Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Poetry | William Blake

How does Blake criticize society in the poem "London"?

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How does Blake criticize society in the poem London In London William Blake attacks society s greed cruelty and hypocrisy To do this he uses simple but powerful images In the poem he shows how the rich and powerful crush the poor and trap everyone in a cycle of suffering Control 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 Hypocrisy of Church King and Society Blake meets people from all walks of life Here the children are forced to work as chimney sweepers soldiers are sent 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 criticizes 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 In this society even the marriage which should be about love is ruined Poor girls become harlots to survive Their curse kills babies spreads diseases and ruins marriages The poet writes The youthful Harlots curse plagues the Marriage hearse Mental Slavery 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 In short Blake wants readers to see how society s systems create endless misery The poem is not just about th Century London it asks us to question power greed and injustice today

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from Songs of Innocence and of Experience