london

• Talk about the poems structure

  - Repeated AB rhyme scheme represents repetition of death

  - In chronological order to show his journey through London

  - Repetition shows the boredom of city life

  - Short stanzas / overall poem mirrors message of final stanza, that life is too short and is being rushed
• What was Blake's message?

  The Industrial revolution is corrupting everyone and as a result is bringing him, and others, away from God and nature
• Give some context about the poem

  - Blake disagreed with marriage until he got married and taught his wife how to read/write which could relate to the quote "marriage hearse" (an oxymoron) and Blake could be referring to the death of marriage not a person

  - Rich and poor lived close together, so the rich walled off homes to keep the poor out

  - Blake was virtually ignored in his lifetime

  - He disliked the monarch ruling the country, and was therefore seen as a radical thinker

  - He rejected established religion and was against oppression by the state and church

  - Witnessed poverty first hand in London and social problems too, which he believed were both caused by the industrial revolution

  - Loved the countryside
• What are a few themes in the poem?


  - Mental health

  - Conflict between the poet and society

  - Freedom and captivity due to the Industrial Revolution

  - Misery
• Give 3 Key quotations from the poem

  "Marks of weakness, marks of woe"

  "The mind forged manacles I hear"

  "Every black'ning church appalls"

  "Runs in blood down palace walls"

  "New-born infants tear"

  "And blights with plagues the marriage hearse"
• Define the following:

  1) Chartered

  2) Woe

  3) Ban

  4) Forged

  5) Manacles

  6) Appalls

  7) Hapless

  8) Harlot

  9) Blights

  10) Hearse

  1) Something controlled by the government

  2) Misery

  3) Stop something

  4) Made (applies to metal-work)

  5) Handcuffs/chains

  6) To be shocked/horrified by something

  7) Helpless

  8) Prostitute

  9) To damage something

  10) Funeral vehicle carrying coffin
• Why does Blake write the poem in the first person, using personal pronouns such as 'I'?

  - To show it's his opinion

  - He wants to segregate himself so he isn't one with the people who live in London

  - Gains sympathy

  - Shows he is the only one who is free, and everyone else is still under control
• What can blood be interpreted as in the line "Runs in blood down palace walls"


  - Blood = colour imagery for red

  - Red = royal colour

  - Royals stay in power from blood of others

  - London is Hell and the royals are the Devil (motif of Hell)
• What could the plague in the last line of the poem be referring to?

  - The people in London

  - The Industrial revolution
• What does Blake think of the Church

  He dislikes it, and believes it has become more of a way to make money, rather than believe in faith. As a result, he feels that it is taking him further away from God