William Blakes London Essay -- William Blake London Poem Poetry Ess

William Blakes capital of the United KingdomWorks Cited Not IncludedWilliam Blakes London is a representative of English society as a whole, and the human condition in general that outlines the socio-economic problems of the time and the major communal evils. It condemns authoritative institutions including the military, royalty, new industries, and the Church. Blakes tone creates a feeling of informative bitterness, and is both ground little and despondent at the suffering and increasing corruption of Londons society. Blakes sophisticated purpose of notation like capitalization, his specific change in meter, and the point of view all(prenominal) clearly develop London. The point of view in which Blake employs to London is significant to the understanding of the poetry. Blake chooses to give the poem a persona, a person who appears to have immense knowledge of the city and helps give credibility to the poem. (Foster, 1924) The use of first person in all three stanzas allows the poem to be more opinionated and less objective, drawing the readers attention by making it more personal. Blakes London is to be the readers London as well. In addition to point of view, Blake further sophisticates his piece by presenting specific tone to each section of the poem. Blake sets the tone early in the poem by using the word charter?d which shows the condition of London as repressive. The speaker refers to the people or ?faces? he meets with ?Marks of weakness, marks of woe.? This diction advocates the probability of the city being controlled by a higher authority. The faces of the people, or the face of society reveals the feelings of entrapment and misery in the population. This in itself could propose, humanity itself is being commercialized (Damon, 1965). One of the interesting aspects of Blakes poetry is the layers of meaning his words connote. Blakes advanced use of notation is evident through his utilization of capitalizing specific words to emphasize a point. Cap italization is repeatedly used in London to stress a higher meaning than the literal interpretation. Blakes use of the phrase ?every Man? again alludes to Blake?s intention that the poem represents not just the common, man yet also, common society. Similarly the title London is used to represent the state of English society and to symbolizes the condition of every human society (Hirsch Jr., 1964) Aga... ...en with gonorrhea and some other diseases, which blinded the newborn babies (Damon, 1965) Hence the diction ?B kick the bucket the new-born Infants tear?. The poem reaches its climax as the speaker exposes the infants who were born into poverty. When Blake uses the contradicting phrase ?Marriage hearse? in the last line it is significant because he combines something good with something bad (Lambert Jr., 1995) Blake proposes the possibility that as long as powerful institutions corrupt society, marriage is always cursed. Even though the joy of a new life is present, the fact th at the child is born into a corrupt and evil society is discouraging. Blake suggests to the reader that until there is change this curl up will continue. ?London? is a poem of serious social satire directed against social institutions. According to Blake author Michael Phillips ?it is a poem whose moral naturalism is so severe that it is raised to the intensity of apocalyptic vision.? Blake becomes more specific in his descriptions of the prevalent evil and moral decay of society as the poem progresses. Blake?s informative nature is clearly evident in ?London? as he ?points the finger? and exposes powerful institutions.