London Flashcards
“I wander through each chartered street”
“Charted” is when something is listed or regulated
- although streets being controlled is clear, it also suggests that the Thames is being controlled
as well (man’s power over nature)
“marks of weakness, marks of woe”
Repetition of “marks” shows physical indentation
“The mind-forged manacles I hear”
Allilteration (“mind-forged manacles”) helps draw out attention to the metaphor
- the metaphor is that these people are physically held back, but their belief in their own weakness holds them back
“chimney sweeper’s cry…hapless soldier’s sigh”
“Chimney sweepers” where children
“Hapless” (powerless) “soldiers” - risk their loves for the monarchy
“plagues the marriage hearse”
Oxymoron which juxtaposes the joy of marriage with the misery of death
- Blake is suggesting that society has destroyed all the good things in life
What is the context of London?
- The poem is set during a time in England where there was poverty, child labour and a horrific war with France
- Women had no rights, death rates from disease and malnutrition was high and the industrial revolution has resulted in many large oppressive factories.
- Blake’s poems often railed against these and how London, arguably the greatest city in the world at that time, was so dirty and corrupt.
What is the significance of Revolution and People Power in London?
- The People’s revolution in France was meant to show that all men are equal and have power.
- As Britain is a country with an old monarchy and aristocracy, this was scary.
- Blake is perhaps supporting revolution, asking people to throw off the ‘manacles’ of their belief that they should be told what to do.
What is the structure of the poem London?
- Written in four stanzas with an regular alternate scheme which reflects the regular walking pace of the narrator as he walks around London.
- The last line in each stanza tends to deliver a powerful statement which sums up the rest of the stanza.
