London Snow

The use of the present perfect progressive tense for a large

number of verbs (ending in ing) is notable - this tense
suggests that something that started in the past continues in
the present and may continue into the future. The snow is
unstoppable.
the passage in its entirety is suggestive that the snow has a
life and a purpose.
● The poem is presented as a single stanza of thirty-
seven lines. The effect that this form produces is one
of a self-contained unbroken chain of events, started
by snowfall that persists through the night.
● By enjambing across the points where some poets
might have chosen to create stanza breaks, Bridges
has created a flow through the poem, mirroring the
unremitting, lengthy, snowstorm.
● The length of the lines ranges from eleven syllables to seventeen syllables and the metre is
irregular, creating a poem with a rhythm that resembles the rhythm of speech.
● The poem addresses four of the five human senses; vision, hearing, taste and touch.
● Snow in Victorian England was not uncommon but he writes it in a way that it becomes a
special experience.

BACKGROUND INFO ON MY BOI ROBERT

● Born: 23rd Oct 1844, England.
● Died: 21st Apr 1930.
● From 1869 until 1882 Bridges worked as a medical student and physician
in London hospitals.
● Master of ‘prosody’ Commented [1]: the patterns of rhythm and sound
used in poetry.
● Married Mary Monica Whitehouse in 1884
● Poet laureate from 1913 till his death
● Eton College in 1854 and started writing poetry
● Corpus Christi College at Oxford University in 1863
● Friends with Gerard Manley Hopkins until this boi died in 1889
● Hopkin’s literary executor, collecting and editing Hopkin’s poems for
publication after his death.
● Registered as a student in Bartholomew’s Hospital in London in 1869
● Published his first book of poems, Poem (Pickering) in 1873
● Pneumonia in 1881
 ● Spent the rest of his life in nearly unbroken domestic seclusion, devoting
himself to the writing and studying of poetry.
● During this time, Bridges published several long poems, dramas, and
poetry collections, some of which contained his experiments using a meter
based on syllables. Commented [2]: Overnight snowfall

● Helped found the Society for Pure English, an organization of literary Commented [3]: Evokes an image of a blizzard rather
than a light sprinkling of snow
figures and linguistic scholars who sought to preserve the “purity” of the
Commented [4]: Defamiliarisation; brown becomes
English language. white
● Best selling poet throughout the 1920s. Commented [5]: Personification; the snow is given life
and purpose

Line-by-line analysis: Commented [6]: Establishes the ambiance of the

poem and London at the time of this event
When men were all asleep the snow came flying, Commented [7]: Sibilance: a specific type of
alliteration that relies on the repetition of soft consonant
In large white flakes falling on the city brown, sounds in words to create a whooshing or hissing
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying, sound in the writing
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town; Commented [8]: Deep snow; that of drifts that
smooths out the surface of the uneven, bumpy ground.
Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing; May symbolise conflicts turning to peace.
Lazily and incessantly floating down and down:
Commented [9]: The use of the suffix -ing suggests
Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing; something that started in the past continues in the
Hiding difference, making unevenness even, present and may continue in the future; unstoppable
snow
Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing.
Commented [10]: Objective of the snow completed
All night it fell, and when full inches seven
Commented [11]: Heavenly glare is usually produced
It lay in the depth of its uncompacted lightness, by strong sunlight
The clouds blew off from a high and frosty heaven; Commented [12]: Implication that the snow is not a
And all woke earlier for the unaccustomed brightness godsend.
Of the winter dawning, the strange unheavenly glare: Commented [13]: Citizens are in awe of this unusual
sight
The eye marvelled—marvelled at the dazzling whiteness;
The ear hearkened to the stillness of the solemn air; Commented [14]: Oxymoron- the ear is somehow
listening to silence
No sound of wheel rumbling nor of foot falling,
Commented [15]: Every sound has been muffled by
And the busy morning cries came thin and spare. the heavy snowfall
Then boys I heard, as they went to school, calling, Commented [16]: Formed of ice
They gathered up the crystal manna to freeze Commented [17]: Manna is an edible substance
Their tongues with tasting, their hands with snowballing; which, according to the Bible and the Quran, God
provided for the Israelites during their travels in the
Or rioted in a drift, plunging up to the knees; desert during the forty-year period following the
Or peering up from under the white-mossed wonder, Exodus. (Exodus 16- 13-16)
‘O look at the trees!’ they cried, ‘O look at the trees!’ Commented [18]: Impact on senses of touch and taste
With lessened load a few carts creak and blunder, Commented [19]: Impact on sight
Following along the white deserted way, Commented [20]: Snow is an inconvenience to those
A country company long dispersed asunder: who do physical labour outside; they have decreased
their load in order to give them ease in their journey
When now already the sun, in pale display
Commented [21]: The dome of St. Paul's cathedral
Standing by Paul’s high dome, spread forth below (the only reference to London in the entire poem)
His sparkling beams, and awoke the stir of the day.
For now doors open, and war is waged with the snow; Commented [22]: War waged with the challenges
And trains of sombre men, past tale of number,
Tread long brown paths, as toward their toil they go:
But even for them awhile no cares encumber
Their minds diverted; the daily word is unspoken,
The daily thoughts of labour and sorrow slumber
At the sight of the beauty that greets them, for the charm they have broken. Commented [23]: The worries of the workers are
pushed to the back of their mind with the beauty in front
of their eyes.
RHYME SCHEME: ABABCBCDCDEDEFEFGFGHGHIHIJIJKJKLKLMLM (terza rima
rhyme scheme)(bruh)
Sample question:
Explain how the poem ‘London Snow’ is a celebration of the snowfall in
London.
Robert Bridges was a poet who rejected contemporary trends and modernism in
poetry, preferring poetry that is easily understood by its readers. He made this
rejection evident in the poem ‘London Snow’, written in 1890, which revolves around
the intricate details of the snowfall in London, highlighting its beauty and the awe and
marvel that its descend brought forth. Using irregular metre, Bridges imitates the
irregular rhythm of speech which makes it easier for readers to understand and
resonate with. The explicit title leaves no room for doubt in the reader’s mind about
the topic and makes it clear that the poem is about snow in London. ‘London Snow’
and the figurative language used in it celebrate the rare occurrence of snowfall and
despite the inconveniences it brought, appreciates the presence of a continuous
snowfall and therefore a constant source of sensory pleasure.

In Line 2, Bridges describes the snow as ‘large white flakes falling on the city brown’;
the stark contrast between the unsightly brown of the city and the purity of white
snow emphasizes that the citizens of London do not see snow as a regular
occurrence and are not familiar with it. The snow that came overnight, as stated in
Line 1 when it was said ‘when men were all asleep the snow came flying’, posed as a
surprise for them that they started their morning with. The usage of ‘flying’ in this
sense evokes an image of a blizzard rather than one of light sprinkle, making its
presence even rarer. The tense of the verbs constantly changes throughout the
poem, but lines 3 to 9 employ them in the present tense; this emphasizes the long,
seemingly never-ending process of the snow fall, starting in the past, continuing in
the present, and anticipatedly continuing into the future- the elongation emphasized
as Bridges enjambed at points where other poets may have chosen to break the
stanza. These lines also contribute to the overall serene and hushed ambience.
From Line 15 onwards, the viewpoint of the citizens is described, stating that ‘the eye
marveled- marveled at the dazzling whiteness’. Unaccustomed to heavy snowfall,
this phenomenon now serves as a sensory feast for the people who get to witness it.
In Line 16, it is said that ‘the ear hearkened to the stillness of the solemn air’. The
archaic verb ‘hearken’, of which’s usage was at its peak from the 1800s to the 1850s,
combined with the word ‘stillness’ now forms an oxymoron as they contradict each
other- it does not make sense for one to listen to silence. This oxymoron may also
point that the unusual silence of the morning contradicts the usual busy and bustling
hubbub of London. The snowfall muffles and mutes the sounds that circulate the
town, as referred to in Lines 17-18 where neither the activities of man-made objects
nor human activity can produce loud sound due to it. This is where the poem fixates
itself on one of the five senses; hearing.

The snow’s impact on humans is further expatiate on through lines 19-24,

concentrating on the perspective of school boys. It emphasizes on the rest of the five
senses, with the exception of olfaction, or smell. The snow is referred to as ‘manna’
in Line 20, which is a biblical term used in Exodus 16: 31. Manna was the substance
miraculously supplied as food to the Israelites in the wilderness, and therefore
comparing the snow to a miraculous blessing accentuates the sparseness of snow in
London. Its arrival is then celebrated and welcomed by the citizens as a miracle. The
school boys then proceed to taste and play around with the snow, reaching their
knees after having accomplished a height of seven inches, as stated in Line 10. They
too stop to admire the snow, particularly on its effect on the trees and inviting those
around them to admire it together.

After Line 24, the poem then proceeds to shift to the perspective of working adults,
whose jobs are now affected by the presence of the snow, particularly those working
outside with their carts. This shift from young school boys to grown-ups links two
lengthy processes; one of growing up and becoming self-sufficient and that of the
never-ending snow. The snow that the town celebrates is by the side of the young
and the old, playing a role in all of their every-day activities. The carriers of the carts,
transporting goods from the countryside, have lessened their load to enable them to
navigate through deserted and snow filled roads with ease. Despite the fact that the
snowy day brings inconvenience to their work and inherently makes the working day
harder on them, as they trudge through the snow and leave brown paths behind them
as a clearing of the snow, their minds are ‘diverted’, as described in line 35, and ‘the
daily thoughts of labour and sorrow slumber’, as said in line 36. The usually
depressing environment of working, which tires and demotivates the carriers is now
put to rest by the sudden surprise of the snow. Its mere presence now brings
motivation and joy to them, even if it is for a day, and they work with a renewed
passion as they now carry their lighter loads to the city. ‘At the sight of beauty that
greets them, for the charm they have broken’ alludes to the change brought forth by
the snow- charm being ironically used for the difficulty the workers face and the noise
the citizens are accustomed to. This charm of lackluster routine has now been
transformed into one of jubilance and happiness, a renewed hope for the future.

Bridges, employing a terza rima rhyme scheme in this poem without breaking it into
stanzas, mirrors the thought process of citizens overjoyed to see the unusual
snowfall in their city. ‘London Snow’ acts as a celebration of the snowfall in London
as it breaks the citizens out of their usual routine and subjects them to a world of
peace, serenity and most of all, beauty in a world of usual chaotic energy. It
highlights both the pleasing and the inconvenient aspects, the former overpowering
the latter. A once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence, the citizens enjoy the snowfall’s
comforting presence before it bids farewell.