William Wordsworth’s poem is written in the manner of an Italian sonnet. Each octave of the poem describes the man made elements of the city and the last sextet refers the natural beauty of the sonnet. The romantics where very interested in the natural beauty of places, more about this can be found in my introduction. Similarly to Blake’s ‘London’ this poem uses alternate line rhyming to make the poem sound regular. The poem is written is prose using iambic pentameter; using this way of writing emphasizes the rhyming words.
Wordsworth conveys his feeling for London in a metaphorical way. He personifies many elements such as the sun, the city and the river. For example in four “This City now doth like a garment wear” he allows the personifications to perform human actions such as wearing clothes; this gives the effect that the city is alive and beautiful and not just an assortment of inanimate buildings and objects. He continues this simile by giving the river ‘a will’.
Blake conveys his feelings for London is a nonfigurative style. He uses the buildings and people of London to symbolise the institutions which he believes they are associated with. For example in verse 10, “Every blackning Church appals” he uses the image of the charge to criticise religious establishments. Similarly he gives in verse 11 and 12, “And the hapless Soldiers sigh, Runs in blood down Palace walls”, he uses the image of the soldier’s sigh running in blood down the Palace walls as an attack against the monarchy and government for literally sentencing young men to death by making them fight in foreign wars.
I have also observed that many of the words in Blake’s poem have multiple meaning, such as in the first verse he mentions London’s ‘Charter’d’ streets; this can be interpreted to mean the strict control over which the state and church have over society. On the other hand it can be interpreted to mean immoral. Looking at the rest of the poem I believe it is meant to be taken in the context of immoral as later on he touches on prostitution and other corrupt activities going on in the streets of London.
Basing my self on Blake’s unattractive perception of London and other texts of the same period describing the city; I believe Wordsworth’s portrayal of the beauty of London is exaggerated. He uses ostentatious imagery, and praises both the natural and man made achievements. He outlines his feelings for London in the second and third verse, ‘Dull would he be of soul who could pass by, A sight so touching in its majesty.’ Inferring that the very sight of London would astonish anyone who sees it. It can be debated whether or not this is a compliment to London, however after reading other poems written by Wordsworth he often comments on the beauty of the countryside, particularly the Lake District, so one could imagine that he would be quite disgusted by London.
I believe Wordsworth writes his poem in a very sarcastic manner, in verse 8 he describes London as ‘glittering in the smokeless air’, he wrote this poem when the industrial revolution was in full swing, the numerous chimneys of the hundreds of factories in London would be expelling thick clouds of black smoke. He also in verse 11 describes London as a calm place, ‘Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!’ I find this very hard to believe as London was the main port or the United Kingdom and a very important centre of industry and commerce; it is inconceivable to think of it as calm.
In distinction Blake’s poem uses a hyperbole to criticize the grief and malice of the people who live there. Blake describes London as a dark, despicably dirty and disease ridden place which leaves absolutely no doubt of the authors’ feelings on the subject.
In the last verse of Blake’s poem he alludes to the topic of sexually transmitted diseases. He describes the ‘How the youthful Harlots curse, Blasts the new-born Infants tear’. He is showing that so much promiscuity is going on in the society of London that disease is spreading very fast and that the offspring are those that suffer the most. He then goes on to refer to the theme of marriage in respect to all this promiscuity, ‘And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse’, marriage is conventionally thought to be a happy occasion, however in this case it is shown to be a death sentence.
Unlike Blake whose poem is very melodramatic and perceives the bigger picture, Wordsworth concentrates on describing London at one moment in the morning. Wordsworth shows no interest on what the future may hold for the people of London.
In my opinion both these poems refer to the major problems London had during that time. Whilst Blake’s ideas are conveyed in a more obvious manner, Wordsworth’s are conveyed in a covert, almost encrypted manner. I find Wordsworth’s much more interesting as it leaves much to the imagination and to the specific interpretation of the reader.
