London

'London': context

In short, 'London' highlights the suffering and misery of the poor and working-class people of London, as well as the corruption and hypocrisy of the ruling class and the Church of England.

'London': historical context

'London' is a famous poem written by William Blake. It belongs to the poetry collection Songs of Experience of the complete volume titled Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794). William Blake lived most of his life in London, and witnessed the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Born to a family of dissenters, while being deeply religious, Blake was critical of organised religion and the Church of England.

Additionally, Blake was also critical of the Industrial Revolution and firmly believed that it was a tool for enslaving people. The 'constructedness' of London as depicted in the poem expresses Blake's wariness and fear of the industry, and also highlights his criticism of it and of the failure of mankind to find a true connection with God through love, freedom, and a sense of community.

'London': literary context

The poems in the collection Songs of Experience contain overarching themes related to social oppression, loss of innocence, imposition of restrictions, death, etc. London, as a city, was swiftly progressing in the industry. Blake was critical of the industrial revolution, and expressed the transformation of the city as he experienced it in the poem, thereby justifying its place in the collection Songs of Experience.

Fig. 1 - William Blakes's engraving of the poem 'London' is one of many engravings throughout the Collection Songs of Experience.

'London': the poem

Below is the poem 'London' in full.

'London': summary

In summary, 'London' is a critical commentary on the city of London and its changing pace due to the Industrial Revolution. The speaker of the poem walks through the streets of London, and notes the melancholy and resignation he sees in the face of Londoners. The sense of hearing is extremely important in the poem, as the speaker hears the various sounds of the city and its residents, reflecting the oppression faced by both. Towards the end, the speaker mentions seeing the 'Marriage hearse' that bears disease, death, and love.

'London': analysis

Here, we will take a look at some analysis of the form, meter, rhyme scheme, and devices of the poem 'London'.

'London': form and structure

The poem London written by William Blake consists of four quatrains with each quatrain forming a stanza. The stanzas consist of alternating rhymes and are written in the iambic tetrameter. The third stanza is acrostic, as the starting letter of the following 3 lines spells out the word 'hear,' which is an important sense for this poem that focuses on many sounds of London and its residents.

'London': rhyme and meter

The poem consists of alternating rhymes. The rhyme scheme is ABAB. The speaker absorbs the sights and sounds of London, and the alternating rhyme gives it a song-like quality to which seemingly the speaker is tuned to as they walk about the streets of London.

The meter of the poem is the iambic tetrameter, with some catalexis.

In the following line from the poem, we can examine some of the above-mentioned features. Note that the initial unstressed syllable for the first iambic foot is missing, making the line catalectic:

How / the youth/ful Har/lots curse

'London': literary and poetic devices

The main literary and poetic devices to memorise are allusion, alliteration, anaphora, metaphor, oxymoron, and symbolism.

Alliteration

As an exercise, identify the lines that employ alliteration in the poem, for example: 'weakness' and 'woe' repeat the 'w' sound.

Allusion

In the poem London, the poet alludes to the Royal Charters that controlled trade and were oppressive to those of lower classes and status. This is done by his repetitive use of the word 'chartered.' He also alludes to the corruption of the Church besides stating that it is polluted by labelling it as 'blackened.'

Anaphora

Instances of anaphora can be found in lines 5-8 in the poem London. The use of 'in every' elevates the desperation and misery of the Londoners and how everyone is affected by it.

Metaphor

While we will discuss the symbol of London in greater detail below, in this section, London, or perhaps the 'idea' of London is substituted for industry and progress or even poverty and destitution. Having lived nearly all of his life in London, William Blake loved the city. But with drastic changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution, Blake could no longer recognise the city he loved.

There is a constructedness about London, with its 'mind-forg'd manacles' and its chartered streets. Each part through which the speaker walks has its marks of poverty, misery, and darkness. As an exercise, identify phrases in the poem that express the character of London as a place of misery, confinement, and oppression.

Oxymoron

The oxymoron found in the poem 'London' is 'marriage hearse.' While marriage is a happy occasion and a symbol of love and unity, a hearse is a symbol of grief, separation and death. The union of these two words, however, carries a different meaning.

The marriage hearse, here, seemingly signifies the death of love and union and the sense of community in industrial London. Additionally, the growing presence of 'harlots' in the city could also lead to the termination of marriages or diseases spreading, thereby signifying prostitution as leading to the marital funeral.

Polyptoton

In the poem 'London', a polyptoton can be found in lines 3 and 4, where the words 'mark' and 'marks' stem from the same root word but slightly differ in meaning.

Refrain

In the poem, certain lines or words are repeated - this is usually done to add emphasis or underline certain meanings in the poem. For example, what does the repetition of the word 'charter'd' or 'every' do for the poem?

Symbolism

The main symbol in 'London' is the titular city of London, which stands for the growing industry and parallels the increasing sense of misery and corruption. The urbanisation of the city has rippling effects on the residents of the city, which the speaker notes as they walk through the streets of London.

Fig. 2 - London city is portrayed as corrupt and miserable due to the effects of industrialisation.

'London': themes

The main themes of the poem 'London' are freedom and restriction, corruption, poverty, decay, and loss of innocence.

1. Freedom and Restriction: The increasing urbanisation and industrialisation of London is leading to the exploitation of the lower classes (chimney sweepers, slaves, soldiers) at the hands of the upper classes. As the city becomes more labour-intensive, misery is etched on all the faces that the speaker sees. The growing power in the hands of the rich few and the increasing corruption is proving to be detrimental for the Londoners as their freedoms are curtailed and they continue to be oppressed and confined by the rules imposed on them. The use of the term 'charter' also indicates the rules and regulations laid down by the Government to control people.
2. Poverty and Hypocrisy: Blake also highlights the hypocrisy of the ruling class, who use religion and morality to justify their power and privilege, while ignoring the suffering of the poor. Blake describes the poverty of the people in vivid detail, showing how it affects every aspect of their lives.
3. Decay and Death: Decay and death is spotted at every nook and corner the speaker turns to. Numerous phrases carry the connotative meaning of darkness, such as the chimney sweepers, whose faces and bodies are blackened due to their work, or the blackened churches, and also the mention of the plague, i.e. the black plague, all of which lead to the idea of death. As an exercise, spot instances that can lead to the notion of death, such as the 'blood down Palace walls' in line 12.
4. Loss of Innocence: During Blake's time, most chimney sweepers in London were orphaned children. Additionally, the speaker mentions infants, who in their infancy already know pain and misery, and also how 'youthful' and young girls are forced to turn to prostitution to sustain themselves, further marking the loss and corruption of innocence and childhood.