London

Question 1

context

Answer 1

-Blake respected the bible but disliked the organised religion such as church of england
-London is a critique on human power,exposing the distance between those in power and those suffering, suffering in inescapable by misuse of power by those in control
-poem was written during the industrial revolution,which blake was against
-nature was being ruined by the industrial revolution

Question 2

structure

Answer 2

-repetitive structure,written in quatrains with regular rhyme scheme, reflecting the relentless and repetitive suffering in the city
-repetition of words reflect how the life of suffering in repetitive and inescapable
-written in a cyclical structure once again highlighting the inescapable suffering of those in the city

Question 3

“a mark in every face i meet,marks of weakness marks of woe”

Answer 3

-line is written in the least amount of syllables
-line is pointing out the weakness of those suffering
-blake is weakening the line to reflect the weakness of those suffering
-repetition of marks to highlight importance
-marks is being used as having changing meaning(look)(signs), this could reflect blakes frustration at the changing nature of london by those in power,blake did not agree with these changes

Question 4

language

Answer 4

-overwhelmingly long list of negative language reflects how overwhelmed the suffering are

Question 5

“each charter’d streets near where the charter’d thames does flow”

Answer 5

-repetition of charter’d twice in the first two lines highlights it as an issue
-creation of the charter made profit for businesses and bankers
-charter’d thames shows the enforcing of power on the natural world,juxtaposition between power of nature and human power. man would seek to own and control even something as uncontrollable and natural as the river themes
-it is a satirical attack on as the obsession of property rights, human power and control
-irony as a river cannot be controlled by the passing of a law
-shows that one of the causes of suffering is the misuse of power through chartering the thames,poor are being controlled and governed

Question 6

“mind forged manacles”

Answer 6

-manacles are weared by criminals, audience at the time would of been very shocked
-intertextual reference to swiss philosopher rousseau”man is born free but everywhere he is in chains”
-Blake is stating that mans lack of freedom(manacles) are “mind forged”,they come from ideas and outlook opposed on us by external authority, this external authority is a reference to the government

Question 7

“hapless soldiers sigh runs in blood down palace walls”

Answer 7

-references the french revolution, the overthrow of the monarchy
-hyperbolic phrase “blood is running down the walls” was a phrase popularised during the french revolution that shows the bloodshed that the french revolution caused
-blake is suggesting that the unhappiness of the British soldier could lead to a similar uprising if its causes continued to be ignored
-reference to palace shows us the the monarchy is to blame as well

Question 8

“and blights with plagues the marriage hearse”

Answer 8

-oxymoron of marriage hearse,happy image of marriage contradicted by image of death caused by hearse
-overwhelmingly negative image suggests that the good “old” London is destined to be destroyed
-powerful ending to a poem the challenges those in positions of power

Question 9

quotes

Answer 9

-“and blights with plagues the marriage hearse”
-“hapless soldiers sigh runs in blood down palace walls”
-“mind forged manacles”
-“each charter’d streets near where the charter’d thames does flow”
-“a mark in every face i meet,marks of weakness marks of woe”