Overview

• London was written by the Romantic poet William Blake in the 1790s. It comments on the negative aspects of London at the time, including child labour, prostitution and the corruption of power and authority. It is a short but obvious criticism of the authorities of the time, including the church, the army and the monarchy, that have allowed the city to fall into such a downtrodden and dangerous state. The choice of title and topic, London (the financial and political centre of Britain), also instantly sets up the theme of power in the poem.