"London" - by William Blake

Question 1

tone

Answer 1

• depressive/mournful, critical
• word choice that creates imagery to build tone:
• • “marks of weakness, marks of woe”
• • “blackening Church”
• • “runs in blood down palace walls”
• • “blights with plagues”

Question 2

inverted word order

Answer 2

reorder words as you would say them to help you understand the poem

Question 3

theme - all roads lead to theme

Answer 3

• innocence: there are several innocent people who are victimized by the events of London
• • “youthful Harlots”
• • “hapless Soldiers”
• • “in every cry of every man”
• • “chimney-sweepers cry”
• • noble and global theme statement: all innocent things are oppressed
• death
• • noble and global theme statement: death beckons at every corner

Question 4

in the 3rd stanza, the speaker takes on a critical tone. who is the speaker being critical of?

Answer 4

the church and the palace

Question 5

in “london,” the emotion being explored is “innocence”. what is the speaker expressing about this topic?

Answer 5

the speaker blames the church and the palace

Question 6

which two words from the first stanza support the idea of a sorrowful tone

Answer 6

weakness and woe

Question 7

which theme or central message best fits this poetry piece

Answer 7

innocence is torn down by leaders in government and religion who care only for themselves

Question 8

who in this poem is directly criticized by blake?

Answer 8

the palace and the church