London; Poem by William Blake PDF

Preview

Summary

This is an assignment that was answered and delivered. Students can find it useful while studying...

Description

Surname 1 London: Poem by William Blake Introduction William Blake is one of the most prolific poets of English literature in the 21st century. His work in the literature has been used in various educational settings such as schools, colleges, and universities globally, work based on historical events filled with thematic expressions that he has well placed to enhance the interest of the reader. The poem "London" is used by William to express happenings or incidents around the streets of men, women, and crying. These dramatic experiences that the narrator went through give thematic pictures of the status of the people living in London. Some of the themes manifesting in this poem are such as the themes of desperation, mental confinement, fear, and change, among many others. Theme of Desperation Desperation is internal pressure coming from within a person in time of a specific need for something. The theme is greatly illustrated by the state the people of London are, despite the changes in their environment in terms of industrialization which is meant to bring about positive change or improved living standards of London dwellers, but ironically, it doesn’t ( Blake 26). The poet uses terminologies in literature such as "chimney sweepers" to illustrate a state of desperation in London, showing how much London's industrial development has not made an impact on its residents that people are desperately cleaning up chimneys for them to earn a living.

The theme of Mental Confinement Confinement of the mind is the inability of one to express their thoughts in actions or verbally. The role of the word charter in the poem, by William Blake, is used to describe how London dwellers are being dictated in what they should say or do. The word is used to show

Surname 2 that the London authorities decide for their people and that the people aren't in a position to decide for themselves (Michael 332). The fact that the people have not been granted the freedom of expression, by the authorities, is that the people including men, women, and children are heard crying, an illustration of hopelessness and the state of “mind-forged manacles” as used by the poet to express lack of freedom of expression or mental confinement. Theme of Fear Fear is an aspect used in this context to show hopelessness in change for the better in London. Fear as we know it is the act of total submission and helplessness or defencelessness in a person or people to some superior person or group of people. In this poem, the "cry" heard by the narrator is being irrespective of gender or age that is men women and children crying for help or a better change or liberty. Fear is felt even by the new-born babies in London that there may not be any hope for the betterment of the London society. Theme of change Change is normally a transition of something or a person from one form to another, physically mentally and environmentally. Blake doesn't illustrate this theme directly but through other themes or illustrations such as the cries heard from the people (Wolfreys 34). The cry shows the desperate need for a change for everyone in London (men, women, and children), regardless of the industrial change, as illustrated by the poet. The people have been waiting for the authorities to come up with reforms such as offering the people job opportunities and improved living standards but the authorities don’t establish the reforms. This leaves the people of London no choice but to embark on messy and low-paying jobs, such as cleaning up the chimneys for them to cope with the unemployment crisis allegedly running through London. This is a clear illustration of the desperate need for change in the people of London.

Surname 3 Discussion The use of themes in Blake’s line of literature is to create a vivid depiction of incidents or happenings in various social settings. In the poem, William tries to explain that all that the people of London are facing emanates from historical ideologies and events, controlled by a certain group of powerful people that dictate what the people under them should or should not embrace. Conclusion William Blake is a prolific poem and short story writer of the English accent. He expresses the irony of people of irrespective gender and age, miserable and suffering in a rather industrially advanced location. Themes encountered by the reader in the poem include the theme of desperation, mental confinement, fear and yell for change as themes that reveal the actual plight of people in the already industrially developed London.

Surname 4 Works Cited Blake, William. The complete poetry and prose of William Blake. Univ of California Press, 2008. Ferber, Michael. "The Reception of William Blake in Europe ed. by Sibylle Erle and Morton D. Paley." Eighteenth-Century Studies 53.2 (2020): 330-333. Wolfreys, Julian. Writing London: the trace of the urban text from Blake to Dickens. Springer, 1998. Zulkifli, Che Nooryohana, et al. "The Decadence of Morality Through Modernisation: The Analysis of Regrets of Three Romantic Poets." International Journal 2.5 (2019): 4150....