"London" - by William Blake Flashcards
1
Q
tone
A
- depressive/mournful, critical
- word choice that creates imagery to build tone:
- “marks of weakness, marks of woe”
- “blackening Church”
- “runs in blood down palace walls”
- “blights with plagues”
2
Q
inverted word order
A
reorder words as you would say them to help you understand the poem
3
Q
theme - all roads lead to theme
A
- innocence: there are several innocent people who are victimized by the events of London
- “youthful Harlots”
- “hapless Soldiers”
- “in every cry of every man”
- “chimney-sweepers cry”
- noble and global theme statement: all innocent things are oppressed
- death
- noble and global theme statement: death beckons at every corner
4
Q
in the 3rd stanza, the speaker takes on a critical tone. who is the speaker being critical of?
A
the church and the palace
5
Q
in “london,” the emotion being explored is “innocence”. what is the speaker expressing about this topic?
A
the speaker blames the church and the palace
6
Q
which two words from the first stanza support the idea of a sorrowful tone
A
weakness and woe
7
Q
which theme or central message best fits this poetry piece
A
innocence is torn down by leaders in government and religion who care only for themselves
8
Q
who in this poem is directly criticized by blake?
A
the palace and the church
