London Flashcards
London Context - Blake
Blake had two volumes
Songs of Experience - negative
Songs of Innocence - positive
This poem is from experience and so is very negative and truthful to the harsh reality of life
London : Historical Context (recent events)
This poem was written just after the French Revolution, and has subtle hints to a similar event that may happen in England if the situations described in the poem aren’t resolved
London : Structure
Made up of 4 quatrains and each one focuses on different elements of London
Regular rhyme scheme - ABAB
Iambic pentameter rhythm simulates the narrator walking throughout London
London : Chartered
I wander through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow
‘chartered’ repeated shows how everything is owned and controlled by the rich. London has been carved up and nothing is left for the poor
London : Mark
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe
‘mark’ is being used both as a verb - to identify - and as a noun - sign
The marks of weakness are likely syphilis and the marks of woe is the exhaustion and depression shown by the people who are tired of the control
London In Every
In every cry of every man
In every infant’s cry of fear
In every voice: in every ban
repetition exaggerates how no one escapes the poverty and misery
London Manacles
The mind-forged manacles I hear
IMPORTANT LINE
‘mind forged’
suggests restrictions from getting out of poverty are often due to them: lack of education and lack of seeking a way out - they have lost hope
- suggests that the people of london have accepted being controlled, and forge the manacles with their minds
London Church
Every black’ning Church appalls
they are all bad
they are appalled at poverty, but they aren’t doing anything about it
blackening literally from soot - burned coal
blackening figuratively from corruption - a high ranking church official got many benefits
London Palace
Runs in blood down Palace walls
risky - suggests an uprising - context
the monarchy are rich and don’t help the poor enough
the blood would be on their hands but they hide behind their walls instead.
London Harlot
The youthful Harlot’s curse
Blasts the new-born infant’s tear
‘curse’ could be syphilis but also just a swear
she curses the baby as it has burdened her struggling life
London : Blights & marriage
Blights with plagues the Marriage hearse
‘plagues’ refers to the outbreaks of syphilis
this line tells a story:
a man went to a harlot before marriage and got syphilis
then he got married and passed it on to his wife
this resulted in either: their deaths from insanity
or the end of their marriage
the hearse could be for them or figuratively for their marriage
London on Power
The establishments have control over the people of London but they just leave them to fend for themselves
The people of London have very little power to escape their predicament
London on Conflict
Blake suggests a potential conflict similar to the French Revolution if the monarchy and church doesn’t assist the poor
