"London, 1802" is a sonnet by William Wordsworth, one of the most influential English Romantic Poets. The poem praises the famous 17th-century poet John Milton and suggests that England would be better off if it modeled itself after Milton and the values of his era. Wordsworth composed the poem in 1802, shortly after returning to London from France, where he witnessed the aftermath of the French Revolution. Comparing France's somber social landscape to England's boisterous, care-free atmosphere, Wordsworth composed "London, 1802" as both a critique of his country and a celebration of its former glory.
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The Full Text of “London, 1802”
1Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
2England hath need of thee: she is a fen
3Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
4Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
5Have forfeited their ancient English dower
6Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
7Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
8And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
9Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
10Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
11Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
12So didst thou travel on life's common way,
13In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
14The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
The Full Text of “London, 1802”
1Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
2England hath need of thee: she is a fen
3Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
4Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
5Have forfeited their ancient English dower
6Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
7Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
8And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
9Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
10Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
11Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
12So didst thou travel on life's common way,
13In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
14The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
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“London, 1802” Summary
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“London, 1802” Themes
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The Past and Societal Decline
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “London, 1802”
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Lines 1-3
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: -
Lines 3-6
altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. -
Lines 6-7
We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again; -
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, -
Lines 12-13
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; -
Lines 13-14
and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
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“London, 1802” Symbols
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John Milton
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The Natural World
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“London, 1802” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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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”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“London, 1802” Speaker
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“London, 1802” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “London, 1802”
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More “London, 1802” Resources
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External Resources
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A Reading of the Poem — Listen to a clear, slow, and concentrated reading of "London, 1802."
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Preface to Lyrical Ballads — Read Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads," an essay that greatly influenced the trajectory of Romantic poetry.
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The Industrial Revolution — Watch an informative BBC documentary about the Industrial Revolution and its impact on England.
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More Information about John Milton — Learn about John Milton's life, his writing, and how he influenced the course of British literature.
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Wordsworth's Life and Work — Read an overview of William Wordsworth and his life as a Romantic poet.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Wordsworth
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