Essay Self-Made Misery in Blake’s London - 543 Words

Self-Made Misery in Blake’s London The poet William Blake paints a picture of the dirty, miserable streets of London in his poem, London. He describes the wretched people at the bottom of the society, the chimney-sweeps, soldiers, and harlots. These people cry out from their pain and the injustices done to them. The entire poem centers around the wails of these people and what they have become due to wrongs done to them by the rest of society, primarily institutions such as the church and government. Are these people really wronged, however? The poem seems to suggest that the injustices they have been subjected to are of their own making. In Blakes poem he says that as he passes through London he sees a mark in every†¦show more content†¦On a first reading, this phrase is easy is pass over without much thought. However, upon a closer look, this phrase seems out of place. It suggests that the people described in the poem are wearing chains of their own making. The chains seem to be what is holding them down in society. The people certainly seem effectively motionless, so the chains must be what is keeping them in place. The fact that they are mind-forged means that they are of the peoples own making. Therefor, the injustices that the people seem to be experiencing are their own fault. But how can the people be causing their own injustices. The poet says that he hears the mind-forged manacles, so they seem to be formed with a sound. The only sounds in the poem are cries, sighs, and curses. This suggests that the people are forming the manacles by feeling sorry for themselves. Having established that the people are held immobile by their mind-forged manacles we return to the institutions. The institutions mentioned in the poem, such as the government, are all fundamentally run by the people, even if they havent got any direct power. This means that the people are oppressing themselves and then also oppressing the institutions by not working within them to improve them. Instead the church is blackened and the palace walls run with blood (lines 10 and 12). The institutions seem to be in disrepair, but it is the fault of the stagnant people. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Portrayal of Industrialization in London by William Blake526 Words   |  3 Pages In â€Å"London† by William Blake the grunge, and domineering nature of a city engaged in a transformation of industry, is articulated through the setting. London of the poem, and the 1700s and 1800s, was griped by a sense of overwhelming entrapment in the mechanical comings and goings of industry. Th is massive shift is expressed through the stark nature of the setting, and the speaker’s awareness of a sense of confinement, and malaise in the face of great progress. Blake’s choices in the portrayalRead MoreWilliam Blake: London From Within Essay2575 Words   |  11 Pages5. 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