London by William Blake Flashcards
The poem in a nutshell….
Very negative in tone. Reflects Blake’s disillusionment with state.
A walk through London reveals it to be a place where freedom is restricted and poverty is rife.
Institutions such as the Church and the monarchy are riddled with hypocrisy as money is spent on their upkeep rather than improving the life chances of the poor.
Context
London was published in 1793, four years after the outbreak of the French Revolution. Is Blake calling for
the poor people of London to rise up and seize power?
London was becoming more and more industrial. Blake expresses his concerns on impact for city and its
people.
“And mark in every face I meet/ Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”
Reader is forced to acknowledge inescapability of physical damage caused by London. We too feel imprisoned by repetition?
“The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.”
Sympathy from the reader as the restrictions on freedom are caused by the mind.
“And blights with plagues the marriage hearse”
Striking for reader as two images, ‘marriage’ and ‘hearse’, aren’t normally associated are placed together. London is a city of duplicity and a difficult environment in which to sustain happiness. An attack on the Church and the hypocrisy of this institution?
Aspects of Power or Conflict
Power of state – individuals are powerless to restrictions imposed from above ‘chartered streets’
Political conflict – Church and King are reinforcing the inequality of society. Poor are victims.
Potential power of people – if they were to rise up in revolution.
Poems that can be linked
Storm on the Island
