Is It Really All that Bad, Bill? William Blake was a rebel with a cause in 16th century England fighting against the squalor and filth created in London by the Industrial Revolution. If he were alive today, he would likely be among the protesters “occupying Wall Street” and railing against the “one percenters.” Blake categorically is quite negative about what he sees around him; and, in the poem “London,” does not hesitate to give us his opinions about the state of things in that depressing city. He forcefully uses the word “every” repeatedly to reinforce that, in his view, there is nothing good happening in London. (Quote) There is no doubt that the Industrial Revolution created massive upheavals in all levels of society. William Blake
