Analysis of William Blake's "London"
William Blake's "London" offers a scathing critique of 18th-century London society, exposing the dark underbelly of what was considered the world's greatest city. The poem, part of Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience", uses vivid imagery and repetitive structure to highlight the pervasive suffering and oppression in the city.
Context: Blake lived in London his entire life 1757−1827 during a time of significant social and political upheaval, including the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.
The poem's structure consists of four quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme, written in iambic tetrameter. This seemingly orderly structure contrasts with the chaotic and bleak content, mirroring the facade of order in London that masks underlying turmoil.
Highlight: The repetition of words like "every" and "marks" emphasizes the ubiquity of suffering in London, suggesting no one is untouched by the city's problems.
Blake's use of imagery is particularly powerful:
- "Chartered streets" and "chartered Thames" suggest control and commercialization of even natural elements.
- "Marks of weakness, marks of woe" on every face illustrate widespread misery.
- "Black'ning Church" implies corruption of religious institutions.
- "Mind-forged manacles" represent psychological oppression and inability to think freely.
Example: The line "And blights with plagues the marriage hearse" uses an oxymoron to link marriage with death, suggesting that even traditionally joyous institutions are tainted by society's ills.
Blake's critique extends to various aspects of society:
- Child labor: "How the chimney-sweeper's cry"
- Prostitution: "How the youthful harlot's curse"
- Military exploitation: "And the hapless soldier's sigh / Runs in blood down palace walls"
Vocabulary: "Appalls" in the line "Every black'ning church appalls" can be read as a pun, referring both to the church's shocking state and to the pall covering of a coffin, further emphasizing the theme of death and decay.
The London poem analysis reveals Blake's revolutionary perspective, challenging the established order and exposing the hypocrisy of those in power. Through his powerful imagery and repetitive structure, Blake creates a haunting portrait of a city trapped in cycles of misery and oppression.
Quote: "I wander through each chartered street, / Near where the chartered Thames does flow, / And mark in every face I meet / Marks of weakness, marks of woe."
This opening stanza sets the tone for the entire poem, establishing the speaker as an observer of widespread suffering in a controlled and commercialized urban landscape.
