“London, 1802” Introduction

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“London, 1802” Summary

“London, 1802” Themes

• 

  The Past and Societal Decline

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “London, 1802”

• Lines 1-3

  Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
  England hath need of thee: she is a fen
  Of stagnant waters:

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-6

  altar, sword, and pen,
  Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
  Have forfeited their ancient English dower
  Of inward happiness.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 6-7

  We are selfish men;
  Oh! raise us up, return to us again;

  

  

  

  

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• Line 8

  And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-11

  Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
  Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
  Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 12-13

  So didst thou travel on life's common way,
  In cheerful godliness;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-14

  and yet thy heart
  The lowliest duties on herself did lay.

  

  

  

  

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“London, 1802” Symbols

• 

  John Milton

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• 

  The Natural World

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“London, 1802” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Euphony

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Simile

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• Asyndeton

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Metonymy

  

  

  

  

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“London, 1802” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Fen
• Stagnant
• Altar
• Fireside
• Bower
• Dower
• Virtue
• Dwelt
• Lowliest
• Lay

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “London, 1802”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“London, 1802” Speaker

“London, 1802” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “London, 1802”

More “London, 1802” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Reading of the Poem — Listen to a clear, slow, and concentrated reading of "London, 1802."

  • Preface to Lyrical Ballads — Read Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads," an essay that greatly influenced the trajectory of Romantic poetry.

  • The Industrial Revolution — Watch an informative BBC documentary about the Industrial Revolution and its impact on England.

  • More Information about John Milton — Learn about John Milton's life, his writing, and how he influenced the course of British literature.

  • Wordsworth's Life and Work — Read an overview of William Wordsworth and his life as a Romantic poet.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by William Wordsworth

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  • I Travelled Among Unknown Men

  • I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

  • Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey

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  • Mutability

  • My Heart Leaps Up

  • Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room

  • Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

  • She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways

  • She was a Phantom of Delight

  • The Solitary Reaper

  • The Tables Turned

  • The World Is Too Much With Us

  • Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower

  • To a Snowdrop

  • We Are Seven