A Place for Royalty

Westminster Abbey

June 6^th

I knew the Abbey was a popular place for tourism, but I think it was increased due the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Westminster is the church for the royalty’s use where many of their weddings and all the coronations take place. I find it mindboggling that we went through another place older than our entire country. Molly, our tour guide, was a delight as usual and she always added some fascinating details about the royalty. It can be hard to separate the differences between an abbey and a cathedral, but Molly created easy distinction between a church for the people (St. Paul’s) and a church for the royals (Westminster Abbey). My favorite part was the stained glass and the extensive ceiling design.

One of the gravestones that immediately caught my eyes was Lewis Carroll. I found it mesmerizing that his memorial curved around in a circle. It highlights his pen name while his biological name is left smaller in the center. The artistry reminded me of his bizarre stories and how he is known to have visions/hallucinations that inspired his stories. Westminster wanted the quote, arrangement, or statue to reflect the type of person buried beneath it. Carroll wrote the incredibly famous Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which has become a classic and helped introduce the ideas of alternate worlds and fantasy. His stone reads “Is all our life, then, but a dream?”

William Wordsworth was my favorite memorial for its combination of beautiful sentiments and the thoughtful statue. He was a revolutionary romantic poet and started to change the atmosphere around writing in the early 1790’s. He is the earliest writer that I am focusing on in this blog. I am not sure who wrote his memorial, but it mentions how he gave the public “nobler loves” and “made us heirs of truth.” It was a lovely remembrance for the beauty he brought to poetry.

Dylan Thomas was the one I was the most surprised and delighted to see. Thomas has become one of my favorites to study within poetry and I still remember writing a whole paper on a few of his lines. It is the simplest structure, but I thought it was profound. His most famous poem is “Do not go gentle into that good night” and it is a realistic reflection of his struggle against time. This was referenced on his stone by saying that he sang in his chains.

Westminster Abbey was a beautiful church with so much historical weight. Once you walk through, you will be transfixed by the architecture and the immense number of memorials for famous English figures. A few were Darwin, Austen, Dickens, Hawkins, and Shakespeare. The three writers I have touched upon were all buried in different places as is often the case. But make sure to see the tombs of Mary and Elizabeth I.

-Tabi is Booked