Poems - London

Question 1

context 1

Answer 1

Blake was a poet in the victorian era

Question 2

Context 2

Answer 2

victorian era had: high death rates due to disease and malnutrition

Question 3

context 3

Answer 3

in the victorian era women had no rights

Question 4

context 4

Answer 4

the victorian era was one of poverty and war in London

Question 5

context 5

Answer 5

the point of the poem was to show that London (the greatest city in the world) was corrupt and dirty

Question 6

higher marks 1

Answer 6

“Blake challenges the establishment in their ‘palaces’ and ‘churches’ which are marked by the blood and blackening of good people”

Question 7

higher marks 2

Answer 7

“the poem is an ironic look at misery in the greatest city in the world”

Question 8

higher marks 3

Answer 8

“Blake’s views are revolutionary for the time, challenging the idea that man is worth more than slavery”

Question 9

theme: revolution and power

Answer 9

during this era France had overthrown and excuted their king. The people’s revolution was meant to show that all men are equal and have power. In Britain, a country with an old monarchy and aristocracy, this was scary. Blake maybe supported thus idea by asking people to throw off the manacles of their belief that they should be told what to do

Question 10

structure

Answer 10

Written in 4 stanzas with a regular alternate scheme. This may reflect the regular walking pace of the narrator. The last line of each stanza delivers a powerful statement which sums up the rest of the stanza .