Comparing “London” with “Checkin’ out me history.”

London: what’s it about? London is written by William Blake and is a sixteen-line poem composed of four stanzas of alternatively rhyming short lines. Blake focuses his attention on the condition of London, England, the capital not only of the country but also of “culture,” yet, as the four stanzas make abundantly clear, Blake does not share the opinion that this city sets a positive example. Each stanza of “London” points out ways in which the British monarchy and English laws cause human suffering. The poem is written in the first person and reports the narrator’s observations as he walks through the streets of London.

London's Distinctive Features. The four stanzas offer a glimpse of different aspects of the city, almost like snapshots seen by the speaker during his “wander through” the streets as he sees the terrible conditions faced by the inhabitants of the city. It is very anti-authority, it challenges the idea that man is worth more than slavery. It has an ironic look at the misery is the ‘greatest’ city in the world. As he walks, he notices something about the faces of the people walking by. There seems to be the marks of weariness in them all and he describes their faces as having “weakness” and “woe”. This sets up the tone as melancholy and the gloom and the sadness seems to seep from the speaker’s voice as he describes the passers- by throughout the whole poem.

The Key Themes of ‘London’ Looking at power and conflict this is a poem which is more about the lack and abuse of power. The poem is set in the capital of the most ‘powerful’ country in the world and yet words like “manacles” suggest slavery while the soldiers sigh “runs in blood down palace wall,” a clear contrast between those with power and those without.

Checkin’ out me history: what’s it about? The voice is the most unique element of the poem, but it is filled with rich historic context that makes up the bulk of the poem’s story, which is, in large part, a colonial story. On both “sides” of the British- colonial story are figures who’s contributions to their home, culture, or people are significant, and Agard examines both sides to critique blind history and to shed light on some of the most influential historic figures who’s names are overshadowed time and time again.

Checkin’ out me history: Distinctive Features. The poet shows the conflict between cultures and the need to forge his own identity by embracing his Caribbean heritage, even if it is not encouraged by his country. The poet looks, not just at his own ethnicity, but all those groups who are overlooked in favour of the ‘white British’ contemporaries. Highlighting the conflict in these ‘false’ history. The poet uses structure to build in rhyme and rhythm and portray an oral tradition of stories.

Key themes of: Checkin’ out me history. Racial identity and history are important to the poem and the poet writes with a phonetic style to capture their voice and create tone emphasising his Caribbean origins. Conflict occurs when we see the contrast with what we are taught and what we are not, the nature of the characters and history involved being ‘conflict’ and the conflict of the victor (whom we remember) and those we don’t.

London Vs Checkin’ out me history. Is purely about the negative impact of industrialisation and the effects is has had on the ‘corrupt’ society. Sexual and marital union—the place of possible regeneration and rebirth—are tainted by the blight of venereal disease. Therefore Blake’s final image is the “Marriage hearse,” a vehicle in which love and desire combine with death and destruction. Is about the problems of being taught the wrong things whilst in education. Includes the use of non-standard phonetic spelling (written as a word sounds) to represent his own accent.