William Blake was born and lived in London; he was a very religious man, a politically minded person and a mystic who was reputed to have visions. The poem London is an expression of his sadness, anger and despair for the population of London, he tells us of the prostitutes and the children which are chimneysweepers. Blake tells us of the goings on in London where as Wordsworth only tells us what he can see.
William Wordsworth’s poem is written as a sonnet, the octave is an elaborate description of his surroundings and what he can see. The sestet is an expression of his feelings; he describes how all the beauty makes him feel and how he has never felt like this before. Blake’s poem is written in quatrains and has four verses.
Wordsworth uses hyperbole several times in a poem for exaggeration and chooses to uses words such as fair meaning beautiful, majesty meaning royal and grand and bright and glittering meaning there is no smoke to hide the clear skies and fields. Wordsworth uses alliteration and metaphors often to emphasise how beautiful the sight is ‘all bright and glittering in the smokeless air’ uses alliteration, he uses metaphor when he says ‘and all that mighty heart is lying still’ he is calling London the mighty heart (the capital of the country.) Wordsworth uses personification twice in the sestet, ‘never did the sun more beautifully steep in his first splendour valley rock or hill’ he is giving the sun human qualities, he refers to the sun as a he, he is saying that the sun has never shone more beautifully over country scenes he has visited in the past. He then again uses personification to talk about the river Thames, ‘the river glideth at his own sweet will’ he is again comparing the river to a male he is saying that the river is flowing along peacefully. He also uses simile in the octave, he is saying the city has clothed its self with a garment of beauty to hide the smoke filled air and noisy people.
However unlike Wordsworth, Blake does not use personification or simile Blake uses metaphor and alliteration he uses metaphor when he says ‘the mind forg’d manacles I hear’ by this he means people are trapped in their own minds, due to how depressing their living conditions are, and again ‘runs in blood down palace walls’ he then uses alliteration when he says ‘and the hapless soldiers sigh’ this is talking about the soldiers who have no hope left, after the government promised them houses, money clothes etc on their return from the war, but have not received anything as such.
In Wordsworth’s poem the mood is full of amazement and awe. The tone is very sincere and the pace remains even and very soft throughout the poem. Where as in Blake’s poem the tone is very sarcastic, he uses the word charter’d twice for emphasis he says ‘I wander thro’ each charter’d street’ ‘near where the charter’d Thames does flow’ the pace is fast and angry during the first two quatrains but then in the last two quatrains the pace is slow and full of sadness and the mood is very depressing and full of sadness.
When I read the poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge i got an image of a spectacular sunrise with beams of sunlight reflecting off the buildings and water, ships in the port, everything still and quiet. I got this image from ‘the beauty of the morning; silent bare,’ ‘ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie.’
Where as when I read the poem London I got an image of dirty filthy bloodstained streets with prostitutes everywhere. Dirty children (chimneysweepers) and a very scary place ‘runs in blood down palace words’ is the line that has given me the impression that London is a very scary place.
Blake is putting out a very negative view of London he seems appalled and has a very sarcastic opinion; his overall opinion of London is that it is disgusting, full of sadness and disgrace. He talks about how he thinks prostitutes have ruined marriages ‘and blights with plagues the marriage hearse’ he is also telling us that after the men have used the prostitutes they have used the prostitutes they are going back to their wives taking disease into the marriage.
Although in Wordsworth’s poem it is a very positive view of London, he is amazed by London especially in this particular moment, he has very high opinions of the city. ‘Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep’ this is telling us how he feels. Wordsworth was a traveller of Europe and in all the sights he must have seen he thinks this is by far the best.
The poem London has a very regular rhyme, the rhyme scheme is on alternate lines e.g. ab ab cd cd. Wordsworth’s poem also has a very regular rhyme to it this also seems to be on alternate lines.
