A detailed analysis on William Wordsworth's poemLondon,1802 - Essay Example

Section/# A Cry for the Loss of the Golden Age of British Literature, Society, and Power Whereas the current reader may find it somewhat comical that William Wordsworth was lamenting the current state of the British Empire and way of life, it was a topic of dire concern for Wordsworth at the time that the poem was penned. As a function of understanding some of the historical and/or literary reasons why Wordsworth likely chose to write such a piece will herein be analyzed. It is the hope of this author that by seeking to shed a light on some of the trends, occurrences, and personal outlook that Wordsworth may have developed during this time can help to expound upon the particular world view that he espoused within the sonnet. As a means of breaking down the intent and historical significance of Wordsworth’s poem, key sections will be analyzed separately and inference drawn from a litany of motivating factors. The first aspect that can and should be realized is the likely bias that Wordsworth himself engendered with regards to the current state of literature that existed at his time. Moreover, as a function of cheap press and a plethora of cheaper novels, there seemed, at least to Wordsworth, to be a general paucity of good literature or talented writers. To his credit, Wordsworth does not set himself up to be in any way comparable to or capable of filling to eh esteemed footprints that Milton and others left behind within the realm of literature. Secondly, Wordsworth was likely influenced profoundly by the seeming loss of stature and empire that had transpired as a result of the Revolutionary War and other setbacks that the British Empire had faced in recent years. Moreover, 1804 was a time in which the Napoleonic Wars had gripped the continent of Europe and had seen the power that the British Empire wielded over the prior power structure greatly diminish. Therefore, it is not surprising that with the concurrent loss of empire and the crumbling of the European dynamic, Wordsworth would pen words to describe his country such as “of stagnant waters: alter, sword, and pen” (Grovier 158). Longing for this lost stature and place within the world system, he further wrote, “O raise us u, return to us again/And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power (Grovier 158)! It is worth noting that almost invariably throughout history as the status quo has changed there are harbingers of fatalism and those that preach that the current state of affairs is some form of punishment of the Almighty for a litany of grievances that have been practiced. It is interesting to note that Wordsworth’s own estimation of the situation, although not tacitly explicating this, sought to evoke strong religious imagery with regards to some of the possible reasons why the British Empire, literature, values, virtue, and courage had seemingly so completely and utterly failed. Further interesting to note is the fact that rather than the sonnet itself expressly mentioning God, it instead alludes to the return of Milton as something of a prophetic power that could assuage the moral decay, stupidity, and lack of stature that the Empire was currently faced with. It is of course not surprising that such a poem as this would be penned within the time it was. Due to the fact that the outlook for the British Empire at the time was bleak as well as the overwhelming amount of literature produced being geared tos are more or less non-intellectual audience, Wordsworth had good reason to believe that the decay that was being experienced would ultimately result in the complete destruction of the society and culture in which he had come to love so much. Although many have misunderstood the evocation of Milton to mean a literal person, Wordsworth rather uses Milton to define a type of understanding of what British culture, literature, and society should strive to resemble again rather than a literal call. An alternate and equally powerful way of integrating an understanding of what Wordsworth sought to effect by writing such a poem is alluded in his very own footnotes that were provided within the original poem. Said Wordsworth, “Written immediately after my return from France to London, I could not but be struck with the vanity and parade of our own country…as contrasted with the quiet, and I may say the desolation, that the revolution had produced in France” (Bruhn 161). Although far from accounting to a type of censure of his own nation or nationalism in general, this can be understood to mean that Wordsworth was horrified at the so called cultural desolation that existed in France as a result of the French Revolution and sought to awaken his fellow countrymen as to the fruits and/or rewards of the path that he saw the Empire and indeed to culture ultimately pursuing. Naturally, with such strong references to Milton, one cannot and should not analyze such a poem without a careful consideration to what this may mean beyond a mere longing for the return of a great champion of classical literature. As one can consider Milton to be most famous for his work “Paradise Lost”, the reader can come to an appreciation for the way in which Wordsworth may ultimately be channeling an appreciation for the subject matter alongside the discussion that he makes with regards to how the British culture, church, society, and army has lost the gusto and tenacity that it once had (Stokes 221). In a very profound way, the paradise that is lost would come to represent the means whereby the crown of England had formerly controlled a very large portion of the world with an iron fist; however, due to a certain set of geopolitical circumstances as well as cultural changes, which Wordsworth believed spelled the moral doom of the nation, this paradise had been lost. As an indication of how this destruction has been visited upon the society and culture of the times, Wordsworth notes that elements that had once seemingly been ingrained within society were not only increasingly less present but had to be taught to a selfish, mannerless, virtueless, and powerless group of citizens. Although it is easy to dwell on many reasons why Wordsworth sought to prematurely doom the British Empire, the fact of the matter is that the poem bears a great deal of relation and prominence to the current time period. Whereas the points that Wordsworth ultimately made are done masterfully, the fact of the matter is that his fundamental thesis regarding the collapse of the British Empire based somewhat upon the idea of hubris and societal decay was not only flawed but nearly 150 years premature. Without taking away from Wordsworth’s ability as a writer, it should be understood and appreciated by the reader that there are many within our own society that attempt, although definitely not as masterfully as Wordsworth, to decry the nature of our system of governance and denote that the current system is untenable and has ultimately failed. Ultimately, these individuals point to a prophetic figure, oftentimes a founding father or well respected figure from history, bending their own unique views to whatever end they seek to accomplish. Although Wordsworth’s intent with such a poem was not nearly so dishonorable, it is indicative of how history and its determinants can and have been bent by authors to bring about a unique and powerful understanding of current and past events within the social dynamic of a nation. References Bruhn, Mark J. "Cognition And Representation In Wordsworth's London." Studies In Romanticism 45.2 (2006): 157-180. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. Grovier, Kelly. "Dream Walker: A Wordsworth Mystery Solved." Romanticism 13.2 (2007): 156-163. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. Stokes, C. R. "Sign, Sensation And The Body In Wordsworth's “Residence In London”." European Romantic Review 23.2 (2012): 203-223. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. Read More