London - William Blake Flashcards
when was this poem published?
1794
themes?
- power - the power of the ruling classes and the powerlessness of the people below them
- time - a critique of London during the Industrial Revolution
- place
- man - the affect that London has had on man
- death - the metaphorical death of the individual
- religion - the poem may be seen as an attack on organised religion
what is the meaning of this poem?
- whilst walking around London during the Industrial Revolution, a persona sees misery, weakness and corruption everywhere they look
- the church and the monarchy - those with power, are to blame, and don’t seem to be doing anything about it
what is the mood of this poem?
- a sense of inevitability pervades through the poem as shown in the repitition of ‘every’ or ‘mark’ or ‘cry’
- a critical edge is also apparent, as the persona criticises many aspects of London life, such as the ‘black’ning Church’, for the negative impact it has on people
what is the motivation for the poet to write the poem?
- Blake, a known Romantic poet, condemns the control of Industrial Revolution era London
- he demonises the process of chartering land that was once public property, lambasts the monarch - reflecting his support of the French revolution, and the church which mirrors his faith as an English Dissenter, and chastises the dark side to London’s lower classes
title: ‘London’
LANGUAGE:
- establishes the poem’s topic
- declarative and unadorned with description, suggesting that the poem will depict London as it is
‘charter’d’
LANGUAGE:
- refers to the political and economic control of the city
- a charter is a document that expresses ownership of land
- 6 million acres of London were charter’d and Blake was critical of this as a romantic poet
- this is unnatural
- the first draft of the poem said ‘dirty’ instead of ‘charter’d’
STRUCTURE:
- repitition makes the increasing amount of control seem inescapable
- control covers both land ‘street’ and water ‘Thames’
‘charter’d Thames’
LANGUAGE:
- Blake mocks the economic control of the Industrial Revolution, as the Thames (nature) is not something that can be controlled
- idea that it is strange to control something as uncontrollable as water
‘Marks of weakness, marks of woe’
IMAGERY:
- strong negative image - people are made weak and sad by living in London
- the people of London are powerless, unhappy and depressed
- anaphora used with the repitition of ‘marks’
- this line has 7 syllables to show the weakness of the people
‘every’
STRUCTURE:
- repitition emphasises the misery of all of the Londoners
- universal suffering
‘mind-forg’d manacles I hear’
IMAGERY:
- the control is mental and therefore total
- ‘forg’d’ is the creation of metal objects using fire - this represents the human mind
- ‘manacles’ are made which are handcuffs and this image suggests their minds have been controlled
- their hope and spirit has been crushed
- in 1762, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote ‘Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains’ and Blake looked up to Rousseau and may have been influenced by this idea
‘Every black’ning Church appalls’
LANGUAGE:
- ‘black’ning’ could mean that the walls are turning black due to the smoke from the industrial revolution, or it could symbolise the corruption of the church
- ‘appalls’ could mean shock and disgust or for something to turn pale
- there are contrasting meanings of this lines:
1. it could suggest that the corruption of the church shocks and disgusts the Londoners
2. the black’ning of the walls is destroying the physical beauty of the church
- Blake was critical of the church as it was being meddled with by the state, and Blake routinely criticised the state
‘Runs in blood down Palace walls’
IMAGERY:
- this image suggests that the monarchy is responsible for the negative impact it is having on its people
- this could relate to the French Revolution as Blake is a Romantic poet and puts the monarchy in the position of the enemy in this line
- it could suggest that the unhappiness of the British soldiers could lead to revolution as there is a semantic field of suffering
‘youthful Harlot’s’
LANGUAGE:
- juxtaposition as ‘youthful’ has connotations of purity and innocence whereas ‘Harlot’s’ has connotations of sordidness, depravity and a lack of innocent
- this highlights how London can corrupt anything and everything
‘Blasts the new born Infant’s tear’
IMAGERY:
- this image suggests that London’s corruption is reaching new-borns; it is inevitable and inescapable
- the babies are crying as they know what their London life ha in store for them
‘blights with plagues’
IMAGERY:
- by suggesting that London is like a disease or illness, Blake suggests that it will corrupt many people and is incurable
- the final line of the poem and it shows how it is inevitable that London will continue to control and corrupt
‘Marriage hearse’
IMAGERY:
- oxymoron as ‘Marriage’ is associated with new life, and ‘hearse’ with death
- this can suggest that London can destroy even the purest thing
- could symbolise how all marriages are plagued with misery
- Blake is implementing a cyclical structure by opening and ending the poem with suffering
imagery used in stanzas
IMAGERY:
- first quatrain uses visual imagery
- second quatrain uses aural imagery
- it is harder to escape noises than sights, meaning that London’s control is all around
- third quatrain describes prosecuted groups and blames the church and the monarch (blaming the state) - shows how Blake rejects authority and control, which reflects his own religious and political beliefs
- fourth quatrain shows what happens in London after nightfall
poet context
- Blake was alive between the 18th and 19th century
- he was an English poet, painter and printmaker
- he didn’t have a great reputation as people thought his views were peculiar
- he was born, grew up in, and spent most of his life in London
- was only formally educated until he was 10
- he and his family were English Dissenters (a type of Protestantism that had separated from the Church of England) because they disagreed with ‘state interference’
- published ‘Songs of Innocence’ in 1789, which was a collection of positive poetry about childhood and nature
- published ‘Songs of Experience’ in 1794, in which Blake criticised and attacked the church, other elements of contemporary society and the ‘city’ - ‘London’ is a part of this collection
- he was a Romantic poet
- he first supported the French Revolution, but later criticised it for turning into chaos and violence
- ‘London’ was written during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution context
- a time of mass change in London; factories opened up across the city, proving the lower classes with difficult, dangerous and poorly paid jobs
- factories caused pollution and London was covered in a thick, black smog and nature was ruined
- class divisions increased, there were those who ruled and those who were ruled
- the population of London doubled between 1600 and 1700
structure?
- four stanzas of four lines each, regular
- strong ABAB rhyme scheme (alternate rhyme); no escaping this rhyme scheme, it is very controlled - this represents the message of the poem
- iambic tetrameter is used throughout the poem (4 lots of de-DUM), which mimics the sound of walking as the persona of the poem makes a journey through London
- however, there is 7 syllables instead of 8 in some of the lines which suggests that the rhythm shows how control can lead to weakness, the states over control of the people leaves them weak and sad
- the only stanza that is totally strong is the second stanza which focuses on the people of London - Blake could be hinting that the people do have strength after all
- cyclical structure
form?
- dramatic monologue
- first person perspective
- the persona can only observe and does not take part in an active role in this poem
- even the persona in this poem is powerless and can only watch the corruption of London around them
