Bleak Streets: Connotation, Tone, and Symbolism in William Blake’s London
When one thinks about the city of London, they think of all the good things. Concepts like a fairy tale monarchy and citizens with delightful accents are the common allure for those born outside the monarchy. What they do not remember are all the horrible things that happened there, like the Black Plague and the reign of King Henry VIII. Even today there is crime and corruption throughout the city. What William Blake wants his audience to remember is the injustices that happened to working-class citizens throughout a so called “good” time period like the Industrial Revolution. Blake, in his poem London, deftly uses connotations, tone, and symbolism to illustrate how bleak the life of someone living in the city truly is. London, while having its pros, has been riddled with cons both in past and present times.
Blake’s use of repetition …show more content…
It’s a simple and effective way to provide readers with a better view of the text without blatantly saying it to the audience. Blake, through his narrator, does this excellently throughout London. Specifically, in the third stanza Blake’s narrator mentions “Every blackening church” (Line 10) while describing several institutes that are currently struggling. Typically, people go to religion for optimism and stability during stressful times. They may not always be the most powerful aspect of society, but religion is the best source of hope for many people when their lives fall apart. In London, it seems that the church is no longer a haven for the desperate. The narrators use of “blackening” points to corruption behind the walls of cathedrals. If the church has deviated from the path of righteousness, then the citizens of London would be left with no place to turn when they need help. They would be extorted by the same hand they look to for support, leaving them in a worse place than they were
When one thinks about the city of London, they think of all the good things. Concepts like a fairy tale monarchy and citizens with delightful accents are the common allure for those born outside the monarchy. What they do not remember are all the horrible things that happened there, like the Black Plague and the reign of King Henry VIII. Even today there is crime and corruption throughout the city. What William Blake wants his audience to remember is the injustices that happened to working-class citizens throughout a so called “good” time period like the Industrial Revolution. Blake, in his poem London, deftly uses connotations, tone, and symbolism to illustrate how bleak the life of someone living in the city truly is. London, while having its pros, has been riddled with cons both in past and present times.
Blake’s use of repetition …show more content…
It’s a simple and effective way to provide readers with a better view of the text without blatantly saying it to the audience. Blake, through his narrator, does this excellently throughout London. Specifically, in the third stanza Blake’s narrator mentions “Every blackening church” (Line 10) while describing several institutes that are currently struggling. Typically, people go to religion for optimism and stability during stressful times. They may not always be the most powerful aspect of society, but religion is the best source of hope for many people when their lives fall apart. In London, it seems that the church is no longer a haven for the desperate. The narrators use of “blackening” points to corruption behind the walls of cathedrals. If the church has deviated from the path of righteousness, then the citizens of London would be left with no place to turn when they need help. They would be extorted by the same hand they look to for support, leaving them in a worse place than they were