London Flashcards
Introduction
Written four years after the beginning of the French Revolution, and the same year King Louis XVI was executed, Blake uses London as a vehicle to incite a spirit of revolutionary fervour in England. With London in a state of physical and moral degradation, Blake strove to lift a veil of complacency from its citizens to the degeneration and suffering around them, as well as condemning the institutions of power that failed in their duty to protect and support those in need.
I wander thro each chartered street near where the chartered Thames does flow
As a poem begins Blake uses the verb “wander” , this has connotations of freedom however this heavily juxtaposes the rest of the poem, perhaps reflecting the mental liberation and oppression. Through the repetition of ‘charted” balks creates a sense of restriction and control - This was a legal process by which the rich would take control of private land, reflecting that nothing was free for the citizens. The exaggeration of these restrictive measures are shown as Blake says the “chartered Thames”. The level of freedom is so inadequate that even nature is subject to this oppression.
Marks of weakness marks of woe
Effects if systematic oppression
Alludes to the vulnerability and the fragility of the desperate people he encounters. He criticises the citizens weakness when it comes to standing up oppression within the city resulting in widespread misery and despair. Blake does this to lift a veil of complacency between the citizens of London and the oppressive measures in place by the government
In every cry of every man
As a poem continues Blake uses the anaphora of ‘every’ to demonstrate how prevalent and widespread the suffering in London is. Blake continue to criticise how the people are too scared to stand up to these struggles.
Mind forged manacles
The metaphor implies that the citizens of London are in a prison of their own making due to their own fixed mindset and refusal to question those at the top of the social hierarchy
Blackening church
Blake also offers a damning depiction of the corrupt institutions of power within his society.
Blake criticises the church and the monarchy for not helping the poor.He uses the adjective ‘blackening’ to describe the church. This is quite ironic as the church is usually associated with peace and virtue, so through the adjective ‘blackening’ Blake alludes to the immorality of the church as they neglect the suffering vulnerable.
Hapless soldiers sigh, runs in blood down palace walls
He also condemns the monarchy, with the graphic image of blood running ‘down palace walls’. This implies that the monarchy should be held accountable for the deaths of the ‘hapless’ soldiers sent to fight in senseless wars. Blake uses this to expose how the church and monarchy are acting out of self interest rather than to help the vulnerable.
Youthful harlot
‘Youthful’ creates a sense of innocent and vulnerability, encouraging the reader to pity the desperation of the situation, rather than judging their actions. Blake exposes a harsh conditions that the children of the time face. Through his reference to the ‘youthful harlots’, ‘infant’s tear’ and ‘chimney sweepers cry’, Blake reveals his disdain towards the exploitation of children in London, who lose their innocence to the hardship of poverty and forced child labour.
And blights with plagues the marriage hearse
By juxtaposing marriage and death, Blake alludes to the spread of syphilis, which was often passed on to unwitting women on their wedding night as a result of male promiscuity via paid sexual encounters with ‘harlots’. As such, marriage could be seen as a death sentence for those who would contract the disease, emphasising the lack of sanctity in marriage. This reiterates the state of moral perversity in London in 1817, and Blake’s desperation for change and social upheaval.
Marriage hearse
He concludes with the bleak image of ‘marriage hearse’
