Compare and contrast 'London' and ' Upon Westminster Bridge'. Show how the two poets express differing views of London with detailed analysis of the texts and using background research. Refer to styles, techniques and effects of the poetry. Give
your own responses.
Both William Wordworth's 'London' and William Blake's 'Upon
Westminster Bridge' were written at the turn of the 19th century in
Georgian times to illustrate the authors' views of London. During this
period the industrial revolution was in full swing and the population
was growing at alarming rates. The population increase was due to
advancements in medicine, which allowed people to have more children.
Both poems have been carefully structured to bring out certain words
in them. For example William Blake's 'London' is written in four, four
line stanzas. Each line of each verse has the same number of
syllables; this creates a very strictly controlled effect, this is
accompanies with alternate line rhyming to make the poem sound
regular. This way of writing accentuates the last word of each line; I
believe this was important to Blake as each verse of the poem attacks
a different characteristic of London.
William Wordsworth's poem is written in the manner of an Italian
sonnet. Each octave of the poem describes the man made elements of the
city and the last sextet refers the natural beauty of the sonnet. The
romantics where very interested in the natural beauty of places, more
about this can be found in my introduction. Similarly to Blake's
'London' this poem uses alternate line rhyming to make the poem sound
regular. The poem is written is prose using iambic pentameter; using
this way of writing emphasizes the rhyming words.
Wordsworth convey...
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...ring are those that suffer the
most. He then goes on to refer to the theme of marriage in respect to
all this promiscuity, 'And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse',
marriage is conventionally thought to be a happy occasion, however in
this case it is shown to be a death sentence.
Unlike Blake whose poem is very melodramatic and perceives the bigger
picture, Wordsworthconcentrates on describing London at one moment in
the morning. Wordsworth shows no interest on what the future may hold
for the people of London.
In my opinion both these poems refer to the major problems London had
during that time. Whilst Blake's ideas are conveyed in a more obvious
manner, Wordsworth's are conveyed in a covert, almost encrypted
manner. I find Wordsworth's much more interesting as it leaves much to
the imagination and to the specific interpretation of the reader.
Through the streets and alleyways of Nineveh the prophet Jonah trudged. At every marketplace and city gate he joyously roared his tidings of evil, “forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!” Two and a half millennia after the great fish vomited Jonah back onto dry land, William Blake faithfully follows that path of bilge and seaweed, bile and gall, into the fraternity of prophets and oracles. Just as Jonah was reluctant to prophesy to the Ninevites for fear that his enemies would hear and repent, Blake has a vested interest in perpetuating the blindness of his readers. In fact, even as he works his metaphysics to impose his “phantasy” as the prophet who proclaims the liberation of the world, he shows a full awareness that true success can only lead to his demise as a poet. Thus, standing upon his apple-crate in the marketplace, he chokes back his voice a little and mumbles in ciphers, desperately praying that he would not be understood.
In line 17 the word “hearse” is used as a car to take the bride to the
A study of William Butler Yeats is not complete without a study of William Blake, just as a study of Blake is greatly aided by a study of Yeats. The two poets are inexorably tied together. Yeats, aided by his study of Blake, was able to find a clearer poetic voice. Yeats had a respect for and an understanding of Blake's work that was in Yeats' time without parallel. Yeats first read Blake at the age of 15 or 16 when his father gave him Blake to read. Yeats writes in his essay "William Blake and the Imagination" that "...when one reads Blake, it is as though the spray of an inexhaustible fountain of beauty was blown into our faces (Yeats, Essays xxx)." Yeats believed Blake to be a genius and he never wavered in his opinion. It is his respect for Blake that caused him to study and emulate Blake. He tried to tie Blake closer to himself by stressing Blake's rumored Irish ancestry. He strove to understand Blake more clearly than anyone had before him, and he succeeded. As with other pursuits Yeats held nothing back. He immersed himself fully in Blake's writings. As with many of his mental pursuits he deepened his understanding of the subject by writing about it.
Recalcitrant Rebellion As Art William Blake was an English romantic poet who lived from 1757 to 1827 through both the American and the French revolutions. Although he lived during the Romantic Age, and was clearly part of the movement, Blake was a modern thinker who had a rebellious political spirit. He was the first to turn poetry and art into sociopolitical weapons to be raised rebelliously against the establishment. His poetry exemplified many of the same topics being discussed today. Although he was known as both a madman and a mystic, Elliott's poetry is both relevant and radical.
William Blake is remembered by his poetry, engravements, printmaking, and paintings. He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain on November 28, 1757. William was the third of seven siblings, which two of them died from infancy. As a kid he didn’t attend school, instead he was homeschooled by his mother. His mother thought him to read and write. As a little boy he was always different. Most kids of his age were going to school, hanging out with friends, or just simply playing. While William was getting visions of unusual things. At the age of four he had a vision of god and when he was nine he had another vision of angles on trees.
How does William Blake convey his anger in the poem London? The poem 'London' by William Blake, reflects his feelings upon the society that he was living in, and how desperately it needed help. Blake thought that all of the poverty and misfortune that was happening on the streets were caused by the political oppression in London. The.
poem is about only a small snapshot of the city, when it is very quiet
?London? is a poem of serious social satire directed against social institutions. According to Blake author Michael Phillips ?it is a poem whose moral realism is so severe that it is raised to the intensity of apocalyptic vision.? Blake becomes more specific in his descriptions of the prevalent evil and moral decay of society as the poem progresses. Blake?s informative nature is clearly evident in ?London? as he ?points the finger? and exposes powerful institutions.
The poems ‘lines composed on Westminster Bridge’ and ‘London’ are created by William Wordsworth and William Blake respectively. Wordsworth’s work originated in the eighteenth century and he himself lived in the countryside, and rarely visited large cities such as London. This is reflected on his poem, making it personal to his experience in London, however William Blake on the other hand had a vast knowledge of London and was actually a London poet, which allowed him to express his views of London from a Londoner’s point of view. I therefore will be examining comparisons in both poems, as well as their contrasting views of London and the poetic devices used to express their opinions.
In "London", William Blake brings to light a city overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the common, glorifying view of London and replaces it with his idea of truth. London is nothing more but a city strapped by harsh economic times where Royalty and other venues of power have allowed morality and goodness to deteriorate so that suffering and poverty are all that exist. It is with the use of three distinct metaphors; "mind-forg'd manacles", "blackning Church", and "Marriage hearse", that Blake conveys the idea of a city that suffers from physical and psychological imprisonment, social oppression, and an unraveling moral society.
living we enjoy in the United States is a result of the fact that we,
wondering if today he will die up a chimney. It has robbed him of a
We can find an indirectly accuse of industrialisation. Only when the factories are closed, ships, towers and theatre are bare and when the town is silent, it is beautiful because industrialisation and pollution do not spoil it. " Upon Westminster Bridge" is written in the form of an Italian sonnet. It is divided into an octet and sestet. In the octet the poet tells us what he sees before him and describes to us the beauty of the scene.
because of the way they grew up. Blake was brought up in the city and
The sonnet, “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,” shows Wordsworth’s appreciating the beauty of London and demonstrating it as “emotion recollected in tranquility.” It’s characteristic of his love for solitude that it is set in the early morning when there is no bustle and noise.