London Flashcards
What could you write about the poem instead of ‘it’s about the misery of life in London’ ?
‘The poem is an ironic look at misery in one of the greatest cities in the world’
What could you say instead of ‘the poet is upset at the loss of joy and innocence’ ?
‘Blake’s views are revolutionary for the time, challenging the
idea that man is worth more than slavery’
What would be better than saying ‘people in power are living on the pain of others’ ?
‘Blake challenges the idea of the powerful being in their ‘palaces’ and ‘churches’ which are marked by the blood and blackening of good people’
‘I ____ ____ each ____ street/ near where the ____ ____ does ___,’
‘I wander thro each charter’d street/ near where the charter’d Thames does flow,’
What does the quote - ‘I ____ ____ each ____ street/ near where the ____ ____ does ___,’ suggest ?
‘charter’d’ - something regulated, suggesting man controls nature, and nothing escapes the governments control.
‘___ in every ___ I meet/ ___ of ____, ___ of ___.’
‘mark in every face I meet/ marks of weakness, marks of woe’
What is suggested in the quote - ‘___ in every ___ I meet/ ___ of ____, ___ of ___.’ ?
‘every’ - everyone is without power and in misery. ‘mark’ - metaphor for being branded with this look to show their place in society.
‘In ____ __ of ____ Man,/ In ____ Infants __ of ___,/ In every ____: in every ___,’
‘In every cry of every Man,/ In every Infants cry of fear,/ In every voice: in every ban,’
What is emphasised through the quote - ‘In ____ __ of ____ Man,/ In ____ Infants __ of ___,/ In every ____: in every ___,’ ?
Repetition of ‘every’ to show the scale of suffering and progression of age from ‘man’ to ‘infant’ shows the cyclical structure of suffering.
‘The ___-____ _____ I hear:’
‘The mind-forged manacles I hear:’
What is the importance of the quote - ‘The ___-____ _____ I hear:’ ?
Alliteration of ‘mind’/’manacles’ draws attention to metaphor - not physically held back but their belief in own weakness holds them back.
‘How the ____-____ cry/ Every _____ ____ ____,’
‘How the chimney-sweepers cry/ Every black’ning Church appalls,’
What is suggested through the quote - ‘How the ____-____ cry/ Every _____ ____ ____,’ ?
The connection between the cries and the church - Blake sees religion as a tool to keep the people down and therefore was wrong.
‘___ in ____ down ____ walls’
‘Runs in blood down palace walls’
What is the importance of the quote - ‘___ in ____ down ____ walls’ ?
Symbolic metaphor - signifies the soldiers’ sacrifice to protect those in power (- or Blake suggesting a revolution).
