A poet claimed that he wrote poems to preserve things that he had seen, thought and heard. Choose 2 poems to explore what poets have preserved and the way they have preserved them.

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English Essay 2

2. A poet claimed that he wrote poems to preserve things that he had seen, thought and heard. Choose 2 poems to explore what poets have preserved and the way they have preserved them.

Both poems, 'London' by William Blake and 'Dover Beach' by Matthew Arnold, preserve sight, sound and thought within them.

'London' is a Quatrains Poem written in first person. It reflects Williams's feelings that there are not many people in London who are actively helping the society, but passively accepting life as it goes by. The first verse talks about the things in London you can see. For example, the 'charter'd street' and 'charter'd Thames.' This sets the scene for the poem because the Thames is a real place that you can picture in your mind. He then goes on to say 'And mark in every face I meet / Marks of weakness, marks of woe.' This is how he perceives the people around him, what he sees within their faces, their weakness and their woe. It suggests the physical 'mark in every face' and the mental marks, 'marks of weakness' and 'marks of woe'.