I found your analysis of this poem extremely beneficial. They are few and they are scoffed at. While fighting, they get wounded and blood oozes out of their bodies. He describes the roads and even the River Thames as 'charter'd'. He is not walking in a free, open field, but a confined, rigid, mapped out area. The speaker makes it very clear that he believes the government to have too much control and society to be too stringent. Please, correct the mistake in Allisa Corfman’s bio -About the author- part. The poem has a somber, morbid tone and reflects Blake's unhappiness and dissatisfaction with his life in London. We will discuss that after understanding it first. They lack parental love and proper nutrition. The street here means the land and Thames means water. Beautiful Thames! I think this is a great example of using powerful metaphors to convey tone. The words of this poem condemn every kind of organized religion and government while it reveals the human heart’s longing for freedom. It was composed two months after the start of the Boer War (1899), a brutal conflict between the British Empire, the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State. The term “wander” gives some insight into the speaker as well. The fact that he calls it a “marriage hearse” reveals that he views marriage as death. Read all poems for river-thames. The word 'mark' is then also repeated three times in the poem, by doing so, Blake is able to let the reader take more awearness of the word 'mark' and the story it is associated with, which is the mark of Caine. After growing up the girls (from chimney sweepers) had to adopt prostitution and the cycle goes on. Subscribe to our mailing list and get new poetry analysis updates straight to your inbox. These children were forced to work in chimneys by the church. They are also unable to revolt against the system. By repeating the word 'charter'd twice', it places furthur emphasis on the 'streets' and 'thames' being restricted by authority. This charged word is chosen specifically to critique early capitalism. He describes their faces as having “weakness” and “woe”. The innocent baby shedding tears represent those who are innocent in the world. Consequently, important motifs in the text are death, disease and children. the Thames River). Here’s a really nice commentary on London which will give you some further ideas. A classic poem analysed by Dr Oliver Tearle William Blake (1757-1827) wrote many great poems which remain widely read and studied. It is not surprising that he should revile such a strict government. This explains why the poet ties the chimney sweepers with the “blackning church”. It is one of the few poems in Songs of Experience that does not have a corresponding poem in Songs of Innocence. All these notes and the whole website really helped me for my exam! We have to place the poem in the context of time, and the move of population from countryside, not just to towns, but to cities. In ‘London,’ Blake engages with themes of urban life, childhood, and corruption. The River Thames (/ t ɛ m z / TEMZ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London.At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.. Treasures like the Iron Age Battersea Shield(shown below) might have been votive offerings, given … Although the speaker believes that the Harlot has somehow damaged marriage, he also reveals his beliefs about marriage in the first place. The poems reference the "Two Contrary States of the Human Soul". many regards. And this stanza sums up the whole cycle which was going on in London. Please continue to help us support the fight against dementia. Thank you for your feedback, although I am slightly confused as to what you found to be aggressive? He is surrounded by misery, mostly due to the way the adult world destroys the innocence of childhood. In ‘London,’ Blake engages with themes of urban life, childhood, and corruption. Or maybe she had contextual information from elsewhere. ‘London’ was first published in 1794 in his volume … The revolt was in the form of cries. A classic poem analysed by Dr Oliver Tearle William Blake (1757-1827) wrote many great poems which remain widely read and studied. the Thames River). Thames River arises at Gloucestershire, flows thro' London, the capital of U.K; Thames River is tidal in London With a rise and fall of 7 meters, The river is fed by more than 20 tributaries; The Thames River which flows alongside several other towns and cities - Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Blake was a British poet and had many ties to London. While the first stanza sets up the tone of ‘London’, the second stanza gives some insight into the speaker’s melancholy feelings toward the people he watches pass him by. The poet says that he wanders through each chartered street near which the chartered Thames river flows. "A Wife in London" is a bleak anti-war poem by the English poet Thomas Hardy. He was consistently dirty and sick. She has always enjoyed writing, reading, and analysing literature. Let us try to understand each phrase. ‘London’ reveals William Blake’s feelings toward the society in which he lived. England’s government is centralized in London. And with this came sexually transmitted diseases which were inherited by their children. “London” refers to the major city in England (and not to the author Jack London). They are also infants and are not left to be innocent for long. The speaker then turns his attentions to the “hapless soldier”. First, let us understand 1st two lines. But maybe she knows that Blake did think negatively about the idea of marriage as he was a free thinker. Thank you for your praise. They fall ill and die. The poem is about Blake simply walking through the streets of London and explaining what he had seen. The Harlot, apparently, has “blighted” the “marriage hearse”. Thank you. The main theme of the poem “London” by William Blake is contrast; between freedom and restriction, between death and life and between innocence and degradation. The Church is described as blackening because of two reasons (I think) – first, they made the children work in chimneys and the soot made them black and dirty and the second Church did wrong by exploiting them. Metaphors are a kind of figurative language, one that is quite common in poetry and often helps to create great examples of imagery. However, it is not as simple as that. 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