London: A Comparison Of William Blake's London

London is a poem about the misery and despair in eighteenth century England. The speaker is a young man who is walking the streets late at night watching the darkness wrap itself around the people. The speaker is trying to explain and show to the reader that there is more going, than what one sees on the surface. As the reader gets further into the poem one can feel the misery surrounding the citizens of the city and envision their defeat. The speaker is pulling aside the veil to share the truths of the pain and suffering the young and the old are experiencing. As the poem continues it becomes clear that the lines one reads are an allusion to what is hidden between the lines. Initially the work can be read as one poem but when the reader goes back they can see that in a sense it is in fact two poems. In William Blake’s London, he uses irony, an oppressive tone, and imagery in order to depict a dark and anguished city.

The anguish appears in the first stanza in the last two lines “and mark in every face I meet/ marks of weakness, marks of woe”. The speaker has begun to share what he sees as he walks the streets, shrouded in darkness. He is seeing the sadness and defeat in the city’s people as he passes

“The mind-forg 'd manacles I hear” the speaker is sharing with the reader that the people’s minds are not free, but in fact restrained or held back by their various situations. For most during this time, money was something they never, many were making little to no money. Many children were working in order to help their families or just for simplicity of survival. While the people are not physically restrained it is in solely in the mind. It is in their thoughts that people are feeling the burdens of how they are living, such as their economic status. The speaker is explaining even though people are trying their hardest to survive and get ahead they are still succeeding in releasing their