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Similarities and comparison of william blake and william wordsworth short essay
BLAKES LONDON poem
BLAKES LONDON poem
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In this assignment I will analyze and compare two poems from the eighteenth century, ‘London’ written by William Blake and ‘Lines Composed on Westminster Bridge’ written by William Wordsworth. Both poets were well known during the eighteenth century, Blake was seen to have better understanding of the city, therefore represents his opinions from a Londoners point of view, and on the other hand Wordsworth was more of a country oriented person consequently giving a darker image of London. Surprisingly, they both shared different views on London, yet they lived in the same country with vast knowledge of the area. The differences of both poems are obvious, and to make a valid judgement on which is either trustworthy or misleading, is considerably difficult. The fact that both writers paint contrasting images of London, suggests during the period, hatred amongst people between distant areas was common. I will explore how both these poets represent the city by focusing on the language and poetic techniques used in more depth. To begin, I will show you how William Blake uncovers London constructing a daunting atmosphere. Generally he was a religious human being, and believed only god was capable of fulfilling demanding tasks. This reflects why he writes about London negatively, as at the time the city was full of rich and powerful people seen to have godlike qualities. This was majorly against Blake’s beliefs. He expresses himself in a strong nature, as he commences his poem with an ‘I’, from the outset he engages the reader by making this personal and effective connection. This leads the reader to believe what Blake refers is likely to be true as it uses primary information rather than someone else’s point of view. He also writes in pre... ... middle of paper ... ... like qualities, it wears the sunrise like a human wears clothes, its more then just a place. He talks about visiting places in London;“domes, theatres, and temples lie open unto the fields” at the time theatres and domes were used for magnificent entertainment in places like Greece and Rome, he compared London to them. There were classical buildings. In contrast, Blake displays London’s sights as being dirty and dark;“How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry Every black’ning Church appals, And the hapless Soldier’s sigh, Runs in blood down Palace walls” this section tells us the church is no use to the poor or casual people and will not improve their lives in any way. The church will not lend any money and have closed doors to the poor. This use of metaphor in the 4th line blames the royal family for the deaths of soldiers whose blood runs down the palace walls.
In Sunrise, it is the open space that provides hope for the romance of the couple. The surroundings in the given space relate to the character's
The poem "London" by William Blake paints a frightening, dark picture of the eighteenth century London, a picture of war, poverty and pain. Written in the historical context of the English crusade against France in 1793, William Blake cries out with vivid analogies and images against the repressive and hypocritical English society. He accuses the government, the clergy and the crown of failing their mandate to serve people. Blake confronts the reader in an apocalyptic picture with the devastating consequences of diseasing the creative capabilities of a society.
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.
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.
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.
In line 17 the word “hearse” is used as a car to take the bride to the
During the 18th century, two great companion; William Wordsworth collaborated together to create Lyrical Ballad; one of the greatest works of the Romantic period. The two major poems of Lyrical Ballad are Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight.” Even though these two poems contain different experiences of the two speakers, upon close reading of these poems, the similarities are found in their use of language, the tone, the use of illustrative imagery to fascinate the reader’s visual sense and the message to their loved ones.
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.
poem is about only a small snapshot of the city, when it is very quiet
To conclude, I believe that Blake presents a more real viewpoint of London from his perspective of it, as it is more believable that Wordsworth’s view. Conversely, Wordsworth’s poem does use a greater number of poetic devices, making more enjoyable to read and pleases me, unlike Blake’s poem which has a greater effect on me, this is because Blake’s effect on the reader is a negative effect as when I read the poem, I believe London is a bad place from his description, unlike Wordsworth’s, which makes London seen ‘fair’ and very attractive to people.
"The Poetry of William Wordsworth." SIRS Renaissance 20 May 2004: n.p. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 06 February 2010.
William Blake uses repetition, rhyming and imagery in his poem to help promote the idea that London, England is not the city that people dream that it is, the city itself can be 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.
...ginning of industrialization in Britain (known as the Industrial Revolution). “Something that made the plight of the poor and uneducated even more miserable and hopeless. Adults and children alike were forced to work long hours in factories… working under dangerous and inhumane conditions for a meager wage.”() Catastrophic events affected William in different ways, for example, his arrest in August 12, 1803, but this event was outside of the American war Independence in 1775 and the French Revolution. This affected William, because he was a religious man and he believed in freedom, the Bible had an impact on Blake, which is the main reason why he believed in the freedom of the human spirit. The effects of these two big contradictions of the Romanticism and War were that Blake (a) took it as inspiration and (b) wrote a poem about those historical events.