London High and Low

Monday, August 25, 2008

The morning began with a class session where we discussed our impressions of the previous few days, and looked at several poetic depictions of London: Blake’s “London” and “Pillars of Gold,” Wordsworth’s “Composed upon Westminster Bridge,” and a more modern poem by Peter Reading titled “Lost Ones.” Wordsworth, we noted, has a selective view of London, looking out over the Thames, remarking its peace and beauty, but leaving curiously absent the noise and hustle of city life, the stench of a sewer-ridden Thames, and the corruption of the elite. In “Pillars of Gold,” Blake similarly idealizes the city, describing it as a new Jerusalem through which Jesus walks. And, like Wordsworth and most Romantics, he describes the scene almost exclusively in terms of nature and pastoral setting. Then, as Prof. Rudalevige so aptly put, Blake has a bit of a bi-polar shift and completely tears apart the city in “London,” a poem which presents the poverty, despair, and hypocrisy that runs rampant throughout London. Reading’s poem, though written almost two hundred years later, makes the same point about hypocrisy, describing a performance of Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony in the Festival Hall, and the sounds of a dying homeless man in the concrete pit underneath it. The idea of having varying depictions of the city returned later, when we went to the Guildhall Gallery to see various paintings of London produced over the years.
Before our trip through the gallery, we were supposed to meet at St. Paul’s Cathedral for a walking tour of the City (City of London proper, not to be confused with Greater London. Confused? Get a map.). I got to the Tube station on my own, but I must have walked the wrong way around St. Paul’s because I couldn’t find our group and had to call Leah for directions. When we finally did all assemble outside of St. Paul’s, we began our tour of the City, which was basically a tour of Wren churches and a few other sites of note. (Christopher Wren designed and built 53 churches following the destruction caused by the Great Fire in 1666. We saw so many that I pretty much figured that any church I see in the City from now on was built by Wren.) Some highlights of the walk were the site of William Wallace’s execution, the only statue of Henry VIII in London, and Fleet Street. Sites with slightly more significance for the curriculum were the Old Bailey Courthouse, St. Bartholomew the Great, St. Bride’s of Fleet Street (the steeple of which inspired the tiered wedding cake), and St. Mary-le-Bow. It is said that if you could hear the bells of “The Bows,” you could consider yourself a Londoner (as in, resident of the City of London), and, specifically, a Cockney.
We then made our way over to the Guildhall Gallery, which stands adjacent to the gothic medieval structure which once housed the meetings of the guilds, representative merchants and tradesmen who went there to ensure their interests in the local government. Some individual guilds still stand in that area—for instance, we passed the Chandler’s Guild at some point.
Inside the gallery, there were many paintings of London, notable for their artistic and historical merit. Like the poems we read earlier in the day, the tone of the pictures varied, depicting both blue skies over the Thames and grey haze surrounding the East End docks. My favorite painting wasn’t actually of a real place in London at all. It was a painting from the 1970s of a proposed replacement for the feeble 19th century London Bridge. The painting showed two parallel bridges flanked by semi-circular terraces at either end. Obviously this design was never built, perhaps because of expense, or maybe it just took too much space. Whatever the reason, it really is a shame, because the current London Bridge is sadly disappointing and underwhelming.
I eventually made my way back to the Arran House and wasn’t feeling very social, so I sulked around my room for a while, talked online to a few people, and did nothing productive. I made dinner and ate alone in my room. Eventually I figured that I should get out and talk to people, so Jen and I went exploring. We intended to go up to Holborn to find a swing that someone had set up inside a bus stop, but, when we tried to get on the bus to take us to that bus stop, it started going the opposite direction and we ended up in Waterloo, on the other side of the Thames. So we didn’t get to see the swing, but we weren’t too crushed. The banks of the Thames were lit up and everything was so beautiful. After walking around for a while we decided to head back to Tottenham Court Rd. and find The Court, the pub Chris told me about. It was a bit empty, as far as I imagined pubs to go. But the music was good and it was nice to just talk for a while. After a drink, we decided to head back to the hotel.
I guess as far as varying impressions of London go, mine is still positive. Everyday I’m here I just can’t believe how much I love this place. I only wish I could afford to live here.