Lines 5 - 8

• “ In every cry of every man,

  In every infant’s cry of fear,

  In every voice, in every ban,

  The mind-forg’d manacles I hear :”
• Translation

  • As the speaker continues his travels, he hears people’s voices everywhere
  • He hears the same pain and suffering in an infant as in a grown man
  • “ In every ban ” suggests the political and religious restrictions placed upon people; the things people are not allowed to do
  • The “ mind-forg’d ” (forged) manacles means that people are not physically restrained, but are restrained socially and emotionally
• Blake’s intention

  • The repetition of the word “ every ” suggests that all of humanity is affected
  • Blake elicits sympathy from the reader as children are supposedly born innocent and shouldn’t have to suffer
  • The phrase also indicates a negative view that every life is destined for this misery
  • The “ mind-forg’d manacles ” indicates the metaphorical shackles made by the mind
  • On paper people are free, but in reality they are not