LONDON WILLIAM BLAKE

What do you associate with these words? INNOCENCE EXPERIENCE William Blake divided his poems into two volumes – Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Poems from Songs of Innocence offered an idealised, child-like view of the world. Poems from the Songs of Experience showed the corrupted world which was controlled by the Church and the Government. Blake had very strong political opinions about the treatment of the poor.

LONDON – William Blake 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. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse So does this poem come from the Songs of Innocence or Experience? What are your initial impressions of life in London at this time?

Form of the Poem The poem is split into 4 quatrains. 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. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse The poem is split into 4 quatrains. It has a strict ABAB rhyme scheme. Why do you think the poem is so strictly structured?

Repetition is a common feature of the poem. Used to represent mapping/legalism. Why? 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. Repetition again! What does ‘marks’ suggest? How are they used slightly different in lines 3 and 4?

What are ‘manacles’? What connotations does ‘manacles’ have? We only hear the cries and voices of those who are suffering. Just traces of the people remain. Repetition? In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear What are ‘manacles’? What connotations does ‘manacles’ have? So why are they ‘mind-forged’?

The Chimney-sweepers and the soldier leave evidence of their suffering on the buildings of the Church and Palace. What is Blake saying about the Church and Government in this stanza? Again – No-one is actually present. Only traces are left behind. How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls What is the significance of what the cry/sigh turn into?

Why is it the birth of a prostitute’s baby that is the noise that stands out the most? Focus on the language choices in bold. What are their effects? But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse. Why do you think the poem ends which such contrasting ideas?

Live Model Let’s complete the paragraph as class. In the poem, Blake shows London as By saying “ “ he suggests The word “ “ implies This is supported by the use of “ “ as Blake’s message is that