‘London’ is a bleak poem, reflecting Blake’s outrage at the waste and suffering of human life –
especially in the great city. In contrast with this, is the surprise and impressiveness of the cities
beauty in a captured moment of tranquillity brought across by Wordsworth.
In ‘London’, the repetition of the word ‘every’ within the second stanza suggests the extent of
control and command, and implies the fact that every person is affected. There are various words
that are repeated, the re-occurrence of those words emphasises the meaning behind them. Such as the word ‘cry’ – embedding a sense of sorrow throughout the stanza. The word ‘cry’ can be
interpreted in two different ways, either meaning that the person is crying out for help, or crying
as a result of despair and sadness. The stereotype of a child is someone of innocence and purity –
therefore unafraid. A stereotypical man is tough and masculine – so unlikely to cry. However,
despite these conventions, William Blake has subverted the language of the poem to create a
juxtaposition by contrasting the crying man and the scared child. Contrasting with these
emotions brought across in ‘London’, is the sense of joy given by words such as ‘beauty’,
‘glittering’, ‘splendour’, ‘calm’ and ‘still’ used in ‘West Minster Bridge’.
Both poems consist of mainly aural imagery; however the way each uses it is completely
different. Wordsworth describes London as ‘calm’ and ‘asleep’; both suggesting silence and
peace. As opposed to Blake’s use of the words ‘weakness’, ‘woe’, ‘fear’, ‘cry’, ‘blood’, ‘tear’
and ‘plague’. Insinuating threat and danger, and relating the poem to a more modern
stereotypical view of London. These words are repeatedly linked with places and parts of
everyday life in the city throughout, (such as the ‘church’, ‘palace’ and ‘marriage’). Emphasising
the total corruption of London by implying that everything has been affected. This stresses the
viewpoint of William Blake that London has become corrupt and destroyed.
‘London’ builds up the pace of the poem with a trudging rhythm, transforming the insinuations
of what is going on (e.g. ‘A mark in every face I meet’) into what is causing it and who is
responsible by stating ‘the hapless soldiers sigh, runs in blood down palace walls.’ The overall
rhythm is strict and controlled – reflecting the message brought across about the corruption of
London. This, as opposed to the smooth and free rhythm in West Minister Bridge, which
alternatively slows down throughout the poem, until finally coming to a complete halt. This final
halt is emphasised by the exclamation mark, an exclamation mark gives impact and dictates an
air of something exciting and enjoyable.
‘London’ is the dominant poem in my opinion. The repetition, trudging rhythm and
juxtapositions in the poem contribute to the effectiveness. An example of this is the last line,
when Blake says ‘marriage hearse’. This emphasises Blake’s idea of a marriage corrupt with
disease, linking it back to the word ‘plague’ mentioned just before. ‘West Minister Bridge’
however, is not nearly as strict – providing more appealing images, however leaving the poem
far less effective.
By Liam Naybour
