London Flashcards
I wander through each chartered street
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
- Chartered is something which is listed and regulated, the streets are clearly controlled but it suggests the Thames, the river likewise is controlled, nature controlled by man.
- Humans are trying to impress their authority upon nature which is ironic as nature can’t be controlled by law.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
- Repetition of ‘in every’ used to show scale of suffering. Blake is suggesting that everyone is without power and in misery, a powerful statement.
- The term mark can be a metaphor for a brand, as if these people don’t like look tired, but are branded with this look to show their place in society. Physical and Mental scars caused by those leading.
- the last line of the stanza “Marks of weakness, marks of woe.” does not follow the iambic pentameter as there are less syllables ( a weakened amount) this fits with the line and the fact that those who are suffering are weak as they have no power to change their situation.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
- Repetition of ‘in every’ used to show scale of suffering. In every voice he hears people suffering, they are al trapped physically and mentally.
- This is an example of anaphora ( the lines start the same), this proposes the idea that the suffering is inescapable due to the fact the poet has stuck to/ is stuck using the same words.
The mind-forged manacles I hear:
- Alliteration of mind/manacles helps draw our attention to the metaphor, Blake is showing that these people are not physically held back, but their belief in their own weakness holds them back.
- They are created in the mind due to the outlooks of others being imposed upon them by external authority.
- Would shock the audience at the time as only criminals wore them.
Talk about the poems structure.
- Note how the poem uses Quatrains with alternate rhyme abab to create the rhythm of the narrator walking- reader
- the Quatrain structure could also imply being restricted as in people trying to place ownership upon nature, but also how people feel trapped suffering.
- The poem has a cyclical structure to emphasise the constant suffering as just when you think your getting somewhere your back to the begging; Stanzas one, two and three are all about those suffering and stanza three is about the causes of suffering.
How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every black’ning Church appalls,
-The juxtaposition but also connection between the cries of children made to sweep chimneys and therefore from the rooftops, and church bells which ring out is striking. Blake saw religion as a tool to keep the people down and therefore was wrong ‘blackening’.
This contrasts the cries of the innocent dirty children with the supposedly clean but corrupt church.
- The fact that child labour is acceptable shows how heartless society is at the time.
- The church could be blackening from the soot in the industrial revolution.
- Could be blackening due to the sin the church is committing by not for filling its duty as it should help the poor (blackening souls). Blake loved the bible and thought his actions went against it. His is criticising the church by colour imagery as he thinks it is no longer there for the spiritual reason, just purely for the power.
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls .
- This draws on the link to war at this time. The blood running down palace walls signifies their sacrifice to protect the power of those who live in the palaces. It is a symbolic metaphor.
- “sigh” implies that the soldiers are resigned to their death as they have no say.
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear,
- Harlots is slang for prostitutes or low class women. Blake is corrupting the idea of childbirth with sexual exploitation and hate ‘curse’. The new born infant is born into a broken world.
- Those in power have chosen not to help these women so they have been left with no option but to turn to prostitution.
- The child is surrounded by cursing so their innocence is lost. She could be cursing those in power, her life or the unwanted child.
- Child mortality rates were high at the time.
And blights with 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.
- It could link with the idea of the previous lines where the men getting married have been to prostitutes an have in turn received a disease (STD) meaning they will no longer be able to have a family with their new wife. This could be the prostitutes curse for using them or it could be Blake’s way of showing the way people in power use their power has lead to continuous suffering for all.
What could the changing meaning of “every” portray?
Represents the poets frustrations at London changing.
What's special about these four lines? How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every black’ning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls .
It makes an acrostic spelling out HEAR. This implies he’s saying listen out to what’s going on around you, it is a message.
Why are there long lists of negative language in the poem?
To create the sense of overwhelming suffering.
Features about William Blake…
- Openly wrote about the misuse of power and class.
- He was very religious and respected the bible, he disliked organisations like the Church of England as he thought the church abused it’s power.
- he lived in London for the vast majority of his life so this is portrayed as his own personal experience “I”.
Talk about some context to do with the poem.
- William Blake was a poet in Victorian/Georgian England, he wrote a selection of poems in his anthologies songs of innocence and experience, most of those poems had a counterpart. The Experience poems were often more bitter or cynical whereas the innocence poems were often naïve and simple. London is one of the few without a counterpart.
- 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 were 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.
How does this poem relate too power and conflict?
Looking at power and conflict this is a poem which is more about the lack of power and abuse of power. The poem is set in the capital of the most powerful country in the world and yet words like ‘manacles’ suggest slavery while the soldiers sigh ‘runs in blood down palace walls’ a clear contrast between those with power and those without.
