The Symbolic Nature of Bridges in Literature

Coleridge called it Symbol, Blake called it Imagination. The purpose of symbolism and the closely related device of allegory engage the reader in deciphering meaning. The quote below, by French anthropologist and historian, Jean-Pierre Vernant sums up the symbolic value of the bridge in fiction writing.

To cross a bridge, a river or a border is to leave behind the familiar, personal and
comfortable and enter the unknown, a different and strange world where, faced
with another reality, we may well find ourselves bereft of home and identity.

—Jean-Pierre Vernant

Perhaps, nowhere can this be more evident than in Wordsworth’s poem, Composed upon Westminster Bridge, 1803. Leaving behind the familiar landscapes of the past; the rural way of life, in favour of the industrialised city. It is perhaps quite fitting that Wordsworth captured not only the social change, but an entire movement to the unfamiliar reality. The creation of an entirely new social/cultural identity.

The bridge itself, can be actual or abstract. It can be used as a literary device to show the reader there will be some crossing; a journey --  between the earth and the sky or a sentimental link between people. The bridge is also used to depict life and death, usually from suicidal intentions, by jumping off, or hanging from. To digress momentarily from literature to film. It’s insightful to watch how film-makers utilise landscape features, bridges, or lack of a bridge, to convey the story premise or create an atmosphere in a particular scene. With the written word, describing a bridge and its role in the story, or placing it within the character’s life creates dramatic tension.

Composed upon Westminster Bridge (1803)

This post is the first in a series of symbolism in literature. It's not so much about finding meaning in the words, but of grasping the entire picture, of being caught up in a web of interactions between the social, political, cultural and economic debates of the world from which the words are written - in short, I suppose it can be described as symbolism in context.


Wordsworth composed this sonnet after being overwhelmed by the sight from Westminster bridge when a coach he was travelling on paused while passing over. It's worth bearing in mind that the view of London's skyline would have been very different from that of today. Not least because from here, Wordsworth would have been able to see where the sprawling city buildings ended, and the countryside began - fusing the old ways of living with the industrialization of the city. Encapsulated beautifully in this work is his struggle to comprehend the social transition that occurred at this time; from natural landscape, to a city that contained so much abject poverty among the dirt and grime of the streets.


It's also worthy to note that it was written early in the morning, before the hustle and bustle of the day began in earnest.

Westminster Bridge

(1803)

  EARTH has not anything to show more fair:
    Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
    A sight so touching in its majesty:
    This City now doth, like a garment, wear
    The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
    Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
    Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
    All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
    Never did sun more beautifully steep
    In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
    Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
    The river glideth at his own sweet will:
    Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
    And all that mighty heart is lying still!