London Flashcards
What is the rhyme scheme in London?
ABAB
What effect does the rhyme scheme have?
ABAB, along with consistent quatrains of 4 lines each, eludes to the complete control and oppression which the lower classes feel in London. The consistent structure also highlights how suffering is relentless and never-ending making the reader feel sorry for the people of the city.
What is the structure of London?
Iambic Tetrameter and Cyclical Structure
What effect does Iambic Tetrameter have on the reader?
Order and control, with the consistency of the rhythm providing a sense of relentless oppression that will never end.
What effect does Cyclical Structure have?
First + Second stanzas on impact on people.
Third explores source of the suffering.
Fourth returns to the impact it has.
Suggests suffering is never ending, implying to the reader that they will continue to suffer until they break the cycle.
Good quotes for this poem
“In every cry of every man / in every voice, in every ban”
“marriage hearse”
“chartered Thames does flow”
“mind forged manacles”
Analysis of “In every cry of every man / in every voice, in every ban”
Anaphora
The usage of the phrase “in every” with “every” following soon after is repeated within the lines seven times throughout the poem. This is possibly Blake emphasising the extreme extent of the suffering, showing just how repetitive the suffering is, never ending. This repetition builds up until the final line like a literary crescendo.
Analysis of “marriage hearse”
Juxtaposition
Contrasts connotations of new beginnings, joy and happiness with the end of a life and grief. This is a societal criticism how for women, marriage was like death. The carriage that carries them to the wedding is a “hearse”, as they lose all rights and property to the man, then being subject to oppression by their husband.
What is the perspective of London?
Dramatic Monologue
What affect does the perspective of London have on the reader?
First person speaker speaking incredibly passionately about what he sees and hears, in an almost conversational tone. This shows he is not trying to appear as above other people, but is attempting to treat people as equal, with the monologue helping to set up a conversation.
What semantic fields are present?
Oppression
Suffering
What is the effect of the semantic field of Oppression?
Oppression stems from privatisation, repeating “chartered” in the phrases “each chartered street” and “chartered Thames does flow” referring to how in the 1700’s, the wealthy owned much of the place.
Comparisons?
London / Tissue
London / The Emigree
Comparison of London / Tissue
Both poets show human power as a source of oppression and suffering, citizens suffer with “mind forged manacles” w/ Tissue “fall away on a sigh”
Both criticise material wealth + inequality, “chartered” as they are given to people, Tissue maps like “borderlines” w/ money being able to “fly our lives like paper kites”
While they both identify the sources of inequality, Blake is resigned to the fate, with the cyclical structure whereas Dharker changes the quatrain structure to signify her desire for things to change. This could be due to the changes in society from the 1700’s to more modern day.
Comparison of London / The Emigree
Both poets explore the power of place through its ability to influence the citizens.
Both poets explore places which cause suffering. In the Emigree, the speaker suffers because she cannot return to her city, in London the place is filled with institutions of power that control the citizens.
Emigree the place is fantasy / metaphorical, London is real with symbolic values
Emigree has resounding positive impression that clouds all other knowledge, however in London, the place oppresses them “mind forged manacles”
