"The river glideth at his own sweet will:..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The word “glideth” is an archaic form of the verb “to glide,” which means to move smoothly without resistance. Wordsworth employs personification in his depiction of the River Thames by ascribing it the pronoun “his” and granting it a will—as though the river were a being that flows easily at his own pace and desires.
In this context, the noun “splendour,” or “splendor,” means brilliant, bright, or magnificent. Wordsworth possibly suggests that part of the splendor of the morning sun is its tendency to make London seem more at one with nature: its structures “lie/ Open unto the fields, and to the sky,” and the air is not yet smoky.
In this context, the adjective “fair” means beautiful or pleasing in appearance. By asserting that there is nothing on Earth more fair than London in the morning, Wordsworth suggests that this beauty will fade as the day progresses.
