London

• Chartered means listed and regulated, suggesting control over the streets and the river Thames
• Blake suggests that everyone is without power and in misery
• The term "mark" can be a metaphor for a brand, showing the place of individuals in society
• Repetition of 'in every' is used to show the scale of suffering
• Alliteration of 'mind/manacles' draws attention to the metaphor, indicating that people are held back by their belief in their own weakness
• The juxtaposition between the cries of chimney sweepers and church bells signifies the connection between innocence and corruption
• Blake saw religion as a tool to keep people down, symbolized by 'blackening' of the church
• The blood running down palace walls signifies the sacrifice of soldiers to protect the power of those in palaces
• 'Harlots' is slang for prostitutes, symbolizing corruption and exploitation
• The oxymoron in 'Marriage hearse' juxtaposes joy with misery, suggesting society has destroyed all good things
• William Blake was a poet in Victorian/Georgian England, known for his anthologies 'Songs of Innocence and Experience'
• The poem 'London' is set during a time of poverty, child labor, war with France, lack of women's rights, and high death rates from disease and malnutrition
• Blake's poems often criticized the dirty and corrupt nature of London during the industrial revolution
• 'London' is a poem more about the lack of power and abuse of power, set in the capital of a powerful country
• The poem uses Quatrains with alternate rhyme abab to create the rhythm of the narrator walking
• William Blake's poems often contrasted innocence with experience, with 'London' being one of the few without a counterpart
• Themes in Blake's poems often revolved around power and conflict, criticizing the abuse of power and lack of power in society
• The poem is an ironic look at misery in the greatest city in the world
• Blake's views challenge the idea that man is worth more than slavery
• Blake challenges the establishment in their 'palaces' and 'churches' marked by the blood of good people
• The poem 'London' contrasts with most other poems, portraying the city as a dark twisted place of misery due to the abuse of power
• Symbolic language in 'London'

  Suggests the wrongness of the city
• 'London'


  Juxtaposition and conflict between the powerful and the poor which the poet is ashamed of