London (AQA GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Written by: Deb Orrock
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
Each poetry anthology in the GCSE contains 15 poems, and in the poetry question in the exam, you will be given one poem on the paper - printed in full - and asked to compare this given poem to one other from the anthology. As this is a “closed book” exam, you will not have access to the other poems, so you will have to know them very well from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to learn. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-mark response:
The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages the poet wanted to convey
How the poet conveys these ideas and messages through their methods
How do these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas and themes of other poems in the anthology
Below is a guide to William Blake’s poem London, from the Power and Conflict anthology.
It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is essential that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
The poem in a nutshell
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Blake’s intention and message
London in a nutshell
London was written by the Romantic poet William Blake in the 1790s. It comments on the negative aspects of London at the time, including child labour, prostitution and the corruption of power and authority. It is a short but obvious criticism of the authorities of the time, including the church, the army and the monarchy, that have allowed the city to fall into such a downtrodden and dangerous state. The choice of title and topic, London (the financial and political centre of Britain), also instantly sets up the theme of power in the poem.
London breakdown
Lines 1-2
“I wander thro each charter’d street,
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow,”
Translation
The first-person narrator is strolling through the streets of London, near the River Thames
He does not seem to have a set destination, as he tells us “I wander"
Blake’s intention
The word “charter’d” (chartered) is referring to the fact that the streets and the Thames are mapped out and legally defined
Maps are an attempt to impose order on nature
In this poem, the order is being placed on society
Chartered also means to impose legal restrictions and ownership upon something
This is ironic because the Thames is a natural body of water
The fact that the narrator is wandering suggests he has no sense of purpose, which sets the tone of melancholy and pointlessness in the poem
Lines 3-4
“And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.”
Translation
As he walks, he sees (“marks”) something about the faces of people walking by
Each face has signs of misery and despair
Blake’s intention
To “mark” means to notice, but the repetition of the word suggests that everybody is marked and affected by the city’s problems
Blake may also be suggesting that there is no escape from the bleakness
The impact of this place’s power is both permanent and wide-reaching
The people have been “marked” by London, just like the branding of cattle
Lines 5-8
“In every cry of every man,
In every infant’s cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear:”
Translation
As the speaker continues his travels, he hears people’s voices everywhere
He hears the same pain and suffering in an infant as in a grown man
“In every ban” suggests the political and religious restrictions placed upon people; the things people are not allowed to do
The “mind-forg’d” (forged) manacles means that people are not physically restrained, but are restrained socially and emotionally
Blake’s intention
The repetition of the word “every” suggests that all of humanity is affected
Blake elicits sympathy from the reader as children are supposedly born innocent and shouldn’t have to suffer
The phrase also indicates a negative view that every life is destined for this misery
The “mind-forg’d manacles” indicates the metaphorical shackles made by the mind
On paper people are free, but in reality they are not
Lines 9-10
“How the chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every black’ning church appalls,
Translation
Chimney sweeps were the poorest of society
They were usually children, employed to climb up chimneys to sweep out the soot
This could be a dangerous job, as it was not only bad for their health, but they could also suffocate and die
The soot from the chimneys would blacken the walls of the church, which was horrified by them (“appalls”)
The “black’ning church” also references the pollution in London at the time, due to the Industrial Revolution
But it could also mean a tarnished or corrupted reputation
Blake’s intention
Here, Blake is digging deeper into the effects of the “mind-forg’d manacles” on humanity
The children who worked as chimney sweepers were often orphans, whom the church was meant to be responsible for
However, the church is “appalled” by them and does not look after them as it should
During Blake’s time, a lot of money went into the church while children were dying from poverty
This emphasises what Blake considers to be the church’s hypocrisy
Blake is criticising the church and its “blackened” or tarnished reputation
He is reflecting on how the wealthy or elite take advantage of the poor
Lines 11-12
“And the hapless soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down palace walls.”
Translation
The “hapless” or unfortunate soldier is dying
His blood runs down the walls of the homes of the elite
At the time of writing, the elite and the monarchy were considered responsible for the wars that broke out, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers and innocent people
Because of this, many women were widowed without support
Blake’s intention
Here, Blake is criticising the government and the monarchy
He is suggesting that soldiers and those who are left behind are the victims of war
The use of the word “palace” is significant, as this is where royalty would have lived.
Blake is accusing the monarchy and the elite of spilling the blood of soldiers in order to keep the comfort of living in a palace
Blake supported the French Revolution, in which ordinary people overthrew the monarchy of France
Lines 13-16
“But most through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful harlot’s curse
Blasts the new-born infant’s tear,
And blights with plagues the marriage hearse.”
Translation
“Midnight streets” is a direct reference to prostitution
“Youthful harlots” suggests just how young many of these women were, who were likely forced into prostitution because they had no other choice
The speaker hears them cursing their new-born babies and the death of marriage via a “hearse”
Blake’s intention
Blake contrasts the innocence of youth with the unpleasantness of prostitution
The speaker hears the harlots swearing, but this could also suggest a curse on the city
The fact that she curses a new-born baby is the ultimate attack upon innocence, as instead of comforting the baby, she curses it
This reveals the hardened heart of the harlot, representing the hardened heart of society at large
Blake juxtaposes “marriage” which means “to join” with “hearse”, which means “to depart” to suggest the destruction of marriage
Blake could be suggesting that men use prostitutes, get them pregnant and abandon them
They may also spread diseases, therefore killing them
This final stanza emphasises the theme of society’s moral decay
Writer’s Methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is important to take an integrated approach to AO2, focusing on the main themes of the poem and then evaluating how Blake’s choices of language, structure and form contribute to these ideas. In essence, how and why the poet has made the choices they have, in relation to their intentions and message.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Blake’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:
Form
The poem is written in the form of a simple, four stanza dramatic monologue to contrast with the complicated or difficult ideas in the poem.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Social criticism | The poem takes a simple, four stanza form | Blake wanted his poetry to feel accessible to all members of society |
He felt everyone should consider and discuss his messages and views | ||
The poem is written in the first person | The first-person speaker is passionate about what he sees and experiences, but the language is almost conversational in tone | |
The poem is also written in the first person to demonstrate that this is the speaker’s own experience of London |
Structure
Blake uses the structure of London to reflect the order and control imposed upon the city, and the never-ending cycle of misery and suffering caused by the abuse of power.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Never-ending suffering and misery | Cyclical structure - the first and second stanzas focus on the impact on people. The third explores the source of suffering, and the fourth goes back to the impact again | Blake is suggesting that suffering is never-ending |
It implies to the reader that people will keep suffering until they rebel against the authority oppressing them like the French did during the revolution | ||
Control and power | Fairly consistent use of iambic tetrameter | Shows order and control, as the regularity of the rhythm implies a sense of relentless oppression |
Quatrains use a regular ABAB rhyme scheme | The fixed structure emphasises the sense of complete control and oppression | |
The rhythm could also represent the sound of the speaker walking, and the unbroken rhyme scheme reflects the relentlessness and repetitiveness of the situation | ||
Some small inconsistencies in the tight structure of the poem. For example, “marks of weakness, marks of woe” is only seven syllables, which breaks the iambic tetrameter | This may reflect Blake’s frustration that the general public won’t stand up to the institutions of power that control them. He is pointing out the missed opportunities the poorer members of Victorian society have to break free | |
The first letters of each line in the third stanza spell out HEAR, which is interesting considering Blake has focused on auditory sounds of suffering in the poem | Maybe Blake wants the reader to start listening to the suffering all around them, as well as his message |
Language
Blake uses his choice of techniques and language to emphasise the oppression and suffering of the people at the hands of those in power and control.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Power and oppression | Blake uses juxtaposing phrases such as “marriage hearse” which contrasts the joy of weddings with the end-of-life sadness of a hearse | Blake was making a social criticism of how, for women, marriage could be like death, as they would lose all of their rights and property to their husband |
Blake was in favour of liberating women, and felt that marriage itself was an abuse of power by men | ||
Blake also juxtaposes “charter’d” and “flow”. “Flow” implies freedom, whereas “charter’d” is describing something as owned or controlled by someone | Here, Blake is commenting on the oppression of nature by humans, which should be free for all to access and enjoy, but humanity’s greed is so great it tries to control nature | |
Blake could also be commenting on oppression as a result of privatisation, through the repetition of “charter’d” | In the 1700s, legislation was passed giving common land to the wealthy for exclusive use and ownership. Therefore, land in the city suddenly became owned and controlled by the wealthy | |
Suffering at the hands of power | Blake uses negative language and imagery throughout. For example, the soldier’s sigh metaphorically “runs in blood down palace walls” | This reminds the reader of the French Revolution, when ordinary people rose up against an oppressive state and overthrew the monarchy. Blake could be suggesting that a similar event could happen in London |
Blake uses anaphora in the phrase “in every”, with “every” also repeated seven times in total throughout the poem | Blake is emphasising the extreme extent of the suffering, showing that it impacts everyone with no discrimination | |
The device gets very repetitive, to demonstrate how repetitive the cycles of suffering are in London | ||
Blake uses physical features and places as symbols for the different forms of power that cause the suffering | According to Blake, the causes of the suffering and misery in London are the institutions of power, such as the church, the monarchy and the government | |
The “black’ning church” has negative connotations as something that is morally tarnished | Although Blake respected the Bible, he had contempt for organised religion which he saw as betraying the Christian faith | |
Therefore, this is a criticism of the church and its failure to provide for the disadvantaged members of society. The suffering is a symptom of the church’s failure to deliver on its duty | ||
The poet also presents the suffering of various people within society, such as children and babies. When the harlot’s curse violently “blasts” the newborn baby’s cry, this conflicts with the innocence and fragility of the infant | Blake is criticising child poverty and child labour (by also referencing the “chimney sweeper’s cry”), as well as the suffering of the young women condemned to immorality and prostitution just to make a living | |
Blake uses the metaphor of “mind-forg’d manacles” to suggest the suffering of the citizens of London has become internalised | Maybe their oppression has resulted in them forging their own restrictions. People are enslaved by the authorities, but also by their own fear, preventing them from rising up | |
Use of the verb “mark” to show that the speaker has noticed suffering everywhere and recorded it | Blake recognises its importance and the need for things to change |
Context
Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be written about separately. Therefore, you should not include random biographical information about William Blake, or unrelated historical facts about 18th Century London. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Blake in London which relate to power or conflict. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Blake explores:
Social injustice
William Blake wrote during the Romantic era
He worked to bring about change both in the social order and in the minds of people
Blake lived in London for most of his life
He thought the city was dirty and corrupt, both literally and metaphorically
He believed institutions of power, such as the government, the church and the monarchy, to be to blame for this
Blake wrote using mostly straightforward language so that his message was accessible to all
Blake’s poem centres on London, arguably the capital of the world at that time
This is ironic as such a powerful and influential place, in Blake’s opinion, inflicts suffering and misery on many of its citizens
There was a huge gap between rich and poor at the time, so a huge disparity between those who had power, and those who did not
Blake was a Christian, but he rejected organised religion and the established church
He viewed it as corrupt and hypocritical
They put money into new buildings while the poor starved
Blake was also concerned with the oppression of the poor, child poverty and child labour
He felt strongly that the church, which was meant to be responsible for orphans and the poor, was not upholding their moral duty
London was part of a collection of poetry, called Songs of Experience, which exposed the corruption and suffering of the new, changed world following the Industrial Revolution
Including the social issues that were attached to it, such as poverty, child labour and prostitution
Blake empathises most with those who have been the most badly affected by the authoritarian structures which caused the inequalities in his society, focusing on their misery
London at the time was full of poverty and disease, and full of lower-class citizens, prostitutes and former soldiers
He stood against the oppression of women and supported equality
This was considered a radical view at the time
He highlights how these people feel trapped in their situations through the abuse of power by authority
Power and nature
Romantics were interested in the power of nature, humanity and emotion
They were generally opposed to the industrialisation and scientific progress sweeping through Europe at the time
He uses the irony of the Thames, a natural body of water, which has been made official and subject to laws (“charter’d”)
He considered nature to be powerful and that it should not be tamed
Despite being “charter’d”, the Thames continues to “flow” (and always will)
Romantic poets disliked attempts to impose power on people or things against their will, such as humanity’s pride in attempting to impose order on to nature
What to Compare it to
The essay you are required to write in your exam is an integrated comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems (the one given on the exam paper and one other). It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about power, or conflict, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that London explores ideas of the corruption of power and authority, its effect on people and the power of nature, the following comparisons would be a good place to start:
For each pair of poems, you will find:
The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences
London and My Last Duchess
Comparison in a nutshell:
This comparison provides the opportunity to insightfully compare power, control and the corruption of power at a state and an individual level. Blake is concerned with how human power can be used to dominate and oppress others, whereas Browning in My Last Duchess presents power through the individual character of the Duke
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both Blake and Browning use the structure of their poems to comment on the idea that human power can be used to dominate, oppress and cause suffering | |
Evidence and analysis | London | My Last Duchess |
Blake uses regular four line stanzas to highlight the relentlessness of the dominance the institutions of power have over London and its people | Browning uses the form of dramatic monologue from a single perspective, showing only one person’s point of view (the Duke’s) | |
The alternate ABAB rhyme scheme and use of iambic tetrameter demonstrate the control exerted over the city | The dramatic monologue is written in a single stanza, highlighting the Duke’s power as he is the only person who speaks in the poem | |
The odd break in the structure, as well as the reference to “mind-forg’d manacles” suggest Blake’s possible frustration at the people’s reluctance to rise and break free from the tyranny | In addition, Browning uses rhyming couplets to reflect control. However, the use of enjambment and caesura suggests the possible undermining of that power | |
Topic sentence | Both Blake and Browning are also concerned with the inequalities between women and men, and how men can exert power over women | |
Evidence and analysis | London | My Last Duchess |
Blake is concerned with the oppression and victimisation of women, referencing the “youthful harlot’s curse” to imply that some women have their futures and choices taken away from them as a circumstance of their birth | In My Last Duchess, the Duke betrays his misogyny through his biased depiction of his “last duchess” | |
The oxymoronic “marriage hearse” suggests that women lose any power they may possess ultimately to men | The Duke uses the pronoun “my” to imply ownership, and “that” to imply that he views her as an object. The adjective “last” suggests that she is one of a number | |
Both the harlot and the Duchess are victims of the inequality between men and women in terms of circumstance and society | ||
The fact that both are nameless further dehumanises them | ||
Topic sentence | Both poems show how power that is inherited, but not necessarily deserved, can be abused and used to oppress | |
Evidence and analysis | London | My Last Duchess |
Blake criticises the monarchy behind their “palace walls” | Browning is commenting on the Duke in his castle mounting his “last Duchess” on the wall as a trophy - a symbol of the power he holds over his wife | |
Blake holds the monarchy responsible for the soldier’s blood that runs “down palace walls”, suggesting that they are responsible for inflicting suffering | The Duke’s “nine-hundred-years-old name” reflects the fact that the Duke’s power and status are inherited, rather than earned | |
| However, being born into power does not equate with being a good leader, and this lack of goodness results in oppression and victimisation | |
| The walls of the buildings in both poems are symbols of their power. Therefore, anything represented on them becomes a symbol of the abuses of their power | |
Differences:
Topic sentence | While the focus of Browning’s criticism of power centres on one individual, the Duke, and the effect on his “last Duchess”, Blake comments on how the abuse of power by institutions hits the poorest members of society the hardest | |
Evidence and analysis | London | My Last Duchess |
Blake is critical of the monarchy, the government and the church, as they represent to him the abuse of their authority in order to cause misery and suffering to all of the people in London | Through the fact that the Duke exerts his power over aristocratic women, Browning is suggesting that even wealthy and well-born women are not exempt from being victimised and oppressed | |
| The focus for Blake is on the institutions of the city of London, and the effects of the corruption of power by those institutions on the lowest sections of that society | Browning focuses his attention on the abuse of power by an individual in order to own, control and oppress |
London and Ozymandias
Comparison in a nutshell:
This is an effective comparative choice to explore the nature of political power and its effects on humanity. Both Blake’s London and Shelley’s Ozymandias use settings and physical objects or locations to represent power and comment on humanity’s pride in attempting to control nature
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems show the power of nature over humanity’s achievements and progress, and attempts to control nature are ultimately unsuccessful | |
Evidence and analysis | London | Ozymandias |
Blake’s London criticises attempts by authorities to control and own nature | Shelley uses the statue in Ozymandias as a physical symbol of the power of mankind, and the poem shows it being destroyed by nature | |
Blake writes juxtaposes “chartered” and “flow” in the line “Near where the charter’d Thames does flow”, emphasising how impossible it is for humans to ultimately have power over nature | Shelley emphasises the ultimate power of the natural world, which links to the Romantic idea of the sublime | |
Despite being mapped and owned (“chartered”), the Thames continues to “flow” naturally. It cannot be controlled | ||
Both poets explore the idea of the imbalance of power, and power as something that creates a sense of entitlement or arrogance, as a way to make those lacking in power suffer | ||
Both poets appear to want to show, via their use of people in their poems, how power in the wrong hands can be used for evil or to inflict suffering
| ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | Whereas Blake is commenting on the state of all people who live in London, and the systems that create suffering and oppression for most of the people, Shelley warns against individual arrogance and pride | |
Evidence and analysis | London | Ozymandias |
Blake is commenting on the corrupt nature of politicians, the church and the monarchy, as he believes they are the cause of suffering and misery | Ozymandias orders his people, via the inscription on the statue’s base, to “look on my work…and despair.” | |
However, Blake also describes the people of London as living in “mind-forg’d manacles.” This suggests that the people are not physically restrained, but are restrained by the prisons in their own minds | The imperative “look on” shows the king’s arrogance and the verb “despair” suggests that, once someone has seen his power and influence, there is no other option for them other than to feel defeated | |
“Manacles” and restraints have connotations of slavery and oppression, suggesting that Blake feels that London is oppressing its residents, but they have also given up and are not taking the opportunity to rise up against the authorities | ||
Blake uses repetition to reinforce the great suffering of all mankind in “In every cry of every man…”. “Man” is used as a collective noun to encompass all humanity | ||
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