“A thief slunk off, with ample spoil,”
Shows the hypocrisy of the hanging even more so, if the hanging did not take place then the thief would not have the opportunity to steal, this further shows the irony of the society.
The rhyming scheme of the poem changes from ABAB to rhyming couplets at the end of the poem. The rhyming couplets begin after the hanging has finished. They emphasise the ironic lines at the end of the poem:
“A baby strung its doll to a stick; A mother praised the pretty trick”.
This rhyming couplet further shows the encouragement created by the hanging and also demonstrates the lack of deterrence, which is the reason for this form of punishment.
This poem uses irony in a macabre style along with literary devices to show the reader the hypocrisy of Victorian hangings in London. By highlighting the ineffectiveness of this means of punishment the writer was able to put across his point that public hangings should be abolished, or they will become even more frequent.
“The Last Decalogue” by Arthur Hugh Clough was written in 1850. This poem is a parody of the Ten Commandments from exodus in the Bible; it uses them to mock the Victorian society and its hypocritical values. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
It uses a satirical tone to enhance its cynicism throughout the poem. The poet criticises the Victorian interpretation of the commandments and the way in which they have twisted them so ten the Lexus has become inaccessible. The poet was Queen Victoria’s favourite poet and this is ironic as he is criticising the society under her very rule.
The poem uses many devices to emphasise the points that it is making. There is the use of caesuras in “Worshipped” which highlights the importance of this word and also the irony of the line as the Victorians worship the currency, which represents the monarchy, more then God. There is the use of enjambement in “No graven images may be” to once more emphasise the importance of both the commandment’s meaning and the way in which the Victorians interpret it. There is also the use of alliteration in:
“Bear not false witness: let the lie
Have time on its own wings to fly”
To show the irony of the line and true meaning of this commandment. This interpretation enables the reader to see that gossip was acceptable in Victorian society even though the commandments tell them not to do this.
The rhyming scheme is continuously in rhyming couplets such as
“Thou shalt not kill: but needst not strive
Officiously to keep alive:”
The use of rhyming couplets shows the reader the hypocrisy of Victorian society in a poetical form, which is easy to understand, and also makes the poem more memorable for the reader.
The last four lines of the poem include the most irony as they show that Victorians followed Jesus’ teaching to love thy neighbour, but from this teaching took the interpretation that they should love God and their neighbours but never to love them more than they loved themselves. The poem, in this way, ends leaving the reader with the knowledge that the Victorian society is both hypocritical and extremely ironic.
“London” by William Blake was written in 1791. The poem is concise and simple with the results that its message is easily understood and further emphasised. It criticises the condition of London, both for those in poverty, the children and many women. It is very explicit and mentions many problems with the Victorian society.
The tone is very serious so that the message cannot be misinterpreted or simply ignored. It criticises the hypocrisy of those with power who do nothing to help those to so desperately need help. It shows the reader the terrible living conditions on London, the capital of the Great Britain who was the mother of parliament and looked up to by many countries.
It uses devices to highlight the problems in Victorian society. There is the use of alliteration and repetition in “Marks of weakness, marks of woe” which show the hunger and poverty of those living on the street, as they have no other place to go, by repeating the situation to further accentuate the degrading lives of those he sees. There is also the use of repetition “In every” to accentuate the fear and oppression of all who live in poverty. There is the use of an oxymoron at the end of the poem “Marriage-hearse”, this symbolises the STDs spread through marriages, as so many women must become prostitutes in order to survive. The oxymoron shows a wedding and a funeral as so many die from STDs, it is a disgusting image that ends the poem and leaves the reader with this last impression of death and gruesomeness. He also shows the reader that these women in poverty who turn to prostitution are not in fact women but children as young as 10 in “youthful Harlot’s curse”.
The rhyming scheme is set out in ABAB for each of the four verses. The imagery invoked by the poem is very powerful and symbolic. The line “The mind-forg’d manacles I hear:” shows the restriction of the people in poverty as they have no education or any means of improving their dire situation. The line “Every black’ning Church appals” brings the church into the poem to criticise them, but also symbolises the effects of the industrial revolution on London. The line
“And the hapless Soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down Palace wall:”
Symbolises the fighting done by men in the name of the monarch. Who are then left with nothing once more and the Monarch is responsible.
This poem criticises the conditions of the country’s capital city; with the use of a regular rhythm and continues repetition of “every” to stress how the conditions affect all those suffering in poverty. The poet believes that those in power should do more for those who are so helpless, as they are the ones who have created these dreadful conditions for the average workingman, woman and child.
“The Ruined Maid” by Thomas Hardy was written in 1866. The poem explains the conditions of women in Victorian times and illustrates the difference between a rural, upstanding, but impoverished girl and a ruined, urban, but protected girl.
The poem uses a humorous tone to put across its ironic and serious message: women who behave properly are not rewarded and yet those who turn to prostitution are protected by benefactors and live a more comfortable life. The tile is also very ironic. A maid suggests a virgin and ruined suggests prostitution and so the poem begins with an ironic title to add to the message expressed in the poem.
The poem uses metonymy to heighten its message. Metonymy can be found in “bright feathers three!” and this line shows the luxury and comfort in which the ruined maid now lives. There is a use of dialect words such as “thick oon” and “t’other” in order to accentuate the difference between the two girls even more.
The poem uses rhyming couplets to add to the humorous and comic tone already present in the poem. These rhymes further highlight the difference between the good country girl and the high-class prostitute. Rhyming couplets are seen in
“And now you’ve gay bracelets and bright feathers three!-
Yes: that’s how we dress when we’re ruined, said she.”
This rhyme emphasises the metonymy further and heightens the difference between the girls even more.
This poem uses metonymy and a humorous tone along with rhyming couplets to put across the point that prostitution rewards a girl and working hard in the country leaves a girl impoverished and uneducated.
These entire poems show the hypocrisy of Victorian society by accentuating the problems of the society with the use of literary devices and a rhyming scheme. These poems use a variety of well known literary devices to emphasise the hypocrisy and irony of the Victorian society.
