London - William Blake

London - William Blake

1. Lexis and imagery

   • Metaphor- "Mind-forged manacles"
     • Conveys the further intentions of the writer highlighting the isolation of society around him.
   • Colour symbolism- "Midnight"/ "Blackening"
     • Emphasises the emotions of London at the time visualises the pain and misery of the people living in London.
   • Juxtaposition of common nouns - "harlot's"/"infants"
     • Shows a wide range of society (people) young /old - who are living in poverty
   • The verb - 'wander'
     • Suggests that Blake and the world is lost in poverty
   • The common noun - 'mark'
     • Indicates that everyone has been marked by poverty
   • Repeated adjective - 'chartered'
     • Implies that laws are enforced

2. Grammar and syntax

   • Parallelism and repetition of the determiner 'every'- "In every cry"
     • Emphasises how poverty can effect every one

3. Phonology

   • Sibilance- "hapless soldier's sigh"
     • The auditory effect of the repeated 's' sound creates a sound of a sigh this portrays a defeated sound highlighting how London can't win the battle of poverty

4. Structure and form

   • Four quatrains using regular alternate rhyme - "street"/ "flow"/"meet"/"woe"
     • Creates the image of a monotonous life in poverty
   • Caesura - "In every voice, in every ban"
     • Creates a pause which allows time for the reader to reflect on how awful London is it also implies an slow/on going life style which everyone is living
   • Enjambment in stanza 3
     • Indicates an on going and painfully slow lifestyle in Poverty

5. Narrative stance

   • First person singular pronoun - 'I'
     • Highlights Blake's own personal experience of poverty