Reasons behind Wordsworths Nightmarish Depiction in London - Essay Example

? Reasons behind Wordsworth’s “nightmarish” depiction in London The first time the poet went to London, he met cool weather and a good atmosphere, which was conducive for the residents. The environment was well watered and it seemed to be a well blessed land. This is so because of the outpour of rains that showered every corner of the city. The poet describes the changing weather, which was backed with a prolonged drought that changed the atmosphere of the city of London. The stream that was once flowing gloriously with clean water gradually dried up and the situation worsened until there was no more water in the stream. That aside, the city was covered with immense beauty with lovely people. There were echoes of good music across the city and many adored an advance of the majestic King from the royalty. His spender was a mark of beauty that drew the attention of everybody. The whole vicinity of the city was good for one to stay and it was full of comfort with the assurance of security and comfort of a friendly society. Everybody seemed to be calm and composed. There was no reason to cast doubt on anything or even to grow suspicious of any event that was to come. The society was accommodating with everybody minding own businesses. The paradox is evident when the poet makes an observation of a boy who they grew up and ended up in London after fate had forced him out of school because of his physical challenge. The boy upon return to his home was not the same as he had departed from a few years before. The boy who then had grown to a full man depicted an image that left everybody with little respect and admiration of London. The boy was emaciated with a seemingly poor health. The health of the boy had deteriorated which was a thing that sent a signal that London was not a good place, as it seemed to be at the superficial cover. The presence of the boy revealed another aspect that the poet seemed to misunderstand. In the abode of the poet, things seemed to be normal and his perception was deceived to think that people in the capital city of England were nice. To the lame boy, things were quite different. The environment to him was marred with hostility and nobody seemed to care about anybody. Individualism befitted the description of the town dwellers and everybody minded their own business. Everybody was on their own; and worst of all, even the next door neighbors did not care about each other. Nobody cared about other peoples’ welfare and even the government did not mind of the welfare of the disabled and the destitute. The poor and the lame were left to survive on their own without any assistance lest they be eliminated by the cruel nature that was created by the selfish human beings. In England, people were permanent strangers to each other because unless there is a relationship that seem to benefit another person, then there was never a point of contact between people at all (Jeffrey 1992). People minded their own businesses without caring of another person. The city though had good people by site. They were very attractive with grin smiles all over their faces but this depiction was further blended with opposite thoughts of the time. Nobody was happy with one another and what seemed to be was just a mark of the opposite (Roe 1998). The environment was covered with beauty and the aesthetics of the city of a higher standard. The city was covered with imaginations of beauty and the calmness of ethos and morality. The presence of God seemed to be part of the city and accommodation of diversity seemed to be an accepted and an appreciable fact. Churches and religious depictions were many in the city. The increasing number of churches could send one to an imagination that folks there were following religious values and virtue taught by Christ. This was contrary. People were walking into churches, and hypocritically proclaiming goodness but immediately they step out of the church doors, life was taken as normal and the selfish lifestyle took effect. The poet is taken by much wonder, he (the poet) looks at the statue of people who had once charted the noble path of Christianity. The presence of the big churches with big followings could make one imagine that the statues of noble men left the people of their own kind to take their place. This was however not the case as the clergy in those churches never taught the virtues of Christ and people were left empty of moral teachings. The concentration of the clergy was on how they could get money out of their huge following. Their teachings were on material possession: a doctrine that was mainly on material benefits than human interaction and in disregard of the values that one stands to benefit out of appreciating the value of another person. War and intolerance describe the city at a particular time. There were evidences of cruelty as people staged different things that depicted the ill done to them. Besides, there were people who suffered different maladies. There were lame people whose conditions were because of the wars that had been ongoing. Worst of all, there was nobody to care for such kinds of people. Nurses were present but they could not attend to such people because of their monitory incapability. The society minded of the affluent and the rich were highly favoured in everything (Pointner 2004). The rich were showered with honours and the society was largely inclined towards getting wealthy because everybody admired to be appreciated. By nature, everybody admires to be associated with fame and good life therefore it is justified for people to act this much. However, this does not justify the society not to be mindful of others who are underprivileged in the society. It beats logic when those who are in a position of helping others turn a blind eye on other peoples’ suffering only to advance their own course. It was greatly displeasing to note that even the nurses whose jobs are endowed by nobility and purity of the heart hardened their hurt too much to be touched by the pains of humanity. In England this was not an issue, as long as one was in a position of getting was they want, other peoples’ pleas were none of their businesses. The poet takes a keen study of the moments when they were at the brink of life under the care of their parents. Life was cool then when there was a breath of concern and care from across the world. The days, which are now vibrant in their memory, remind them of the kindness that is found in human heart (Snodgrass 2005). The confidence and the comfort that comes by human tolerance is a clear evidence that in human kindness happiness is found and heavenly joy can be found in the world if only people appreciate the need of this kindness. Morality was an art that was taught from the youth and was appreciated by the elders. This virtue had faded and immorality was appreciated in every corner of England. There what was left was the habit of drunkenness with indecent behaviors all over the city. Shame was not anything to mention. Every evil act was normalized in London and the society was on a total wreck. The poet was very much disturbed with the conditions that were in the city. Morality was forgotten about and the worry was on the fate of the upcoming generation. It was a great wonder whether the situation could be salvaged. Vulgar language and indecent speech framed the actions and the pronunciation of the city. Gays were in the city and families were being torn apart. There was pain in the hearts of parents as the expectations they had of their children were turn inside out. Children were opting to go for fellow sex for their sexual satisfaction. Relationships and family life was nothing of an appreciation to the youth. They rubbished this institution and everybody who was in a position of correcting the looming mess did nothing the effect. The evil above every bad thing that was happening in the city was the oppression that was blankly carried out in the city. People did not know justice and even upon the quest of it, people did not receive it because nobody was there ready to give it to the people. Even men who were seen to be strong amongst the city residents did not enjoy the presence of justice. The virtue of justice was known to the gods and saneness was an association of those who though that justice was a thing within their reach in the city (Hunt 2009). According The critic (1884) and the analysis of the poem, Wordsworth’s is seriously disappointed in London because of the things that were taking place in London. All his expectations were turn down. The city was marred by high level of individualism where nobody cared for the other. The city was covered by churches with an increasing number of Christians yet the actions, attitude, and way of life of the people living in England did not match the proclamation of their faith. This was pretentious an aspect that did not please the poet. The growing rate of immorality and oppression in the city also bothered the poet greatly. These vices made the poet to develop a negative attitude towards London. Bibliography Roe, N. (1998). John Keats and the culture of dissent. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Snodgrass, M. E. (2005). Encyclopedia of Gothic literature. New York: Facts on File. Jeffrey, D. L. (1992). A dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans. Hunt, L. (2009). The making of the West: Peoples and cultures. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. Pointner, P. (2004). A prelude to modernism: Studies on the urban and erotic poetry of Arthur Symons. Heidelberg: Winter. The critic. (1884). New York: Good Literature Pub. Co. Read More