London

Question 1

context on the poem

Answer 1

• Historical context - poverty and social inequality in the 18th century London
• Industrial revolution and rapid growth of urban populations
• Personal Life - lived in london for most of his life - he thought it was corrupted with greed & inequality
• An early romantic poet and artist
• His influence by philosphers and his support for the French and American revolutions

Question 2

Form

Answer 2

Dramatic monologue: First-person perspective conveys the suffering and horror of London

Regular ABAB rhyme scheme: Reflects relentless misery and monotony

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

First two stanzas focus on the people suffering

Last two stanzas shift blame to powerful institutions

Enjambment - reflects inescapable constraints of poverty

Fixed structure - feeling of total control and oppression

Repetition: Emphasizes the ongoing suffering and the need for change

Question 4

Summary of the poem

Answer 4

A bleak poem exploring London’s miserable reality

Stanza 1: Describes a walk through the city

Stanza 2: Shows how misery and despair are everywhere

Stanza 3: Suggests that people in power are responsible

Stanza 4: No one, not even the innocent, can escape suffering

Question 5

Language

Answer 5

Anaphora: “In every” highlights the overwhelming misery

Repetition: Reinforces the never-ending suffering and the need for change

Sensory language: The depressing sights and sounds create an unsettling atmosphere

Contrast: Suggests corruption has affected everything, leaving nothing pure

Question 6

Mood

Answer 6

Anger: Strong emotive language criticizes those in power

Hopelessness: The poor suffer while the powerful do nothing

Industrial Revolution: Symbolism of pollution and decay

Corruption: Institutions like the Church fail to protect people

Question 7

Key Quotes

Answer 7

In every infants cry of fear

Every blackning Church appalls

And blights with plagues the marriage hearse

Question 8

In every infants cry of fear

Answer 8

• Sensory imagery - reader feels empathy and discomfort
• Distressing noises - vivid and hellish experience
• ‘Every’ implies suffering is inescapable

Question 9

Every black’ning Church appalls

Answer 9

• Metaphor links to pullution and moral corruption
• Damage caused by the industrial revolution
• ‘appalls’ - horror and disappointnment
• critique on religous hypocrisy - church is meant to symbolise purity and hope

Question 10

And blights with plagues the marriage hearse

Answer 10

• Death at the end of the poem - bleack tone = lack of hope
• Dirtiness ends marriages
• oxymoron - happy image of marraige linked to death/destruction
• Society is so corruted that even marriages which are symbols of hope leads to death and decay