London

Read the poem carefully, and make notes on all the highlighted contextual points. You can check back later to see if you were on the right lines by clicking on each of the highlights.

London

I wander thro’ each charter’d street,
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,
work In every Infant’s cry of fear,

In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every black’ning Church appalls ;
And the hapless Soldier’s sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most thro’ midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot’s curse
Blasts the new born Infant’s tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

William Blake

Write your notes here


Questions

Read the following openings to an essay about London, by William Blake, and how it presents the theme of freedom. Which one do you think is better, and why?

Example 1 of opening paragraphs

The Romantic poet, William Blake, was born in London in 1757, one of seven children. Although he left school when he was ten years old, he was educated by his mother, and later studied art at a high level. However, he was never really famous in his lifetime (he died in 1827).

He had strong political beliefs and, although he was spiritual and interested in religion, he was very critical of the Church of England of the time and how it operated. He had a long and happy marriage to Catherine, even though she could not read and write when they met, and he taught her to do so. They married in 1782. She did a lot to help him with his work.

In his famous poem, London, written at the end of the 18th century and published in 1794, Blake gives his opinions about the city where he lived all of his life (unlike a lot of Romantic poets who lived in the Lake District).

Example 2 of opening paragraphs

In London, William Blake, a native Londoner, paints a dark picture of life in the capital in the late 18th century, showing his anger about the lack of freedom of the majority who lived there at that time. This outpouring of strong feelings is typical of poetry from the Romantic period. This was a time of huge change for the whole country, with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution resulting in a rapid increase in the population of London, and great poverty for some, such as children and young girls, who are both represented in Blake’s poem.

The first stanza immediately creates an image of the whole city, and consequently, presumably, its inhabitants, being controlled, or “charter’d” - even to the extent of the River Thames, a natural feature which would normally be expected to flow freely through the centre of London, also described as “charter’d.” It seems as if nothing is free.


If you’ve chosen Example 2, that is the right answer! Example 1 has lots of facts and figures, but very few have anything much to do with the poem, or the focus of the question.

Your go!


Write your own response to the question:

How does William Blake present freedom in his poem, London?

You may continue on from where Example 2 ends, or may wish to start again, using your own ideas. Remember, it’s good to include AO3 (context points) wherever they’re relevant, rather than devote whole paragraphs to them.

Look at all the other poems in the anthology and jot down all the other poems that you think deal with the theme of freedom in some way. Try to think laterally (not just the most obvious choices)