Context –
London
was written by William Blake in 1792, and was published in
Songs of Experience
in 1794.
Line-by-Line Analysis
William Blake – William Blake (1757-1827) was
an English poet and painter. He is known as being
one of the leading figures of the Romantic
Movement, as well as for his personal eccentricities.
Blake rejected established religious and political orders for
their failures, particularly in how children were made to work
– this was one of many things that he viewed as being a part
of the ‘fallen human nature.’ He lived in London for his whole
life, barring three years in which he resided in Felpham.
London in 1792 – London was already a large
city with nearly a million people. The Industrial
Revolution had brought new machinery that
saved time, making some very rich, however it put many out
of jobs. Machinery was often hazardous to operate, and those
working with it were paid poorly. There was no government
support for these people, so many lived in total poverty. For
every 1,000 children born, almost 500 died before they were
2. Most children couldn’t go to school, and had to work.
STANZA
LINE
POEM
ANALYSIS
1
1
2
3
4
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
The opening stanza sets the tone and setting for the
remainder of the poem. The repetition of the word
‘charter’d’ shows how legally defined, mapped out, or in
this case, confined the place is - Everything, it seems, is
already decided, and is subject to government control -
there is little room for freedom or imagination. This
particular spot is near the Thames River – which too has
been ‘charter’d.’ In each of the faces that the speaker
sees, he notes how society seems to be wearing them
down and hurting them (‘weakness’ and ‘woe’). The
word ‘mark’ has a dual meaning: to notice something,
but also to physically imprint something. The impact of
living in this place is having a noticeable impact on the
people there. This creates a melancholy tone.
Songs of Innocence and Experience
–
Published in 1794, these two sets of poems were
created by Blake with the aim of showing the ‘Two
Contrary States of the Human Soul.’ The Songs of
Innocence collection contains poems that are
uplifting, celebrating childhood, nature, and love in a positive
tone. The Songs of Experience section (of which London was
one of the poems) offered a contrasting tone towards these
ideas. Some of the topics covered in these poems were the
dangerous working conditions, child labour, and poverty.
Romanticism – Romanticism was an artistic,
literary, musical, cultural and intellectual
movement that originated in Europe in the latter
half of the 18th Century, peaking in the mid-19th
Century. Romanticism is characterised by its emphasis on
emotions - glorifying nature and past events – memories and
settings are often imaginatively described using vivid
imagery. Although Blake struggled to make a living during
his lifetime, his ideas and influence were later considered
amongst the most important of all the Romantic Poets.
2
5
6
7
8
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear
The second stanza gives some further insight into the
speaker’s feelings regarding the people that he passes
by. Blake uses more repetition, this time of the word
‘cry’, emphasising the desperate sorrow in this city. He
also uses anaphora to emphasise the word ‘every’ – to
make clear that all here feel the same, there are no real
exceptions. ‘Manacles’ are some kind of chain or
shackles that keep people imprisoned. The idea that
these are ‘mind forg’d’ shows that these are
metaphorical manacles that are created by society and
the people’s own ideas. This early use of the words
charter’d, ban and manacles show that Blake feels that
society imprisons people with pressures and ideals.
Language/Structural Devices
Sight Imagery – Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering Blake’s
artistic talents, the poem is awash with visual imagery, with a
clear picture of London vividly painted in the mind of the
reader. For example, the speaker details the ‘mark’ in every
face that he meets, which provides a visual connotation of
the people’s skin being physically imprinted by their hardships
– the reader can picture their cuts, brusies and ailments.
Similarly, the use of the word ‘blackning’ in stanza 3, creating
a dirty image of pollution and corruption in the city.
Sound Imagery – The pained and anguished sounds of
London also accompany the reader as they are guided
through the city by the speaker. Particularly from stanza 2
onwards, the reader is shown how helpless and destitute the
citizens feel through the sounds that they make, from the ‘cry’
of men and infants, to the ‘sigh’ of the soldiers, and the ‘curse’
and ‘blast’ of the harlots at night. The sound imagery aids the
reader in hearing the grim pain of each of the people that
the speaker encounters.
3
9
10
11
12
How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls
In the third stanza, the speaker delves further into his
feelings against what he sees in London. He begins with
the chimney sweep, a dirty and dangerous job which
shortened life expectancy, often done by child orphans
(orphans of the church), who were small enough to fit
down chimneys. The ‘blackning’, therefore, can refer to
the physical blackening of the children covered in soot,
their symbolic blackening in being drawn closer to
death, and the church’s metaphorical blackening
(becoming more evil) in being involved in such horrific
child labour. Lines 11 and 12 use the metaphor of the
soldier’s blood running down the wall of the palace to
show that those in power have blood on their hands for
sending so many men into war. The soldier’s ‘hapless
sigh’ suggests that he feels powerless to change things.
Quote:
“And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”
Quote: “
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,”
Metaphors – Figurative language is highly prevalent
throughout the poem, particularly in lines 3 and 4 of each
stanza. For example, the soldiers’ blood does not literally run
down the walls of the palace; this is a means of showing that
those in power have caused the soldiers to experience pain
and suffering. In the same way, the ‘manacles’ that the
citizens wear are in fact shackles of the mind.
Repetition/ Anaphora – Blake repeats words and phrases
to emphasise their importance. For example, the word
‘charter’d’ is repeated throughout the opening stanza to show
how rigid and unchanging London is. The anaphora used in
stanza 2 of ‘In every’ emphasises the frequency and
consistency of the pain and suffering – it is happening all over
and is clear to see and hear.
4
13
14
15
16
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse
The speaker then turns his attention to the things that
he encounters at night in London. The idea that the
‘Harlot’ is ‘youthful’ is troubling, for it shows that even
those that are young and innocent are being drawn
into prostitution. Even worse, the subject of her ‘curse’ is
the tears of ‘new-born Infants’ –this shows the hardened
heart of those corrupted by the city. Another metaphor
is used to show how the harlot ‘blights with plagues the
marriage hearse’ – in the sense that the existence of
young prostitutes in the city is destroying the institution
of marriage. This is also clear from the semi-oxymoronic
idea of the ‘marriage hearse.’ It also references some of
the damaging and disgusting diseases that are being
spread across the city. In short, those that are innocent
become quickly corrupted and infected in this city.
Quote:
“And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls”
Quote: “
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.”
Form/Structure – The poem is written in four equal stanzas
of four lines, each in iambic tetrameter. Alternating rhyme is
used throughout in the scheme of ABAB. The rhyme creates
deliberate emphasis on words that underline the tone of the
poem, e.g. ‘cry’ and ‘sigh.’ The poem is told from the
viewpoint of a first person narrator who is walking the streets.
Varied Verbs – Blake uses a range of interesting verbs to
demonstrate the wearisome and pained manner in which
actions are carried out in London. Often these are figurative.
For example, the harlots ‘blight’ the marriage hearse, and
‘blasts’ the new-born infants tear. Such verbs are carefully
selected to attain the maximum impact on the reader.
Quote:
“I wander thro' each charter'd street/ Near where the
charter'd Thames does flow/ And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”
Quote:
“Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse”
Themes – A theme is an idea or message that runs throughout a text.
Poems for Comparison
The Poet’s Influences
Death/Mortality – The poem is full of dark imagery that creates a constant sense of darkness and death across the
poem. The mortality of all manner of people in London, from the child chimney sweepers, to the ‘hapless soldiers’,
even the institution of marriage, is depressingly detailed by Blake - it is as though London is slowly strangling itself.
Ozymandias
London
can be compared and contrasted
with this poem in relation to the theme of
death/mortality
In Blake’s London, the condition of the poor and their children were
desperate…the rise in the population, poor harvests and war created
serious hardships. Orphans and the illegitimate children of the poor could
be sold into apprenticeships that offered meagre prospects; young boys
were used to sweep chimneys (prostitution and dire housing conditions
were continuing problems. Some philanthropic initiatives attempted to
address these issues, but asylums and charity schools were often linked to
the exploitative apprenticeship system.
From the British Library – www.bl.uk
Loss and Suffering – The people in London are described as being helpless – constrained by the authorities but
also the ‘manacles’ generated by their own perceptions and ideas. The ‘sigh’ of the soldier and the marks of ‘woe’
and ‘weakness’ in the people suggests that the people feel that they are trapped in an inescapable cycle of suffering.
Exposure
London
can be compared and contrasted
with this poem in the approach to the
theme of loss and suffering.