London Flashcards
“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
“And mark in every face I meet”
Blake is suggesting that everyone is without power and in misery, a powerful statement indeed. The term “mark” can be a metaphor for a brand.
“In every cry of every man, In every infant’s cry of fear,”
Repetition of “in every” is used to show scale of suffering .
“The mind-forged manacles I hear:”
metaphor- they’re a prisoner of their own mind. Alliteration helps to draw attention to the metaphor.
“the chimney-sweeper’s cry Every blackening church appalls,”
dixtaposition– connection between the cries of children chimney sweepers and the church bells.
“How the youthful harlot’s curse”
Harlots is slang for prostitutes or low class women. Blake is corrupting the idea of childbirth with sexual exploitation and hate “curse”. The newborn infant is born into a broken world.
“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.
