This leads on to another key area of contrast, the way the poems depict London. William Blake seems to despise London as in his poem it is made out to be a terrible place with many cons and no pros. It may be because he lives in London and has grown frustrated by it. ‘And the hapless soldiers’ sigh/ Runs in blood down palace walls’. This is the exact opposite of William Wordsworth’s ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ who praises London and is unable to find any flaw in its magnificence. ‘Earth has not anything to show more fair’.
In ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ London is praised as it is bright and beautiful. This is because it is written in the morning whenever all of London is asleep and there is no factory smoke. ‘The beauty of the morning’. He can not hear any noise as the factories and shipyards haven’t opened yet, ‘silent’. Also as no-one has got up yet there are no crowds or shouting, ‘bare’. All these things are not normally associated with London but they can be explained by the time of day. William Blake’s time of day is night, ‘thro’ the midnight streets I hear’. As it is night-time all the prostitutes have come out and the evil of the night has arisen. ‘Youthful harlot’s curse’.
I find this amazing as the poems were written around the same era, the beginning of the 19th Century.
Another thing that influences the poets’ verdicts is their perspective. William Wordsworth is writing his poem on Westminster Bridge, as the title suggests, which means he can only see the tops of things from his high vantage point. ‘Ships, domes, theatres and temples lie’. William Blake however, is down at street level and can see characters and the grubbiness of the streets. This was something he would see often as he lived in London. He notices that the church is becoming corrupt and evil and doesn’t care about the children, ‘the chimney sweepers cry’, as it is not helping them. ‘Every black’ning church appals’. This metaphor reflects another which shows Blake’s distaste for London. ‘And the hapless soldiers cry/ Runs in blood down palace walls’. This is implying that the King does not care for the soldiers just as the church does not care for the children. This later of the two metaphors shows how the King can replace his soldiers with ease so doesn’t care about them even though they fight and die for him. This metaphor could also suggest the evil of war. The ‘Youthful harlot’ plays a very large parting the final stanza of the poem. The youthfulness of the prostitute reflects the life for the poor in London at the time. The ‘Harlot’s curse’ is the sexually transmitted diseases which she has and will spread. The ‘new-born infants tear’ is the crying of, either the prostitute’s illegitimate child who is not properly cared for, or the child which has no parents due to the diseases which have killed them, caused by the prostitutes. This child is also likely to be affected by the disease. The ‘marriage hearse’ shows how marriages have been split up and killed by these plagues. Another main reason for Blake’s dislike of London are the ‘mind-forged manacles’ which are imagined iron handcuffs which Blake believes are symbols of restrictions made by the mind of authority, religious laws and customs which he believed to be responsible for prisons and brothels. These things together would have put Blake completely off the poems.
Another interesting point to make is the way that Blake is moving whereas Wordsworth is stationary. This again helps Blake despise London as he sees everything in detail whereas Wordsworth can only see the big picture.
The poets both use repetition as a form of emphasis. Blake uses ‘every’ four times to emphasize the universal problem of poverty and despair, ‘And mark in every face I meet/Marks of weakness, marks of woe. In every cry of every Man, / In every Infant’s cry of fear/ In every voice, in every ban’. Wordsworth also uses repetition but to a lesser extent. He repeats ‘Never’ three times to emphasis how much he loves London.
Layout is the final contrast. ‘London’ is written in four, four line stanzas with a very rigid rhyme scheme in the form ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH. Blake seems to have a sense of being trapped as all his stanzas are individual and end in a full stop. ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge’ is a Petrarchan sonnet split into an octave and a sestet. There is a pronounced pause between these in the form of a full-stop. He also takes a turn of thought at this full stop as he diverts his attention from the city to nature, ‘Valley, rock or hill.’ In his octave he is describing the beauty of London; in the sestet he is reflective.
William Wordsworth’s magnificent sonnet shows him praising London and identifies his characteristic solitude. ‘Never did the sun more beautifully steep’. This shows the sun steeping it in its light, giving a bright and refreshing view of London. William Blake’s poem shows him depicting it as an awful place. But most thro’ midnight streets I hear/ How the youthful harlot’s curse’. The ‘Youthful Harlot’ is a major figure in the poem destroying the lives of many people. The midnight streets represent evil, so these two things are a very important part of William Blake’s poem. They support his hatred for London. Neither poet could have written his poem in the others style.
It is astounding that two popular, well-known poets could have such different views about the same place, London. Each poet may have set out originally to write the poem in their own certain way, and so for this reason chosen the time, the perspective and whether they were moving or stationary to suit their original decision. The decision they have previously chosen may have been due to their own political reasons.
There are many more contrasts than comparisons in the two poems and this is obvious as they have different views of London. I find this amazing as the poems were written around the same era, the beginning of the 19th Century.
