london Flashcards
‘i wander through each chartered street’
anecdotal: ‘i wander’
↳ observing society
↳ he is the only one moving, only one willing to advance & fix society
‘mark in every face i meet’
focus on: ‘mark’
↳ a mark is like a physical marking that represents how everyone in london has physical and mental branding that won’t leave their memory
↳ like a scar, permanent & obvious suffering, everyone has a sign of
suffering
hyperbole: ‘every face’
↳ severity of suffering in london
‘in every cry of every man
in every infant’s cry of fear’
anaphora: ‘in every’
↳ every single aspect of society in london is agonising
focus on: ‘cry of every man’
↳ contradicts the patriarchy, men were expected to be emotionless, so the fact that men are crying means that the suffering is immense
↳ contradicts with ‘infant’s’ in next line, all ages suffer in london, from the beginning to the end of life
focus on: ‘every infant’s cry of fear’
↳ london is so corrupted & skewed that babies are born in fear, their innocence is disrupted
‘mind-forged manacles’
long words & ‘mind forged’
↳ make the phrase hard to say, like a tongue twister
↳ reflect how inhabitants of london struggle to understand that they are restricted only mentally & can take action against their fate
↳ imprisonment of people’s minds and the prevention of thinking as individualists, which is what blake wanted to do as part of the romantic movement
↳ inhabitants were close minded
noun: ‘manacles’
↳ some of the limitations in london are reinforced by the minds of the citizens, their mindsets mean they their poverty & restrictions are inescapable
↳ manacles are chains & things that prison them, the citizens are enslaved physically & mentally
‘how the chimney-sweeper’s cry every black’ning church appalls’
symbolism & juxtaposition: ‘chimney-sweeper’s’
↳ chimney sweeps are a symbol for innocence as they are usually innocent children who are in poverty, ↳ this juxtaposes with the blackened church which is seen as a upstanding place but is corrupt
L chimney sweeps have black on them from the chimneys, but they are actually innocent
L society is inverted and unbalanced, things that appear innocent are corrupt & vice versa
symbolism: ‘black’ning church’
↳ those in power are the most corrupt
↳ sabatarianism, the church and its
followers are meant to & claim to help the less fortunate, however ‘blackened’ shows that they are polluted, guilty and corrupted
↳ ‘black’ connotates to evil, whereas the church has connotations of purity and hope
focus on: ‘appalls’
↳ blake is disgusted by the church’s behaviour (expressing direct views), the church is abusing power
↳ the church puts up a facade of holiness & being caring, however they do nothing
‘and the hapless soldier’s sigh runs in blood down palace and walls’
adjective: ‘hapless’
↳ the soldier is fighting for no reason, just to return to a polluted nation
sibilance: ‘soldier’s sigh’
↳ imitates the sighs of the soldier, the soldiers are fed up of futile fighting
focus on: ‘blood down palace walls’
↳ soldier’s sighs are ignored and unheard, they pass away without even being acknowledged and this blood is on the hands of the highest in society as they persuade these men to fight & send them to war
↳ blood is commonly used as a symbol of guilt
plosives:
↳ blake is angered by the state of london
HEAR in stanza three of london
william blake want his message to be heard
‘youthful harlot’s curse
oxymoronic idea: ‘youthful harlot’s’
↳ innocence is being corrupted, despair is affecting the young more and more
↳ youth represents innocence, while a harlot represents corruption
↳ shows how conflicting london is, everything is skewed and the young can’t be innocent any longer
focus on: ‘curse’
↳ the curse of corruption is being enacted on the young
↳ rather than moving forward and improving, even future generations are disturbed by london’s corruption
‘marriage hearse’
oxymoronic statement:
↳ marriage is like a new beginning, while hearse carries coffins - there is no longer joy in anything in london
↳ no hope for society in london to move forward
context
-blake disliked the church and government
-blake believed that poverty was the governments fault
-blake believed in the french gevolution as he was against the government
-blake was a romanticist (movement emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual)
structure in london
-rhyme scheme is constant (ABAB)
↳ poverty and sadness is everywhere and never ends
-first & second stanzas focus on impact on people, the third explores the source of suffering, and the fourth goes back to the impact again -> suffering is never ending
fairly consistent iambic pentameter:
↳ order and control, consistency of a rhythm provides a sense of the relentless oppression
form
-first-person speaker speaking passionately about what he sees and experiences
-simple language in an almost conversational tone
-blake wanted his poetry to feel accessible to all members of society because it contains messages and views everyone should consider and take on
-written in first person to make it seem personal (speaker’s own experience of london )
