London

• London in a nutshell

  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.
• London breakdown

  Lines 1-2

  “I wander thro each charter’d street,

  Near where the charter’d Thames does flow,”

  Translation

  • The first-person narrator is strolling through the streets of London, near the River Thames
  • He does not seem to have a set destination, as he tells us “I wander"

  Blake’s intention

  • The word “charter’d” (chartered) is referring to the fact that the streets and the Thames are mapped out and legally defined
  • Maps are an attempt to impose order on nature
  • In this poem, the order is being placed on society
  • Chartered also means to impose legal restrictions and ownership upon something
  • This is ironic because the Thames is a natural body of water
  • The fact that the narrator is wandering suggests he has no sense of purpose, which sets the tone of melancholy and pointlessness in the poem
• Lines 3-4

  “And mark in every face I meet

  Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”

  Translation

  • As he walks, he sees (“marks”) something about the faces of people walking by
  • Each face has signs of misery and despair

  Blake’s intention

  • To “mark” means to notice, but the repetition of the word suggests that everybody is marked and affected by the city’s problems
  • Blake may also be suggesting that there is no escape from the bleakness
  • The impact of this place’s power is both permanent and wide-reaching
  • The people have been “marked” by London, just like the branding of cattle
• 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
• Lines 9-10

  “How the chimney-sweeper’s cry

  Every black’ning church appalls,

  Translation

  • Chimney sweeps were the poorest of society
  • They were usually children, employed to climb up chimneys to sweep out the soot
  • This could be a dangerous job, as it was not only bad for their health, but they could also suffocate and die
  • The soot from the chimneys would blacken the walls of the church, which was horrified by them (“appalls”)
  • The “black’ning church” also references the pollution in London at the time, due to the Industrial Revolution 
  • But it could also mean a tarnished or corrupted reputation
• Blake’s intention

  • Here, Blake is digging deeper into the effects of the “mind-forg’d manacles” on humanity
  • The children who worked as chimney sweepers were often orphans, whom the church was meant to be responsible for
  • However, the church is “appalled” by them and does not look after them as it should
  • During Blake’s time, a lot of money went into the church while children were dying from poverty
  • This emphasises what Blake considers to be the church’s hypocrisy
  • Blake is criticising the church and its “blackened” or tarnished reputation
  • He is reflecting on how the wealthy or elite take advantage of the poor
• Lines 11-12

  “And the hapless soldier’s sigh

  Runs in blood down palace walls.”

  Translation

  • The “hapless” or unfortunate soldier is dying
  • His blood runs down the walls of the homes of the elite
  • At the time of writing, the elite and the monarchy were considered responsible for the wars that broke out, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers and innocent people
  • Because of this, many women were widowed without support

  Blake’s intention

  • Here, Blake is criticising the government and the monarchy
  • He is suggesting that soldiers and those who are left behind are the victims of war
  • The use of the word “palace” is significant, as this is where royalty would have lived.
  • Blake is accusing the monarchy and the elite of spilling the blood of soldiers in order to keep the comfort of living in a palace
  • Blake supported the French Revolution, in which ordinary people overthrew the monarchy of France
• 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 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
• Form

  The poem is written in the form of a simple, four stanza dramatic monologue to contrast with the complicated or difficult ideas in the poem.

  
• Structure

  Blake uses the structure of London to reflect the order and control imposed upon the city, and the never-ending cycle of misery and suffering caused by the abuse of power.

  
• Structure: London

  
• Language

  Blake uses his choice of techniques and language to emphasise the oppression and suffering of the people at the hands of those in power and control.

  
• Language: London

  
• Language: London

  
• Language: London

  
• Context: Social injustice

  • William Blake wrote during the Romantic era
  • He worked to bring about change both in the social order and in the minds of people
  • Blake lived in London for most of his life
  • He thought the city was dirty and corrupt, both literally and metaphorically
  • He believed institutions of power, such as the government, the church and the monarchy, to be to blame for this
  • Blake wrote using mostly straightforward language so that his message was accessible to all
  • Blake’s poem centres on London, arguably the capital of the world at that time
  • This is ironic as such a powerful and influential place, in Blake’s opinion, inflicts suffering and misery on many of its citizens
  • There was a huge gap between rich and poor at the time, so a huge disparity between those who had power, and those who did not
• Context: Social injustice

  • Blake was a Christian, but he rejected organised religion and the established church
  • He viewed it as corrupt and hypocritical
  • They put money into new buildings while the poor starved
  • Blake was also concerned with the oppression of the poor, child poverty and child labour
  • He felt strongly that the church, which was meant to be responsible for orphans and the poor, was not upholding their moral duty
  • London was part of a collection of poetry, called Songs of Experience, which exposed the corruption and suffering of the new, changed world following the Industrial Revolution
  • Including the social issues that were attached to it, such as poverty, child labour and prostitution
• Context: Social injustice

  • Blake empathises most with those who have been the most badly affected by the authoritarian structures which caused the inequalities in his society, focusing on their misery
  • London at the time was full of poverty and disease, and full of lower-class citizens, prostitutes and former soldiers
  • He stood against the oppression of women and supported equality
  • This was considered a radical view at the time
  • He highlights how these people feel trapped in their situations through the abuse of power by authority
• Power and nature

  • Romantics were interested in the power of nature, humanity and emotion
  • They were generally opposed to the industrialisation and scientific progress sweeping through Europe at the time
  • He uses the irony of the Thames, a natural body of water, which has been made official and subject to laws (“charter’d”)
  • He considered nature to be powerful and that it should not be tamed
  • Despite being “charter’d”, the Thames continues to “flow” (and always will)
  • Romantic poets disliked attempts to impose power on people or things against their will, such as humanity’s pride in attempting to impose order on to nature
• What to Compare it to

  The essay you are required to write in your exam is an integrated comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems (the one given on the exam paper and one other). It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about power, or conflict, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that London explores ideas of the corruption of power and authority, its effect on people and the power of nature, the following comparisons would be a good place to start:

  • London and My Last Duchess
  • London and Ozymandias
• London and My Last Duchess

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  This comparison provides the opportunity to insightfully compare power, control and the corruption of power at a state and an individual level. Blake is concerned with how human power can be used to dominate and oppress others, whereas Browning in My Last Duchess presents power through the individual character of the Duke

  Similarities:

  
• Similarities: London and My last Duchess

  
• Similarities: London and My last Duchess

  
• Similarities: London and My last Duchess

  
• Similarities: London and My last Duchess

  
• Differences: London and My last Duchess

  
• London and Ozymandias

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  This is an effective comparative choice to explore the nature of political power and its effects on humanity. Both Blake’s London and Shelley’s Ozymandias use settings and physical objects or locations to represent power and comment on humanity’s pride in attempting to control nature

  Similarities:

  
• London and Ozymandias

  
•  Differences: London and Ozymandias

  
•  Differences: London and Ozymandias