Critical Appreciation of the Poem London

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Critical Appreciation of the Peom London William Blake's - London critiques the state of society in the city of London during the Industrial Revolution Written in as part of his Songs of Experience the poem describes the suffering and oppression that the people of London experience in their daily lives Blake uses simple language and vivid imagery to convey his deep concern for the poor and the exploitation they face Through the speaker s walk through the streets of London the poem paints a bleak picture of a city consumed by misery corruption and social injustice Central Idea The poem begins with Blake walking through the streets of London He tells us the streets and even the river Thames are charter d Where the charter'd Thames does flow It means that the river Thames is owned and controlled by the rich or the government This shows that nothing in the

city is free even nature is trapped by human greed Blake meets people from all walks of life He notices children are forced to work as chimney sweepers soldiers are forced to die in wars and young women are forced into prostitution Each person s face shows pain and suffering Blake writes And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness marks of woe Blake does not just blame individuals for their pain He points to powerful institutions like the Church the monarchy and the government The Church which should help the poor is blackning because it ignores the suffering around it The king s palace is stained by the blood of soldiers dying in wars Even marriage which should be about love is ruined Images and Metaphors At the end of the poem we see a haunting image of a marriage hearse a carriage for a dead body How the youthful Harlots curse And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse Here Blake suggests that society s problems like disease from prostitution destroy love and family life It creates a cycle of misery that never ends Blake uses metaphors like mind-forg d manacles to explain that people are not just physically trapped but mentally trapped too They accept their suffering as normal because society teaches them to Structure Language Rhyme Scheme The poem has four quatrains four-line stanzas with a steady ABAB rhyme scheme This straightforward rhyme scheme allows Blake's message to come through clearly and forcefully Blake also uses alliteration repeating sounds to make his points stick For example weakness and woe both start with w making the sadness feel heavier The most shocking line is marriage hearse an oxymoron two opposite ideas combined that shows how love is destroyed by society s corruption Blake repeats the word every seven times to show that everyone is affected by the city s problems Poet says In every cry of every Man In every voice in every ban The cry of the chimney sweeper the sigh of the soldier and the curse of the prostitute are all sounds of pain that fill the air To wrap up London is a masterpiece because it uses simple words to tell a heartbreaking truth Blake does not just describe the city s problems he makes us compel to feel them The crying children the dying soldiers and the cursed prostitute leave a mark on our minds The poem warns us that humanity suffers when greed and power rule By the poem Blake calls on us to break free from the chains in our minds and build a world where everyone can live with dignity

Songs of Innocence and of Experience

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Critical Appreciation of the Poem London

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William Blake

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