London Flashcards
What is London about?
The speakers wander the streets of London and comments on his observations.
He sees despair in the faces of people he meets and hears fear and repression in their voices.
The speaker openly criticizes the church, the monarchy and the government. Blake blames these institutions for the treatment of poor people.
The opening “I wonder thro”
What does this show?
Shows the poem is structured as a journey.
What does the repitition of “charter’d” suggests?
Suggests London is owned and people have been robbed of their rights.
What does the repetition of “In every” suggest?
The repetition of “every” implies the size of the problem because it impacts on children and men. No one can escape from poverty.
What does “The mind forg’d manacles suggest”?
“Manacles” are handcuffs. The image of ‘mind forg’d manacles’ implies that people are trapped emotionally in society and their social class.
What does “Chimney-sweepers cry” show?
Blake is criticising the exploitation of children in london. As children were expected to do dangerous jobs to survive.
What is the structure of the London?
Blake uses alot of repetition which could imply the cycle of poverty and that there is no escape for lower social classes.
Blake begins the London by just observing the streets. However as the poem progresses it is clear that he his angry about the institutions that should support the poor people. The poem ends negatively with implications of death.
What is the context of the London?
Published as part of “Songs of innocence and experience”.
Blake lived and worked in London during the Victorian era, a time of great poverty and industrial change.
