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Revising London GCSE poetry anthology English Literature
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Revising the poem "London" GCSE English Literature
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GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURELONDON by William Blake
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
The poem was set during Victorian/Edwardian London, a time when life was difficult for large numbers
of the population. Poverty, child labour and crime rates were high, which made life for the poor very
tough. Women had no rights, and disease and malnutrition were killing many. Blake explores how
London, seen by many as the greatest city in the world, was in fact dirty and corrupt.
London was published in 1794. Blake was appalled by the terrible conditions, the poverty and
the sadness that he witnesses in London. The French Revolution is an important context for this
poem. In 1789 the French people overthrew their monarchy and aristocracy. Many people in
England saw the French Revolution as a good example to follow, a way for ordinary people to
take power and to eradicate the inequalities and inequities of society. In this poem Blake
implies that the dire conditions for ordinary people in London could instigate a
revolution. Blake also did not like or support established religion in Europe because it failed to
help poor people, especially children who had to work in the hardest and most cruel conditions.
Blake refers to this directly in London, “every black’ning church appals”. The poem has
apolemic* feel – it is attacking the nation's capital and exposing its corruption and poverty.
Repetition is used frequently by Blake to confer the depth of his feelings.
(*polemic – a strong written or verbal attack on someone or something)
Brief Synopsis
● Walking/meandering through the streets of London observing its corruption and dirt; compare and
contrast this apparent freedom of the poet with the constrained lives of those around him
, ● Sees signs of sadness/ melancholy and suffering in every person he passes; sadness permeates the
streets of London
● Signs of child labour, church’s corruption, criticism of the army and the monarchy. A social
commentary by Blake.
● Sees prostitutes and refers to newborn children
● Views the carriages of newlyweds as hearses – cycle of misery; there is an implicit criticism of the
institution of Marriage
Although in Blake’s time the River Thames was an open sewer, his concern here is not with the pungent
filthiness of the waterway, but with a political and social injustice: enclosure. Between 1760 and 1820,
the common land of England became ‘enclosed’: that is, taken into private ownership.
To open his poem, Blake uses the adjective ‘chartered’ first to describe ‘each ... street’ of London and
then to describe the River Thames.
William Blake’s poem ‘London’ conveys his feelings towards the society in which he lived. The
horrors and sorrows of his city are described as he meanders through the streets. He was
surrounded by dejected Londoners and, what he considered, evidence that his government had
too much power and too little interest in helping those they were supposed to serve. Blake was
writing at a time when the Industrial Revolution was restructuring society and, clearly from the
poet’s standpoint, in a way that was not positive. Laws began to be imposed which restricted
the freedom of individuals. The poem bears a striking resemblance to T.S.Elliott’s satire on the
deterioration of the social, economic and cultural life of London in the poems Preludes, The
Hollow and The Wasteland. Both poets show a negative image of London, and offer social
criticism of 18th century England.
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