At the very beginning of the poem, [we see] Blake castigates (the aristocrats of London who capitalize on the suffering of the poor/ impoverished workers,,,. So the poem starts with a criticism of laws relating to control and ownership)c4 as clearly expressed in the lines below:
I wandered through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
A mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
(the river which should be freely flowing and which is usually a symbol of life, freedom and the power of nature is under the ownership of the rich; suggesting corruption in every sphere of society)B7. (Here the ‘charter’d Thames’ is a bitter reference to the way[ in which] every aspect of life in London is owned, regulated/constricted, measured and mapped out by the oppressive ruling system.)B7 (The word 'charter'd' can also have connotations of hiring and leasing which emphasises how the city is claiming to own its people and suggests the unjust nature of capitalism in
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Everything is a possession of the ruling class. It is as if life has been structured by the need to conform to the rule of those in power. The common people cannot question authority and their faulty reasoning / indiscretion.They cannot enjoy freedom. This lack of freedom is also evident when(with sarcasm Blake describes the sights he sees while walking through the “charter’d street" of London)B7. Everywhere he turns, he sees in “every face” “Marks of weakness, marks of woe” while (the “marks of woe” point to the poorer population in London)B12.
“The Chimney Sweeper” (128): This version of the Chimney Sweeper is very upfront and saddening. The version that is presented in the songs of innocence is much more of a calm town and is not as straightforward, while this version is very short and to the point. In this version its very deep as the narrator basically just calls out the parents/church for doing these horrible things to the children. I really love all three stanzas of this poem because they all have a really deep meaning and Blake transitions through them very well. Reading this poem over and over I don’t know what to make of it other than it is an absolute horrible situation. I think it can be tied in to
Before watching your presentation, I only knew the basics regarding William Blake. There are various interesting things that you mentioned that I did not know about. For example, you mentioned how he was more commonly known for his art rather than his poems. His art as a whole is really interesting. You mentioned how he took his encounters with the people around him, his brother’s death, and visions and reflected them into his work. One thing from that list that stood out to me the most were his visions. He was able to take his visions and portray them in his paintings even when many people found it difficult to understand the meanings behind it.
The Songs of Innocence poems first appeared in Blake’s 1784 novel, An Island in the Moon. In 1788, Blake began to compile in earnest, the collection of Songs of Innocence. And by 1789, this original volume of plates was complete. These poems are the products of the human mind in a state of innocence, imagination, and joy; natural euphoric feelings uninhibited or tainted by the outside world. Following the completion of the Songs of Innocence plates, Blake wrote The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and it is through this dilemma of good and evil and the suffering that he witnesses on the streets of London, that he begins composing Songs of Experience. This second volume serves as a response to Songs of
The poem introduces a wealthy woman and she’s not happy with her life. She has all she needs except happiness. The setting takes place in the Kensington Gardens. Around the garden are non wealthy people. Ezra Pound presents a simile in the first line, “Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall (Pound 2)”, this refers to the woman to a length of silk (WordPress 5). “En robe de parade. Samain (Pound 1)” In English, “dress to impress”. Ezra Pound is referring to Samain a French philosopher (Genius 1). “She walks by the railing path in Kensington Gardens (Pound 3).” Ezra Pound uses, “railing”, to tell the reader that the woman uses the railing because she is solitude (Genius 3). “In her is the end of breeding (Pound 9).” The woman doesn’t see any hope for her future. She compares her life and the poorer children around her (Genius 9). “Money cannot buy happiness.” Money may buy your needs, but money cannot buy or fix how you or others
and to write historical biographies to make the Order better known. The abbot also urged the
Children are always portrayed in books as angelic beings that are as close to perfect as they come. Many would suggest that this is not true, that children can be just as manipulative and conniving as adults. They cry when they do not get their way and throw tantrums that are quite obscene. However, the idea of this angelic child did not com into play until the 17th century. The poets William Blake and William Wordsworth are the two poets that coined this idea of the child. In the poems of these two authors, children are portrayed as innocent and pure beings and are closer to God than adults. Although these two poets have very different views of what children are like such as their interactions with adults, their perspective on life, and their
In "London", William Blake brings to light a city overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the common, glorifying view of London and replaces it with his idea of truth. London is nothing more but a city strapped by harsh economic times where Royalty and other venues of power have allowed morality and goodness to deteriorate so that suffering and poverty are all that exist. It is with the use of three distinct metaphors; "mind-forg'd manacles", "blackning Church", and "Marriage hearse", that Blake conveys the idea of a city that suffers from physical and psychological imprisonment, social oppression, and an unraveling moral society.
London by William Blake is a poem characterised by its dark and overbearing tone. It is a glimpse at a period of England's history (particularly London) during war and poverty, experienced by the narrator as he walks through the streets. Using personification it draws a great human aspect to its representation of thoughts and beliefs of the narrator.
William Blake was a forerunner in the world of poetry in the 18th century that produced works that are being studied to this day. Along with many other greats; poets, artists, and musicians, Blake did not receive the recognition deserved to him until after his death. Many of these poems written by Blake are ordinarily focused on religion while heavily influenced by his imagination. The impact of his imagination in addition to his focus on religion is evident in his work “The Lamb” as well as The Tyger”. “The Lamb” is a poem about a child who is asking the lamb about his creator, then asks if the lamb is aware of his identity. The child already knows the identity which leads to the end of the poem. This poem comes from an album called Songs
William Blake lived during a time of intense social change; the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. These massive changes in society provided Blake with one of the most dramatic outlooks in the transformation of the Western world, the change from a feudal and agricultural society to one in which philosophers and political thinkers, such as Locke, championed the rights of individuals. In accordance with political changes, there were religious changes as well. Religion was another aspect of society that Blake opposed because of its organized practice. The practices of organized religion conflicted with Blake's view and adherence. Organized religion and the shadows it casts upon the natural world
William Blake is one of England’s most famous literary figures. He is remembered and admired for his skill as a painter, engraver, and poet. He was born on Nov. 28, 1757 to a poor Hosier’s family living in or around London. Being of a poor family, Blake received little in the way of comfort or education while growing up. Amazingly, he did not attend school for very long and dropped out shortly after learning to read and write so that he could work in his father’s shop. The life of a hosier however was not the right path for Blake as he exhibited early on a skill for reading and drawing. Blake’s skill for reading can be seen in his understanding for and use of works such as the Bible and Greek classic literature.
William Blake and his works have been discussed all his life and he always portrayed them in is poetry. It is his experiences and disgust with London society in the late 18th century .
William Blake was one of those 19th century figures who could have and should have been beatniks, along with Rimbaud, Verlaine, Manet, Cezanne and Whitman. He began his career as an engraver and artist, and was an apprentice to the highly original Romantic painter Henry Fuseli. In his own time he was valued as an artist, and created a set of watercolor illustrations for the Book of Job that were so wildly but subtly colored they would have looked perfectly at home in next month's issue of Wired.
"All bright and glittering in the smokeless air" (line 8) is a romantic view of the city of London. William Blake's perception is different. "Marks of weakness, marks of woe" (line 4) shows that London is corrupt and unhappy. The two poets, hence, have contrasting views of the city London.
William Blake was a writer and a painter in the late 1700s and early 1800s whose imagination was untamed and incomprehensible to most ordinary people of his time. Blake was different from most writers of his who were trying to be famous and get people?s attention. Everything Blake did was for himself and he was not willing to change for money or popularity. William Blake is often considered to be insanely genius because of his transition to a new literary era, known as Romanticism, and for his depictions of life from the viewpoints of a child and an adult.