In the poem “London,” speaker says that he wanders through the streets of the London, streets which are chartered, and the city lies near the Thames, the name of the river which is also chartered, while wandering through the streets the speaker finds the faces, which refers to the citizens and finds marks of woe and weakness on them. In the streets of the London, he hears the voices of every type of citizen, be it men, women, old age people or the infants. But everyone seems to be caught in the chains. The speaker further says that even the chimney sweepers and the soldiers cry but their cries are heard by none, the chimney sweeper’s cries are not allowed to cross the thick walls of the church, and the soldier’s cries, are visible in the form
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Critical Analyses
Literature is the reflections of the times, and “London,” by William Blake, is no exception to this fact. “London,” was written by William Blake, against the backdrop of Industrial Revolution. William Blake himself said, the Industrial Revolution had changed the city for worse. The industries and factories created filth and pollution. London had become dirty city. Harold Bloom writes in his book, Bloom’s Major Poets,
Thick, black smoke from factories left behind a nasty residue where it landed. The river Thames was polluted with the byproducts of industry. The new type of work changed the city socially, economically, and topographically. Although the new industrial economy created many jobs, the wages of these jobs were low. Long hours of hard labor did not guarantee a living wage. The poor worked themselves to death in unsafe, unsanitary, and unhealthful conditions. The suffering in the streets of the city affected Blake profoundly. While he could not change society, he could observe, and express his opinion of the changes in his art. (Bloom: …show more content…
Scholars of William Blake, point to the many versions of this poem found in Blake’s notes. He edited his work many times to include every minute detail. He chose his words carefully in order to paint a bleak picture of London life, in the late 18th century. His selection of words is significant in context of the poem. Looking at the language, he chose in previous drafts of the poem, students of Blake, find he was very deliberate in his selections. His word choices are important on many levels. Scholars devote chapters to the selection of one word in the finished version of one work. Blake considered the impact of each vivid description before “London” was finished. Understanding the multiple meanings of words, and being familiar with history are some of the background needed to fully grasp and appreciate the poem. An early draft began the poem: “I wander thro each dirty street/ Near where the dirty Thames does flow” whereas the finished version reads, “I wander thro’ each charter’d street/ Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.” (London.1-2) These two drafts of the poem show a change from dirty to charter’d. If we take a look on the word Charter’d we would come across multiple meanings. E.P. Thompson, a famous critic of Blake wrote at length about the use of the word charter’d by Blake, Thompson associated it with commerce and cheating, and also to a document that grants rights to individuals, at the same time
Critical Analyses
Literature is the reflections of the times, and “London,” by William Blake, is no exception to this fact. “London,” was written by William Blake, against the backdrop of Industrial Revolution. William Blake himself said, the Industrial Revolution had changed the city for worse. The industries and factories created filth and pollution. London had become dirty city. Harold Bloom writes in his book, Bloom’s Major Poets,
Thick, black smoke from factories left behind a nasty residue where it landed. The river Thames was polluted with the byproducts of industry. The new type of work changed the city socially, economically, and topographically. Although the new industrial economy created many jobs, the wages of these jobs were low. Long hours of hard labor did not guarantee a living wage. The poor worked themselves to death in unsafe, unsanitary, and unhealthful conditions. The suffering in the streets of the city affected Blake profoundly. While he could not change society, he could observe, and express his opinion of the changes in his art. (Bloom: …show more content…
Scholars of William Blake, point to the many versions of this poem found in Blake’s notes. He edited his work many times to include every minute detail. He chose his words carefully in order to paint a bleak picture of London life, in the late 18th century. His selection of words is significant in context of the poem. Looking at the language, he chose in previous drafts of the poem, students of Blake, find he was very deliberate in his selections. His word choices are important on many levels. Scholars devote chapters to the selection of one word in the finished version of one work. Blake considered the impact of each vivid description before “London” was finished. Understanding the multiple meanings of words, and being familiar with history are some of the background needed to fully grasp and appreciate the poem. An early draft began the poem: “I wander thro each dirty street/ Near where the dirty Thames does flow” whereas the finished version reads, “I wander thro’ each charter’d street/ Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.” (London.1-2) These two drafts of the poem show a change from dirty to charter’d. If we take a look on the word Charter’d we would come across multiple meanings. E.P. Thompson, a famous critic of Blake wrote at length about the use of the word charter’d by Blake, Thompson associated it with commerce and cheating, and also to a document that grants rights to individuals, at the same time