London in the Eye of Romantic Poets

Wordsworth, Coleridge, William Blake, and Lord Byron all talked of London and England in several pieces of their works. Experiencing the culture these last two weeks has allowed me to relate in a more effective manner to the poetry.

For example Lord Byron has a cynical exert from a poem that speaks of the weather, government, and food of London. He says, "I like a parliamentary debate, Particularly when 'tis not too late." This reminded me of when we went and saw the parliament debate in the House of Lords and the House of Chambers. It was very late at night and many of the members of parliament were quite unaware of the debates at hand and seemed more interested in their phones.

House of Lords debate in session

In the same poem he speaks of the weather saying, "I like the weather, when it is not rainy, That is, I like two months of every year." Those two months of the year are when I am here in London. Since we have been here, we have had perfect weather- not too hot and not too cold. But I have also experienced the rainy and cold days. I have seen the perfectly cloudy skies that are typical to London. 


The cloudy and gloomy typical weather of London makes for
a perfect picture of the Tower

Other days are absolutely gorgeous to where the clouds almost
look painted in to the background

William Wordsworth wrote a poem about a girl that was typically overlooked and unseen. Some people are more inwardly focused and keep to themselves. There is nothing wrong with this. I, myself, tend to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself and can go unnoticed in a crowd. This conservative and almost introverted ideology is a very British attribute. The British keep to themselves and even  seldom make eye contact. They hustle and bustle about, only concerned with their end goals. They do not stop to say hello or wave at people they meet. They will not be outright friendly, but if need-be they will provide directions and answer questions. Their clothing can also tend to be conservative to a degree, wearing basic colors. The British are known to be very modest and quiet and to keep to themselves. The complete opposite of the Southern mannerism if you ask me.

William Blake wrote a dreary poem about London during one of its darker times. He wrote of the sights and sounds of London consisting of the marks of sadness and immorality stained on the people's faces. He wrote about the cries of the people, speaking of harlots and crimes. The sights and sounds that I see in London are more along the lines of sirens, ambulances, honking from buses, dinging of the bicycle horns, and a large diversity of different languages. I see the busy streets, the multitude of small cafes and shops. I see the diversity of the people and architecture. Mostly during my time here, I have begun to see both the history and future of London.