para 1 Flashcards
through systematic repetitions, what does Blake convey?
-a tone of anger at the injustice and suffering in London
what does Blake utilise his poem for?
-to protest against the effects of industrial civilisation upon the life of the individual
as the speaker walks what does he see?
-as the speaker walks the ‘chartered streets’, he ‘marks’ the signs of suffering on the faces of Londoners whom he encounters
why is it significant that the speaker mentions the ‘chartered thames’?
context of thames
-speaker mentions the ‘chartered thames’, which the thames in blakes times was denoted an open sewer, but his concern is not with the pungent filthiness of the waterway but with the political and social injustice
what is the ‘chartered thames’ a satirical reduction of?
-thus chartered thames is a satirical reduction to the absurdity of the contemporary obsession with property rights and control in society which Blake was thoroughly opposed to
what is the chartered thames a symbol of?
-acts as a symbol of the limitations, misery and restrictions of the industrial revolution
what does the word ‘chartered’ imply?
-the word chartered, the speaker suggests, implies restriction and devalues human life
what does chartered streets create distinct imagery of?
-chartered streets creates distinct imagery of London metaphorically as a kind of cage, controlling its inhabitants within the confines of their pain
what does the diacope created by the word chartered repeated reflect?
-the diacope created by the word chartered repeated reflects the way this cage is inescapable
what do the ‘streets’ symbolise?
-the streets symbolise the physical city limits that hint at the mental limitations of the ‘mind forged manacles’
what is interesting in the first draft?
-it is interesting that in the first draft, both instances of ‘chartered’ read ‘dirty’ instead, therefore ‘chartered’ must ave seemed more suitable when reflecting Londons oppression that Blake wanted the poem to make
what could chartered be considered an allusion to?
-Thomas paints book ‘right of man’
what was pained book an expression of?
-paines book was a strong expression of support for the
principles of the French Revolution
what is paines remark?
what does it connote?
- ‘every chartered town is an aristocratical monopoly of itself’
- connotes that the city’s layout and organisation reflect its imbalance of power, power which was concentrated in the hands of a small ruling class, thus expressing his anger at the injustice of this power imbalance
what does repetition of ‘every’ establish?
how does Blakey convey a dynamic sense of wretchedness?
-the comprehensive scale of misery, by means of iambic tetrameter repeatedly placing a stress on the 1st syllable of the word, Blake conveys a dynamic sense of ubiquitous wretchedness in order to convey his anger at the injustice
