london

Question 1

what was the structure in London

Answer 1

• Blake uses a mixture of enjambment & end stops to replicate the illusion of freedom London citizens are given
• enjambment representing this illusion as the line continues , emulating how they believe their lives are free & boundless
• this juxtaposes the end stops where the lines are paused & stopped , replicating how the lives of those who live on London are stopped + broken the the authorities that control them

Question 2

what do the quatrains & regular ABABB rhyme signify (form)

Answer 2

• uses uniformed quatrains with a regular ABAB rhyme to emulate the mass oppression & restriction the lower classes were subject to - they were oppressed by establishment changing them to these “Mind-forged manacles”

Question 3

E B C A (abuse of power by establishment)

Answer 3

• every black’ning church appalls could show how the church has been covered in soot because of the industrial revolution - symbolically as “black’ning connotes standing , it implies how the establishment of the church is tainting & staining the true meaning of religion. Within the bible , Jesus favoured agape , yet Blake sees how these morals are abandoned by the church as they neglect a love for all & care more for acquiring wealth

Question 4

M F M (oppression)

Answer 4

• mind forged manacles
• he politically critiques the abuse of the power of the establishment. Their oppression is so deep , it has formed these “manacles” around individuals minds , thus they are confined to the misery that the authorities have imprisoned them too. “Manacles” are made of metal bands intertwined together , mimicking how the people in London are inextricably intertwined with their misery & oppression - the “manacles” are inescapable as they are “mind forged” making them impossible to escape

Question 5

I E C O E M / I E I C O F
(Anger)

Answer 5

in every cry of every man / in every infants cry of fear
- powerful repetition of ‘every’ & ‘cry’ develops the sense that London is a torturous & agonising place to live. - lines are structured to constitute a list , building up a picture of an abundance to suffering

• by having both ‘every man’ & ‘every infant’ crying , we can infer that pain & suffering are constant from birth - death - could also show diversity of suffering
• hyperbolic phrase ‘in every cry of every man’ , would at the time of the poem be shocking to the reader as contextually the patriarchal society of the era meant that men displaying sad emotions would contradict beliefs about male strength & toughness