Charles Lamb's Responses To Woodsworth

Lamb responds to Woodsworth invitation letter with a complex rejection and explanation in a polite, yet sarcastic tone. In the letter by Charles Lamb, a poet from 1801, Lamb is in awe about London, is showing his appreciation for the city, and compares it to the country he was invited to, to convey that he is happy where he is at, the country does not excite him like the city does, and that he would rather stay where he believes nature is more beautiful. To start off, Lamb uses an apologetic tone to say no and uses asyndenton to justify his reason of rejection. Lamb uses this asyndenton to prove why London is so amazing by rambling about “The lighted shops…; The very women…; The impossibility of being dull…” Lamb is astonished by the simple sights of the city. This asyndenton builds on why he has no desire to leave for Cumberland. His use of ten sentences strung together by semi colons shows that he rambles on about the beauties and that he gets lost in his thought to further explain why he's never leaving. This directly impacts Woodsworth’s invitation to Lamb, because now Woodsworth understands that the possibility of Lamb coming to Cumberland is slim to none. Lamb continues his rejection on to Woodsworth by showing how much love and
compassion he has for his town. Lamb compares London to a “her” using personification. Comparing London to a human/female proves he cares about it as much as he would care about someone he knows. By comparing London to a female, a deeper, more affectionate love for the city is shown, rather than if he compared it to a male that would more like his friend. If it was compared to his friend, Woodsworth wouldn’t understand how much Lamb loves his city like he would love a romantic interest. This is an add-on to his rejection to clarify why he said no to Cumberland. Finally, Lamb ends his response letter by writing on about the beauties of nature.
He uses a metaphor to explain his feelings about nature in the city and in the country. He compares a natural thing on Earth to something handmade by stating, “The clouds above me but as a roof beautifully painted.” Lamb believes the clouds are a work of art and he admires the them when he looks up at the sky. He can obviously see them anywhere outside, but he would rather see the masterpieces, “In this great city.” Woodsworth now knows all the reasons why Lamb has rejected his invitation. Lamb will continue his life on in his beautiful city and Woodsworth will continue without Lamb in
Cumberland. Charles Lamb relies on asyndenton, personification, and metaphor to reject Woodsworth is a polite, but ironic tone.