Responding to Poetry

Look at the first stanza of William Blake’s ‘London’. What do you think he is writing about? – What words or phrases stand out? – How does it make you feel? I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow. And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

Looking more closely… – Are there any ideas (themes) that come out of your reading? – What do you think the poet is feeling, or wants to make us feel? – Who is speaking in the poem? From what viewpoint? – Select words or phrases from the stanza which illustrate your ideas – Look up words that you are unsure about

Looking at techniques… – All poets use techniques of one sort or another, although these are not always clear upon first reading – Without looking at the stanza again, are there any techniques that you remember Blake using? List them. – Does the poem rhyme and have a regular rhythm? Does he use repetition and/or alliteration?

Reading the whole poem… – The whole of Blake’s poem can be found at: – Read through it there, referring to the link to context, etc. – Once you have read it, have your ideas about the poem changed? – In a paragraph, write up your response to what you think the poet/speaker is trying to tell us and how he is trying to do so. – Then, go to: for more on responding to poetryhttp://