London - Poetry Analysis :: essays research papers

In this poem, Blake is trying to dispel the myth of grandeur and doughnut associated with London and to show the real people of London and how they felt. London was seen and portrayed as a powerful and wonderful city where the wealthy lived and socialised. However, Blake knew that London was actually a dirty, depressing and poverty-stricken city filled with slums and the homeless and inveterate sick. To reveal the truth, Blake combines description of people and places with the thoughts and emotions of the people. For example, the second stanza says"In both yell of every Man,In every Infants cry of fear,In every voice in every ban,The mind forgd manacles I hear"Blake combines the descriptions of the crying baby and man with the notification that the people oppress their hopes and dreams, figuratively chaining up their minds because they know that they will never be able to achieve their dreams. Another Example is in the third gear stanza when Blake describes the crying chimney-sweep and then the "blackning perform", but is really saying that the church does not want to dirty its hands by helping the soot-covered black chimney sweep. Therefore, a "blackning church" is one that helps the common, dirty people, and Blake says that "every blackning church appalls", masking that the aristocracy and those in positions of power did not want the church that they support associating with the common people.Throughout the poem, Blake uses fairly simple language, punctuated with the occasional obscure word, but in general the more common words, probably to appeal to the common people who he was supporting through this poem.In writing this poem, Blake is trying to make the reader visualize the truth about London and understand about the real people, and he is as well encouraging the church, and the aristocracy to help the common people and to support them or else of pushing them away and disregarding them.