Lines 13 - 16

• “ But most through midnight streets I hear

  How the youthful harlot’s curse

  Blasts the new-born infant’s tear,

  And blights with plagues the marriage hearse .”
• Translation

  • “ Midnight streets ” is a direct reference to prostitution
  • “ Youthful harlots ” suggests just how young many of these women were, who were likely forced into prostitution because they had no other choice
  • The speaker hears them cursing their new-born babies and the death of marriage via a “ hearse ”
• Blake’s intention

  • Blake contrasts the innocence of youth with the unpleasantness of prostitution
  • The speaker hears the harlots swearing, but this could also suggest a curse on the city
  • The fact that she curses a new-born baby is the ultimate attack upon innocence, as instead of comforting the baby, she curses it
  • This reveals the hardened heart of the harlot, representing the hardened heart of society at large
• Blake’s intention

  • Blake juxtaposes “ marriage ” - which means “ to join ” - with “ “ hearse ” - which means “to depart” - to suggest the destruction of marriage
  • Blake could be suggesting that men use prostitutes, get them pregnant and abandon them
  • They may also spread diseases, therefore killing them
  • This final stanza emphasises the theme of society’s moral decay