The first lines of both poems show quite different views of London. Blake’s poem starts with, “I wander through each chartered,” This suggests that in Blake’s view London is set out like a map, and has strict rules, it is also in the first person. Wordsworth’s first line is a contrast to this, “Earth has not anything to share more fair;” suggesting that London is a beautiful place and has a very positive view. It does however have one similarity to Blake’s poem as it is also in the first person.
Both poets mention the Thames in their poems. Blake says, “Near where through the chartered Thames does flow,” this like the previous line in Blake’s poem implies that the Thames, like the rest of London is set out strictly, and has no control over where it goes. In Wordsworth’s poem he wrote, “The river glideth at his own sweet will”. This is a contrast to Blake’s idea of the river as it suggests that the river is a beautiful thing and is in control of its own direction. It also personifies the river which makes the reader think that the river is an important part of London.
In the third and fourth lines of Blake’s poem he says, “And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe.” This makes the reader have a negative opinion of the people and maybe implies to them that London has changed the habitants. Also, the repetition of the word “marks” makes the reader think that maybe every part of London is the same. Wordsworth doesn’t say anything about the people in his poem; however he does use a lot of personification in his poem. For example, “the very houses seem asleep” this uses alliteration and assonance to obtain soothing sounds, which helps the idea of London being a nice place.
The second stanza of Blake’s poem gives the impression that all of London’s people are depressed and that there is no individuality. He does this by using a lot of repetition by saying, “In every cry of every man, In every infant’s cry of fear, In every voice, in every ban,” This is another contrast to Wordsworth’s poem as even though Wordsworth doesn’t mention the habitants of London he give the idea that nowhere in London is the same by giving lists such as, “Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie”. This line also gives London an urban feel, although in the next line he says, “Open unto the fields, and to the sky;” By saying that Wordsworth gives the feeling that London is a perfect balance between a rural and an urban city.
The final line of the second stanza in Blake’s poem is a contrast to the beginning of the stanza as it ends the repetition of the word “every” previously in the stanza. It also gives the idea that the minds of the people in London are controlled by saying, “The mind-forged manacles I hear”.
In Blake’s third stanza he goes on to say, “And the hapless soldier’s sigh, Runs in blood down palace walls” This, like the first two lines of the stanza is very dark, it suggests that even the soldiers have given up and that the monarchy is corrupted. Also, the final line is in the present tense so it is as if it is still happening. This is different to Wordsworth’s poem which describes London as pure and untouched by saying, “The beauty of the morning, silent, bare”
I especially like this stanza of Blake’s poem as it is very realistic, it seems as if the writer hasn’t tried to cover anything up and has just described London as he sees it.
In Blake’s poem the fourth stanza goes on to describe a lot more about the people in London, it describes a lot about people’s relationships in London, marriage in particular. The first two lines, “But most through midnight streets I hear, How the youthful harlot’s curse” suggests that the innocence of people in London has been taken away from them. It also shows us that the poem is set at night which may account for some of the darker imagery.
The next two lines, “Blasts the newborn infant’s tear, And blights with plagues the marriage hearse.” These two lines both imply that the newborn baby will grow up with corruption. It also says that possibly the role of the prostitute in the second line is linked to the broken marriages, and that the lack of innocence is spreading throughout the city like a disease.
This differs to the end of Wordsworth’s poem which says, “Dear God! The very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!” This perhaps suggests that London is like Heaven, and everything inside it is protected. Also, it is as if London has some unknown power that is dormant, as the cit is perfect and doesn’t need to use it.
Another similarity between the two poems is that both of them have regular rhyming patterns, and are both about city life. As I have already said I prefer Blake’s poem out of the two as it seems to me to be more real and trust-worthy. Wordsworth’s poem is too dreamy, and although it uses very beautiful, picturesque images it doesn’t appeal to me as much. Also, the images in Blake’s poem are a lot more sound related than in Wordsworth’s, which I prefer as it is easier to imagine, and can give an individual image to the reader. This gives the reader more input to the whole of the poem as he can decide for himself how to interpret the poem.
