William Blake’s London. What aspects of 18th century life does Blake attack in the poem?

William Blake’s London

What aspects of 18th century life does Blake attack in the poem?

How effective do you think he is?

William Blake was born in London, where he spent most of his life. His father was a successful London hosier. Blake was first educated at home, chiefly by his mother. His parents, who were non conformists, taught him at an early age to love the bible. In this, Blake learned that God was not a figure of authority, more a benevolent one. It was because of this that Blake hated organised religion.

At the age of 14 Blake was apprenticed for seven years to the engraver James Basire. Gothic art and architecture influenced him deeply. After studies at the Royal Academy School, Blake started to produce watercolours and engrave illustrations for magazines. In 1783 he married Catherine Boucher, the daughter of a market gardener. Blake taught her to draw and paint and she assisted him devoutly.

Blake wrote his first poems at the age of 12. His first book of poems, ‘Poetical Sketches’, appeared in 1783 and was followed by ‘Songs of Innocence’ (1789), and ‘Songs of Experience’ (1794). He sympathized with the actions of the French revolutionaries until the events of 1794 sickened him. Some of Blake's contemporaries called him a harmless lunatic.

Blake hated the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England and looked forward to the establishment of a New Jerusalem "in England's green and pleasant land." Between 1804 and 1818 he produced an edition of his own poem ‘Jerusalem’ with 100 engravings.

Independent through his life, Blake left no debts at his death on August 12, 1827. He was buried in an unmarked grave at the public cemetery of Bunhill Fields. William Wordsworth's verdict after Blake's death reflected many opinions of the time: "There was no doubt that this poor man was mad, but there is something in the madness of this man which interests me more than the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott."

William Blake’s poem, London, attacks various aspects of 18th century life. He focuses his attacks on the British government, the British church, and the city of London. Why does he have such dislike for these things? He explains himself in this poem.

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In the first stanza, Blake mentions the word ‘chartered’ twice, to show that it has special significance, and to show that Blake disapproves of this intently. Chartered means several things. When he first mentions it, it refers to the London charter, a piece of legislation that basically meant that rich businessmen would have more privileges. It also said that groups of more than a certain number of men were not allowed to meet, as the British government was trying to prevent rebellion and revolution, like what had just happened in France. So it made life harder for workers. Blake disagreed with this entirely, and so wrote it in the first line of his poem. The second mentioning of it refers to the Thames, and how even something natural has been brought to order. So what he’s trying to say here is that the people and the river have both been controlled, and he hates it. This explains why he disliked the government, because he believed that people and nature should not be controlled. The third and fourth lines include the word ‘mark’, several times, and these mean that he sees signs of mental and physical pain in everyone he sees.

‘And mark in every face I meet,

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.’

In the second stanza, Blake repeats the words ‘In every’. This makes it more important, and it has a ripple effect. The monotony of this represents the monotony of the pain and torment of London’s lower classes. The first two lines also imply the soulless cries and physiological effects of living in London, i.e. that everyone is in anguish and suffering. Also, when Blake says: ‘In every infant’s cry of fear,’ he is saying that the next generation has the pain and torment of the current one, all thanks to London. This also implies the child labour that was in London at this time, and how scary it must have been for the children that had to work. In the third line of this stanza, Blake also mentions ‘ban’, and this refers to the restrictions on the freedom and liberties of the individual. The term, ‘mind-forged manacles’ means that the government and charters of London have made psychological chains for the minds of the people, preventing the people from using their minds (imaginations). And Blake thought that the imaginations of people were very important, and should not be restricted. Blake reinforces this idea by using the letter ‘m’ twice, to catch attention and to strengthen his words.

In the third stanza, the message of child labour is reinforced, and Blake cleverly writes:

‘How the chimney-sweeper’s cry

Every blackening church appalls;’

This is clever because it is saying two different things at the same time. On one level it says the church is appalled by child labour. But, on another, it says that the church covers the fact that child labour is occurring, because appall can mean two things. It can mean appall, as in shocked or horrified, but it can also mean ‘a pall’, which is a cover. And since Blake writes ‘every blackening church’, he is implying that the churches would sooner have clean chimneys rather than abolish child labour, as blackening refers to soot.

Blake uses the hapless soldier as a symbol for all that was wrong with authority. Blake hated war, and so by mentioning the soldier, and the palace walls, he is striking out against the army and the monarchy respectively. The soldier is hapless, because he has none of his own choices. He has to fight for his king, or be punished if he chooses not to. He is a victim of circumstance.

Blake writes this stanza in such a way, that he keeps referring to the mind forged manacles, and brings out their full meanings.

In the fourth stanza, Blake tackles more sober issues. He writes about venereal disease, and child prostitution. He writes the tale of how ghonorrea is passed on from the young prostitute to all of her clients, and from there, how it is passed to the wives of the clients, plaguing the marriage of the client. Also, when Blake writes: ‘Blasts the newborn infant’s tear,’ this is another precursor of ghonorrea. These issues would have been strictly taboo in 18th century London, which makes this stanza even more anti-authoritarian.

This poem has a strong rhythm and a simple rhyming structure. Blake makes it simple so it sounds like a nursery rhyme, which is ironic because the poem itself deals with very serious, important and awful issues, but perhaps in one way Blake is trying to say more about child labour here, and that the children of London have to deal with these horrors every day.

Blake also uses a first person narrative to the poem, which may be there so that the senses are more involved with the poem, and so the reader can experience Blake’s London on a more fundamental level.

I think that Blake is very effective in attacking 18th century life. He uses simple words to portray a comprehensive view of the debauchery and awfulness of London, and he does it very well. This may be the reason why this is a very famous poem.

Joe Zara