Compare "London" by William Blake and "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth.

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William Blake wrote the poem “London,” set in the 1790s in the aftermath of the French Revolution, it is also the time of the industrial revolution. London is expanding rapidly and poverty is commonplace. It is a time of great wealth existing alongside great poverty. Therefore Blake describes two categories of people. Indeed he uses the most unfortunate sections of society to demonstrate this existence. In verse three he talks about the “hapless Soldiers sigh runs in blood down palace walls.” From this quotation one would insinuate that Blake is stating the wealthy are building their luxury lifestyles of the suffering of the poor, i.e. V3 “The youthful Harlot” and V4 “The Hapless Soldier.” Etc.

The diction used in this poem creates an intense mood/atmosphere of depression or suffering, “Marks of weakness, marks of woe” is used to describe what he meets as he wanders the streets of London. Importantly the repetition of “every” in the second stanza, is used to emphasise the impact poverty creates on peoples life’s.

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Spread throughout the entire poem are words which imply that poverty is the dominant lifestyle. V1 “Marks of weakness, marks of woe” V2 “cry, fear, ban, manacles.” V3 “Cry, blackning, appals, hapless, blood.” V4 “Curse, blasts, tear, blights, plagues.”

This clever diction not only sets the mood but effectively influences the readers conclusion or interpretation of the poem.

“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth is written in the form of a sonnet. A traditional format used at that time. It is a fourteen line poem. He opens with a surprising statement, “Earth has nothing to ...

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