Fiction Adaptation: Final ideas

‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ – William Wordsworth

This is a short poem by William Wordsworth, which was written in 1802.  The poem looks at a view of London in 19^th century England from Westminster Bridge. 

I studied the poem at GCSE level and believe that this would be good to revisit as I know the text so well, having previously compared it to ‘London’ by William Blake.

I looked at both of these poems, one of which is a negative view ‘Blake’ and the other a positive view ‘Wordsworth’, of London at the same era.  I have chosen o use Wordsworth’s positive view of London and would like to compare this with modern day London.

I have taken some of the points and places mentioned within the poem to see if they are still there today and surprisingly, there are many of the same sites today, as there was in the 19^th century.

My Film

This will be filmed from Westminster Bridge. I’d like one establishing shot of the bridge, and then, with clear narration of the poem, I’d like to capture the images from the poem in as much detail I can.

‘Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky,

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.’

This quote taken from the poem highlights some of the sights I would like to capture. The poem was written looking at London early morning. It highlights the calmness of the river, and how the sun comes up over the tops of the buildings. I’d love to film early morning for this project, to capture the city at its quietest time, on a sunny day, as morning breaks.

I think this a good opportunity for me to be adventurous with my camera work. I’ve never filmed landscapes before and would love to give it a go.  Id like to create a real comparison between what William Wordsworth saw from Westminster Bridge, and what can be seen today.

I would still like to film this in a positive light, and capture the beauty of the city, especially when it is calm in the morning. I also have a friend who is a landscape illustrator. She may work with me whilst I film to draw some of the view from the bridge. If possible, I’d love to include some of these drawings into my film, to give it a cosmopolitan/arty edge, which is something I would really like to do with this project, to take a classic piece and adapt it and give it a new light.