London

• Theme of oppression of urban life

  • The city is seen as an intense expression of human life at its most depraved and impoverished, link to Industrial Revolution.
  • Critique on urban society that it is oppressive and restricts people's freedom.
  • Poem suggests no escape from oppression and restraint, implying the cyclical nature of London's poverty.
• Theme of corruption of childhood

  • Speaker presents urban children as being in distress from the moment they're born, immediately corrupted by the adult world.
  • Babies are "blasted" by the curses of their impoverished mothers, conveying an ongoing cycle of misery.
  • Reference of chimney sweeping reflects child labour and the fact that children had to give up their innocence and childhood to survive.
  • Through this imagery Blake emphasises the corruptive nature of urban society.
• Form

  • Simple form of four quatrain stanzas.
  • First stanza deals with the sights of London, the other three detail the sounds heard.
  • The first letter of each line in stanza three spells out "hear" which emphasises the sense of sound the speaker experiences in London.
• Meter

  • Written in iambic tetrameter. The regularity of this meter creates a solid and rhythmic walking pace, much like the speaker is taking a walk around London.
• Rhyme scheme

  • Follows ABAB rhyme scheme throughout.
  • This steady rhyme makes the poem feel like a walk.
  • Most of the end words seem to have negative connotations creating an overall miserable atmosphere.
• Speaker

  • Written in the first person perspective, but this "I" is non-specific.
  • Through the speaker Blake may be presenting his dislike and distrust of modern industrial London due to its oppressive control over nature and its inhabitants.
  • To the speaker, London represents the collective failure of the human mind.
• "I wander thro' each charter'd street, // Near where the charter'd Thames does flow."

  • "wander" seems casual and aimless, without a set goal or destination. This makes the misery seem like an everyday thing.
  • Diacope created by the repetition of "charter'd" reflects a sense of no escape and restraint.
  • The end stopped line shows that even nature, the "Thames" is restricted and ironically can no longer "flow" naturally. It is owned just like the buildings and inhabitants in London.
• "Marks of weakness, marks of woe."

  • Repetition highlights the scars of the population, shows permanent damage.
  • Blake presents the true nature of London.
  • These "marks" link to the Romantic emphasis on individual experience. This "woe" suggests sadness, and "weakness" may suggest illness such as the spread of STDs at this point in London.
• "The mind-forg'd manacles I hear."

  • Imagery of restraint and the industrial image of chains.
  • "mind-forg'd" suggests brainwashing and a lack of freedom and free will.
  • The inhabitants of London are trapped by society.
• "How the chimney-sweepers cry // Every blackning Church appalls."

  • Innocent children used for dangerous, physically demanding labour which many died doing so.
  • Corruptness of the church, exploits children for labour. There is a lack of help for these impoverished children.
  • "blackning" links to the pollution caused by urban society, and also the colour imagery of "black" may connote evil and further corruption.
• "The hapless Soldiers sigh // Runs in blood down Palace walls."

  • "hapless" connotes imagery of weakness of exploited soldiers.
  • Sibilance and aspirant sounds adds to the sense of exhaustion.
  • Metaphor of the "sigh" running, graphic imagery of death.
  • Blake blames the monarchy for the needless deaths of soldiers fighting to defend the monarchy in the "Palace." Link to Blake's support for the French Revolution.
• "And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse."

  • "plagues" links to the spread of STDs, specifically syphilis, due to men having sex with prostitutes and bringing these diseases back home to their wives.
  • Oxymoron of "marriage hearse" as marriage should be positive, the beginning of a new stage in life.