William Blake Questions (London)

Themes and issues, attitudes and values

1.) How does William Blake present London? What themes and issues does he
explore in relation to the city? What do his attitudes to these seem to be? What
philosophical values underpin his thinking?
Blake presents London as a gloomy scene of decadence. He puts emphasis on
the negative aspects of the city, ("Marks of weakness, marks of woe") and isn't
prone to unveil any positivity because there isn't an positivity from Blake's
perspective to be portrayed. The presentation of London is of a city whose dark
underbelly reigns supreme, with references to harlots and the prodigal chimney
sweeps whose youthful innocence has been tainted with the city's imbalanced
see-saw of social deprivation. The philosophical value that children should not be
forced into such hardship backs-up his attitude towards the city and the cruelty
which takes place therein.
Language
1.) What patterns of imagery do you notice? What significance do these have?
One immediate pattern that you notice is the negative imagery that's linked with
the city, firstly in 'marks of weakness, marks of woe' and secondly in the phrase
'mind forg'd manacles I hear'. Though there are more examples of the imagery
pattern, these two seem to be prime examples of Blake's repeated pattern of
negative imagery that do indeed resound throughout the poem's entireity.
2.) One can't help but notice the repetition in this poem. What is it doing?
The repetition is firmly pressing the images into your head. The repeated usage
of the term 'in every...' in the second stanza with a negative phrase following the
term allows you to understand the message of a downtrodden city with more
clarity.
3.) Which words do you find the most striking? Why? Explore their connotations
and connections.
The words which I immediately find to be striking are 'weakness', 'hapless' and
'plagues', each of which can be related to London's situation in Blake's day.
Disease was rife, and the 'weakness and haplessness' can be related to the
unfortunate youth who are forced into harlotry and excruciating labour due to
extreme poverty and lack of money.
4.) What is significant about the nature of the words? Are they complex of simple,

abstract or concrete? What about their syllabic length? Their degree of formality?
The words, though not complex, are used in tandem with one another in order to
cast forth the imagery and message. Syllabic length is average for Blake's works,
and the writing is fairly high on formality scale. There are no colloquialisms, and
nothing which could insinuate that the words are of informal nature.
5.) What aspects of the 18th century might be symbolised by the chimney
sweeper, the harlot, and the soldier? Think about the age, gender, class and role
of these individuals.
18th century society was reliant upon people undergoing the daily grind to evade
extreme poverty for a temporary amount of time. The chimney sweeps would've
been under twelve years of age and male. Harlots could've been anything from
twelve years old and female, whereas the soldiers would've been male of any
age above ten.
6.) What significance might there be in the choice of title and the repeated
reference to the river Thames? Consider what role in the world the city had in the
18th century.
In the 18th century, London was among, if not the biggest city in the world.
Though this is a grandiose title, the amount of residents comes at the price of
poverty and social segregation, the upper-classes enjoying a great degree of
space while those oppressed are collectively placed in the innercity. The choice
of title is simply a reflection of the importance of London and the repetition of the
Thames can only be a reference to its former repugnant stench and disease that
it once housed, reflective of London's degradation.
7.) Consider the aural impact of the poem. How are alliteration, assonance, and
the sounds of words utilised by Blake? What impact do they have on the sound
and meaning?
The rhythmic feel of the second stanza is brought about by the fact that the
words are of few syllables and short length. Words such as 'cry', 'fear', 'man' and
'ban' are resemblant of this flowing rhythm. These short-syllabic words show
alliteration in the repetition of sound, and the rhyming terms show assonance in
the similar sounding word endings.
Structure
1.) Line 8 is the centre of a 16 line poem. How significant is this to an
appreciation of Blake's poem?
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2.) What relationship do the first seven lines have to the eighth? How do the
following eight develop its ideas? How does this structure influence the impact of
meaning of the poem?
The manacles mentioned in line 8 could refer to the final 8 lines in the sense that
society is constricted to the point in which desperate measures are a necessity in
order for survival in the harsh city, taking into account that manacles are perhaps
symbolic of the constrained living conditions.
Form
1.) Consider the persona and the situation. Some critics have suggested that the
detachment, objectivity and omniscience of the persona are so extreme that the
poem's voice must be that of a ghost. To what extent do you agree? Does this
perspective make any difference to your understanding of the poem's meaning?
Though the suggestion that the poem's voice is of a ghost is an interesting
theory, it seems unlikely. A physical manifestation is required to 'wander' (as
noted in line 1) and the recognition of the suffering that surrounds the persona
indicates a certain degree of humanity through caring instead of a nonchalance
that a typically portrayed ghost might exhibit. The omniscience of the persona
could suggest that the main persona is of someone who is experienced and
knowledgeable in their understanding of London and how it operates, as
opposed to someone who sees all activity through some kind of spectral visage.
2.) Consider the poetic form. What patterns of rhyme and rhythm does Blake
use? How do these relate to the poem's mood(s) and/or ideas?
As mentioned in an answer to a previous question, the rhythm in the second
stanza contrasts the rest of the poem through its snappy words and fast-paced
alliteration. The rest of the stanzas chug along with the longer words and phrases
such as 'midnight', 'youthful', 'chartered' and 'blackning'.