London

London

Author
1. William Blake specialised in illuminated texts often religious
2. He rejected established religion for various reasons like the failure of the established Church to help children in London who were forced to work.
3. Worked and lived in capital so new about living/working conditions there
About
1. A journey around London showing the horrid conditions the speaker sees
2. Starts with criticism of land ownership
3. Criticises relgion and that the church is inactive at helping those who need it
4. Child labour and prostitution are explored and the end shows future consequences of STDs
Structure
1. Ballad about tragedy and song like
2. London is present in a regular, imprisoned way like the poem in 4 quatrains
3. ABAB rhyme system contributes to song like and imprisonment
4. Each stanza shows a snapshot of a problem as the voice wonders through the city
Sound
1. Assonance in 2nd stanza echoes sound of screaming
2. "marks of weakness marks of woe" sibilance to show evil
3. "hapless""blood down" bilabeal plosives to show anger of poetic voice
4. Emjambent in stanza 3 shows cries of children are long lasting
5. Repitition of "every" empthasis that everyone is effected
6. Repitition of "chartered" shows how mapped everything is and robbing others of freedom
7. Repititon of "marks" shows physical marks from bad conditions and how they were recorded by the poetic voice
Imagery
1. "Mind forged manacales" like handcuffs suggesting that people's minds are restricted and confined - that the city has robbed them of the ability to think.
2. "chartered thames" water restriction which shows strength of restriction as water normally shows freedom
3. "youthful harlot" women lose dignity and "youth" shows corruption
4. "marriage hearse" oxymoron as associating marriage with death
5. "midnight" darkness, evil and supernatural like witching hour
6. "blackning church" shows dirt and soot and everything is unclean even the church which is meant to be pure. Shows the lack of empathy
Attitudes
1. Biblical
  1. Shows his strong intrest in religion showing a future of the terrible consequences unless changes are made in the city.
2. Mockery of religion
  1. Money spent on church while children live in poverty and their soot covers church walls
3. Pessimistic
  1. No hope for future
Comparison
1. Price We Pay for the Sun
  1. People in relation to where they live
  2. People live in poverty and suffer in both although different landscape

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	Created by eviehewitt about 9 years ago