18 pages • 36 minutes read
William WordsworthLondon, 1802
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1807A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Form/Meter
“London, 1802” takes the form of a sonnet. It generally follows what is known as the “Italian” or “Petrarchan” sonnet rhyme scheme. The sonnet’s rhyme scheme has an ABBA CDDC rhyme pattern for the first eight lines (known as the “octave” of the sonnet), and an EFFGEG rhyme scheme for the last six lines (known as the “sestet”).
Wordsworth’s choice of the sonnet form is significant, because it was a literary form that was hugely important and popular back in Milton’s own day. In addressing Milton using the sonnet form and through the occasional use of elevated Early Modern English diction (e.g., the use of “thou,” “thee,” and “thy” in the poem), the speaker pays homage to the popular literary conventions of Milton’s time while also demonstrating, through his own confident mastery of the form, that he is willing and capable of following Milton’s example as both a poet and a political radical.
Apostrophe
An apostrophe is a literary device in which the poem’s speaker addresses something or someone who is not literally present. In “London, 1802,” the sonnet is built around addressing Milton as a form of apostrophe. This use of apostrophe enables the speaker to create dynamism within the poem, turning his complaints about England’s present failings into an attempted dialogue with one of the great literary figures from England’s past. Through his act of apostrophe, the speaker speaks as if he is inviting Milton to survey the current state of affairs alongside his contemporary readers.
Contrast
The speaker’s use of Milton as both the poem’s addressee and as its most prominent symbol (See: Symbols & Motifs) creates a powerful contrast between the figure of Milton and the Englishmen of the speaker’s own generation. In praising Milton’s literary and political virtues and contrasting them with the “selfish[ness]” (Line 6) of contemporary Englishmen, the speaker creates a useful foil to the stagnation and self-centered behavior he believes is plaguing English society. By offering his readers a contrast, the speaker provides them with an example of what they should seek to emulate in order to help England regain her former greatness.
Metonym
Metonym is a literary device in which something is used as a symbolic stand-in for a larger institution or abstract concept. In “London, 1802,” metonyms are used several times. In Line 3, the mentioned “altar, sword, and pen” are stand-ins for England’s state religion and government, the armed forces and feats of knightly daring, and the cultural power of the written word, respectively. In Line 4, “hall and bower” are metonyms for the stately homes of the aristocracy and the humble rural dwellings of England’s poorest subjects. The use of metonyms allows the speaker to write in a more concise and striking way about these broader aspects of English society.
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By William Wordsworth
