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London by William Blake Critical Analysis
London by William Blake Critical Analysis
Compare and contrast William Blake's poetry with other Romantic writers
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The poem ‘London’ by William Blake, expresses feelings of despair at the depressed state of the capital city in the late 18th century and the loathing of its inhabitants. William blake The poem is written in iambic tetrameter, which initially gives the impression that the poem will be a cheerful and upbeat poem. However, when you realise words such as ‘Weakness’ and ‘Woe’ the true hatred and resentment of the poem is shown. In the first verse of the poem, the word ‘charter’d’ is repeated. The first use of ‘charter’d’ is implying that there is nothing new to discover and therefore is dull and boring. The repetition is used for emphasis highlighting the fact that even, the River Thames, which is a natural landform, has still been manipulated to benefit man. Blake uses the image of the Thames to portray the greed, wealth and power of the increasing aristocracy in a critical way. In the second verse when Blake says, ‘and mark in every face I meet…’ he has noticed that every person has marks of weakness and that all the people use are very miserable with their life in the city. This is emphasised by the use of the verb ‘mark’, which has connotations of being tarnished. The repetition of ‘every’ acts as a hyperbole creating an exasperated tone at the hardship of the Londoners. Blake uses the term ‘Mind forged manacles’ which acts as a powerful metaphor that suggests the people’s minds have been chained and are trapped with no escape. In the third verse, the poem says, ‘Every blackening church appals.’ Its is trying to show that he believes that the church is evil and corrupt shown trough ‘blackening’ as the colour black is usually associated with death, evil and corruption. Also, this links to the earlier used verb ‘mock’ and the ... ... middle of paper ... ...the people who have the higher-class jobs and who think they are better than you because they have jobs in which they can afford ‘labour saving homes’ and go on expensive day trip to ‘Maidenhead’ with their wives who use ‘synthetic air’, to dry their hair which is implying that lots of things about Slough are unreal and un-natural. Because the poem is so hateful and sarcastic, it becomes funny. Both the poems have many similarities like both poems paint a very bleak picture of the place and both dislike the unoriginality of the place. But they also have differences such as ‘Slough’ has an abrupt 4th line and ‘London’ uses a great deal of concrete imagery. In my opinion I think that ‘London’ paints a picture of a city in much need of re-development and to help the people get their lives back on track because eventually the city will torn apart by its own citizens.
To help Year Twelve students that are studying poetry appreciate it's value, this pamphlet's aim is to discuss a classic poem and a modern song lyric to show that even poetry written many years ago can still be relevant to people and lyrics today. By reading this may you gain a greater knowledge and understanding of poetry in general, and not just the two discussed further on.
Notably, sorrow and regret is the tone of this poem, demonstrated in the very first stanza:
Choosing the first person form in the first and fourth stanza, the poet reflects his personal experiences with the city of London. He adheres to a strict form of four stanzas with each four lines and an ABAB rhyme. The tone of the poem changes from a contemplative lyric quality in the first to a dramatic sharp finale in the last stanza. The tone in the first stanza is set by regular accents, iambic meter and long vowel sounds in the words "wander", "chartered", "flow" and "woe", producing a grave and somber mood.
angered him and inspired him to convey his ideas and feelings through the poem 'London'. In the poem, Blake travels through London and describes what he sees. And as a result, he sees a severely oppressed society that is caused by the authority, such as royalty, and the church. This is as Blake sees. that even the streets and the thames are 'chartered' and governed.
On the surface the poem seems to be a meditation on past events and actions, a contemplative reflection about what has gone on before. Research into the poem informs us that the poem is written with a sense of irony
It is in lines 10 – 24 that the poem becomes one of hope. For when Blake writes “As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight! That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black. And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins and set them all free;” Blake’s words ring true of hope for the sw...
The location of the poem contributes greatly to each citizen's frame of mind because surroundings influence how people react in their environment. "London" is described as confined, creating the illusion that the citizens are trapped in their misery. "I wander thro' each charter'd street, / Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,..." During Blake's time, the word "charter'd" carried the denotative definition of restriction and confinement creating an image of a city that only allows limited movement and freedom. The repetition of the word "charter'd" emphasizes how cramped the city is. Even a river, a part of nature known to be free, is kept imprisoned and res...
Mason, Michael. Notes to William Blake: A Critical Edition of the Major Works. Ed. Michael Mason. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Blake had an uncanny ability to use his work to illustrate the unpleasant and often painful realities around him. His poetry consistently embodies an attitude of revolt against the abuse of class and power that appears guided by a unique brand of spirituality. His spiritual beliefs reached outside the boundaries of religious elites loyal to the monarchy. “He was inspired by dissident religious ideas rooted in the thinking of the most radical opponents of the monarchy during the English Civil War “(E. P. Thompson). Concern with war and the blighting effects of the industrial revolution were displayed in much of his work.
In the first poem, 'Westminster' this person is visiting London for the first time, he is not shown the reality of London but a slightly obscured view of beauty, as the light is reflecting off buildings, and giving an impression of calm, peace and tranquility. 'The beauty of the morning, silent, bare.' The reason we can guess for his delusion of the city is the fact that he is seeing it in 'the m...
living we enjoy in the United States is a result of the fact that we,
... Blake’s poem differs in this way as it does not contain an iambic pentameter however, it does contain rhyming couplets, which are a very simple way to allow a poem to flow easily and make it enjoyable for the reader such as the lines. In every cry of every man. In every voice, in every ban’. To conclude, I believe that Blake presents a more real viewpoint of London from his perspective, as it is more believable than Wordsworth’s view.
The point of view in which Blake employs to London is significant to the understanding of the poem. Blake chooses to give the poem a persona, a person who appears to have extensive knowledge of the city and helps give credibility to the poem. (Foster, 1924) The use of first person in all three stanzas allows the poem to be more opinionated and less objective, drawing the reader's attention by making it more personal. Blake's London is to be the reader's London as well. In addition to point of view, Blake further sophisticates his piece by presenting specific tone to each section of the poem. Blake sets the tone early in the poem by using the word charter?d which shows the condition of London as repressive. The speaker refers to the people or ?faces? he meets with ?Marks of weakness, marks of woe.? This diction advocates the probability of the city being controlled by a higher authority. The faces of the people, or the face of society reveals the feelings of entrapment and misery in the population. This in itself could propose, "humanity itself is being commercialized" (Damon, 1965). One of the interesting aspects of Blake's poetry is the layers of meaning his words connote.
William Blake uses repetition throughout the poem in multiple circumstances. The first time he uses repetition is in the first and second lines of the first stanza. Blake repeats the term “charter’d” to describe both the street and the Thames River. Both being described in this way makes the audience have the idea that London is a strict, governed area that may have
The language compliments the mood of this poem, as it varies from a sad and melancholy cry, to a voice of hope, all in a constant confident feel, and by this, the poet's reflections and contemplation?s are communicated successfully to us, making us feel in the same way she has felt.