One way that Blake uses to convey his anger on what he sees is through his constant repition on certain words. In the first stanza,he repeats the word 'charter'd' twice. By repeating the word 'charter'd twice', it places furthur emphasis on the 'streets' and 'thames' being restricted by authority. The word 'mark' is then also repeated three times in the poem, by doing so, Blake is able to let the reader take more awearness of the word 'mark' and the story it is associated with, which is the mark of Caine.
Caine was given a black mark on his face by God as he murderd his brother, the mark then branded him as a sinner. However, eventhough the mark branded him as a sinner, it also protected him from harm as anyone who harmed Caine was said to be punished with 30 times the damage inflicted upon him. The story of Caine relates to 'London' in a sense that the people signify Caine, while the authorities signify God. This is as, like Caine, Blake sees the people as being branded with 'weakness' and 'woe', which I feel is caused by obedience to the monarchy. Eventhough these 'marks' brand the people with 'woe', it also provides them with protection by the authorities. Therefore, if the people do not rebel against the people from the higer archey, then they will not be hurt by them, and will be bound by the law, which also, a form of protection. The mark of Caine is originally a brand for sin as Caine murdered his brother. Eventhough the people might not have commited murder, 'every face' that Blake 'meets' is still branded with the 'mark'. This is as Blake thought of the authorities as being sinful, he saw 'the church' as being 'blackening' as they are seen to be be the cause for the 'chimeny sweepers cry', and the 'palace', bloodstained, by the lives of 'hapless soliders' sent to die in war. Thus by obeying them, the people are too, sinners, hence causing them to bare the 'mark' of Caine. By metaphorically describing the people as possesing the 'mark' of Caine, Blake's anger towards the people is conveyed by his branding of 'every face' as being a sinner as he saw the system of the country being unjust, and hence making it a crime to not fight against it.
Another way that Blake uses to convey his feelings more clearly to the reader is through his alternate rhyming throughout the poem. By rhyming every other line, Blake creates a rythm that is similar to a walking pace. The effect of giving the poem a rythm of a walking pace, is that it enables the reader to, in a way, walk with the writer and establish a deeper understanding of what he is seeing, and what he is feeling, which then enables him to convey his thought more accurately to the reader.
The imagery that Blake uses in 'London' appeals mostly to the hearing senses. This is as he repeats the words that are associated to the hearing senses, such as the word 'cry'. The imagery that Blake uses is furthur emphasised by the continuous repition of him hearing the 'man's' and the 'infant's cry', 'in every' street that he 'wanders thro'. Apart from the cries, Blake also hears voices, and voices are normally associated with freedom and liberation . However, 'every voice' that Blake encounters is banned by the 'mind for'ged manacles' that he 'hears'. This means that the voices aren't acctually obliged to be prohibited, but have chosen to, as they self-imprison themselves. This places furthur emphasis on the anger that Blake is trying to convey as he sees that the people don't realise that they do not have to be controlled by the monarcy.
Blake uses a lot of ambiguous words in the poem 'London', such as 'ban' and 'charte'red'. This is as by using words with more than one meaning attached to it, the writer enables the reader to take interperate their own view and idea into the poem. Also, the use of ambiguous words allows the the situations to contrast each other, depending on the way you interperate it. An example would be the word 'ban', eventough the word means to prohibit something, it can also be associated with weddings, and these to images strongly conrast each other.
Lastly, Blake's anger is expressed by him seeing a 'youthful harlot' which creates the impression in the readers mind of how wrong the society has gone. This is as being 'youthful' also means to be innocent and naieve about how the world works, so by seeing a young protitue 'curse' in the 'midnight streets', it evokes anger and pity as a 'youthful' girl of a young age, should never obtain such a profession, and would never obtain such a profession, if the society was properly ran. The anger of Blake is then furthur emphasised by him seeing a 'new born infant' crying due to the cursing of the harlot, which is the 'infants' mother. This conjures up Blake's anger as he sees the 'new born infant' as being the symbol for ultimate purity and innocence, but however, it is not recieved with love, but with his mother's 'curse'. Another thing that conveys Blakes anger is that in a way, the 'new born infant' would never get to truly live life, as in a way, the baby is already in a 'marriage' with death the instance that it was born. This then gains the readers sympathy as something as pure as a 'new born' is contaminated and ruined by the society that the monarcy creates.
I feel that the poem 'London' effectively convyed William Blakes anger towards the society and his feelings about it. This is as Blake is awear of everything that goes on in the society, and the poem clearly expresses his repulsiveness towards the political opression imposed by the monarchy. However, Blake does not soley balme the monarcy, but also the people of his country. This is because he saw all the other countries that previously suffered the opression of a monarcy, fight for their rights and equailty. Eventhough the monarcy did impose rules upon society, Blake strongly believed that people could overthrow the authorities if they were to truly try and do so. Hence, a part of Blake's anger was conveyed by descibing the self-imprisonment of the people, and how they could break free anytime, but still chose not to do so.
