Composed Upon Westminster Bridge

by William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty¹:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes², theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering³ 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 mighty⁴ heart is lying still!

威斯敏斯特桥上

威廉华兹华斯

杨德豫译

大地再没有比这儿更美的风貌：

若有谁，对如此壮丽动人的景物

竟无动于衷，那才是灵魂麻木：

瞧这座城市，像披上一领新袍，

披上了明艳的晨光;环顾周遭：

船舶，尖塔，剧院，教堂，华屋，

都寂然、坦然，向郊野、向天穹赤露，

在烟尘未染的大气里粲然闪耀。

旭日金挥洒布于峡谷山陵，

也不比这片晨光更为奇丽;

我何尝见过、感受过这深沉的宁静!

河上徐流，由着自己的心意;

上帝呵!千门万户都沉睡未醒，

这整个宏大的心脏仍然在歇息!

Notes:

This poem is written in Petrarchan sonnet⁵ form by William Wordsworth describing London, viewed from one of the bridges over the Thames, in the early morning.This scheme divides the poem into two: the first eight lines (octave) and the next six (sestet). Between these two is a break called a volta which emphasises the traditional change in mood or subject between the octave and sestet. In the first eight, he describes early morning London in detail, and then goes on in the final six to compare the city in that moment to natural wonders. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA CDCDCD

The dominating⁶ theme in the poem is Nature. London is inserted in natural scenery. The author describes the beauty of the city as the towers, the cathedrals, the theatres and the temples. Wordsworth personifies the city along with the earth and the sun. This reiterates⁷ his conviction⁸ that the city, at this particular point of day, does not clash⁹ with nature but becomes a part of it.The poet describes the calm and the tranquillity¹⁰ of the city. There are neither sounds or noises, there is only silence.