london Flashcards
1
Q
overview
A
In London, Blake describes what life is like for working class and poor people.Everything is described to feel trapped in London with no escape. This is not the impression that people would’ve wanted because London was the heart of England and was ‘thriving’ because of industrialism. Blake was a Romantic poet and believed in writing the truth and stopping the spread of industrialism as it was negatively effecting civilians. It is a political poem as it is criticising major institutions like marriage, the church and the monarchy. The mood of the poem is angry and it is supposed to sound like a war cry. Blake was very passionate about his beliefs.
2
Q
beginning
A
- Blake is walking through London near the ‘charter’d Thames’. This suggests how every part of London is owned by someone. The word ‘charter’d’ is repeated throughout the first stanza which emphasises how everything in London is owned and also suggests how everyone living in London has repetitive lives. The fact that the Thames is owned suggests how the river isn’t free as it should be. This could also reflect the lives of the people who don’t own anything for themselves and lack freedom.
3
Q
middle
A
- As Blake walks through London he can hear ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ in every person he passes. Because everyone has them it could suggest how there is universal suffering as everyone feels chained to London. The manacles are a metaphor which suggests how no one is free. The fact that they are ‘mind-forg’d’ suggests how nothing is physically chaining them to London and it’s a mental barrier instead. This could suggest how the people in London are in chains because they can’t escape their situation.
- The poet describes ‘how the chimney-sweepers cry every black’ning church appalls.’ The chimney sweepers are children which suggests how the poet is against child labour. However, the church ‘appalls’ which suggests how the church is disgusted by the chimney-sweepers because they are poor. This goes against the churches ‘morally good’ image as it suggests how they would rather turn their back on them than help them. The ‘black’ning church’ suggests how the church is physically black because of pollution. However, it could be a metaphor to suggest how the church is corrupt.
4
Q
end
A
- Finally, Blake describes a baby being born by a prostitute and will ‘blights with plagues the marriage hearse.’ This could suggest how Blake dislikes marriage because they compare it to a hearse and links marriage to death. The words ‘blights’ and ‘plagues’ emphasise the poets dislike for marriage as they compare it to a disease. The ‘plague’ described could be an STI which was common at the time. This could suggest that the poet thinks that marriage is dead because many marriages at the time were arranged so not based on love and were unfaithful.
5
Q
form & structure
A
- The use of rhyme in the poem makes it sound like a song and very structured. This could reflect society which was very hierarchical. It also makes the poem sound very repetitive which could also reflect the repetitive lives that the people of London lead.
- Stanzas all same length – people’s lives are very repetitive and boring.
