnet, notice what the autho
r says about urban and rural settings.
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
How does the poem’s form contribute to its meaning?
A.
The rhyme scheme emphasizes the beauty and natural elements of the city.
B.
The octave creates an image of the city, while the sestet gives the speaker’s awed reaction.
C.
The octave introduces the speaker’s opinions about cities, while the sestet contradicts those opinions.
D.
The meter, iambic pentameter, mimics the sounds of natural elements while the lines describe an urban scene.
