London - william Blake

• London is a diatribe that critiques the Government and how the rich are ignorant towards the poor as they have all the power and the money to help poor however choose to keep wealth for themselves
• blood runs down palace walls

  Metaphor

  Highlights that those in power have blood on their hands as they dont do anything to help the poor and many working class end up dying due to starvation or lack of hygienic environment or preventable diseases

  Context - could be referring to the French Revolution as the french protested about the ever growing gap between the poor and rich and abolished the monarchy. Warning Government and monarchy that if this continues brits will do the same
• Disillusion of human power as rich have all the money and power to help poor yet they choose not to
• I wonder through each charted street…. Where the charted thames flows

  Receptions of charted ( everything is owned ) by rich owners but have no benefits to the poor as the gal between the rich and poor was extremely large in the Georgian era. uk class system, rich got richer poor got poorer - capitalism

  Semantic field of hopelessness and poverty
• Cry of everyman , every infants cry of fear”

  Repletion of “cry” possibly a cry of help to upper class as poor are suffering

  Repetition of “every” highlights unity and how all working class are suffering from poverty

  Pathos - “infants cry of fear” pain of innocent children being brought up in poor conditions

  Cacophony - harsh sounds of the distress
• The youthful harlots curse

  Symbolism for prostitution

  Women have no other choose but to sell their bodies for money as it was mainly men that had paying jobs

  Verb “curse“

  1 spread of stds around London patriarchal society

  2 generational problem women of multiple generations had to turn to prostitution only way for non married women to earn a living

  Impact of destructive ruler
• themes

  Power of destructive/ corrupt leader

  Disillusion of human power