I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear
How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse
The poem starts with a criticism of laws relating to ownership. The 'charter'd Thames' is a bitter reference to the way in which every aspect of life in London is owned, even the river, so often in other poems a symbol of life, freedom and the power of nature.
Blake's poem also criticizes religion and its failures. The speaker draws attention to the cry of the chimney sweeper and the blackening of church walls, implying that the church as an institution is inactive, unwilling to help those in need.
It ends with a vision of the terrible consequences to be faced as a result of sexually transmitted disease.
For Blake, buildings, especially church buildings, often symbolized confinement, restriction and failure. In this poem, the lines "the Chimney-sweeper's cry / Every blackening church appals"provide an association which reveals the speaker's attitude. Money is spent on church buildings while children live in poverty, forced to clean chimneys - the soot from which blackens the church walls. To Blake, this makes a mockery of the love and care that should characterize the Christian religion.
LONDON
The Poet
William Blake was a poet and artist who specialized in illuminated texts, often of a religious nature. He rejected established religion for various reasons. One of the main ones was the failure of the established Church to help children in London who were forced to work. Blake lived and worked in the capital, so was arguably well placed to write clearly about the conditions people who lived there faced.
William Blake was a poet and artist who specialized in illuminated texts, often of a religious nature. He rejected established religion for various reasons. One of the main ones was the failure of the established Church to help children in London who were forced to work. Blake lived and worked in the capital, so was arguably well placed to write clearly about the conditions people who lived there faced.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Published in 1794, this collection of poems, fully illustrated and originally hand-printed by Blake, aimed to show the "Two Contrary States of the Human Soul". The Songs of Innocence section contains poems which are positive in tone and celebrate love, childhood and nature. The Songs of Experience poems are obviously intended to provide a contrast, and illustrate the effects of modern life on people and nature. Dangerous industrial conditions, child labour, prostitution and poverty are just some of the topics Blake explores.
The French Revolution
In 1789, the French people revolted against the monarchy and aristocracy, using violence and murder to overthrow those in power. Many saw the French Revolution as inspirational - a model for how ordinary, disadvantaged people could seize power. Blake alludes to the revolution in London, arguably suggesting that the experience of living there could encourage a revolution on the streets of the capital.
In 1789, the French people revolted against the monarchy and aristocracy, using violence and murder to overthrow those in power. Many saw the French Revolution as inspirational - a model for how ordinary, disadvantaged people could seize power. Blake alludes to the revolution in London, arguably suggesting that the experience of living there could encourage a revolution on the streets of the capital.
Subject matter
The poem describes a journey around London, offering a glimpse of what the speaker sees as the terrible conditions faced by the inhabitants of the city. Child labour, restrictive laws of property and prostitution are all explored in the poem.
The poem starts with a criticism of laws relating to ownership. The 'charter'd Thames' is a bitter reference to the way in which every aspect of life in London is owned, even the river, so often in other poems a symbol of life, freedom and the power of nature.
Blake's poem also criticizes religion and its failures. The speaker draws attention to the cry of the chimney sweeper and the blackening of church walls, implying that the church as an institution is inactive, unwilling to help those in need.
It ends with a vision of the terrible consequences to be faced as a result of sexually transmitted disease.
Structure
As the title of the collection suggests, London is presented in a very regular way, much like a song. There is a strict abab rhyme scheme in each of the four stanzas.
The four stanzas offer a glimpse of different aspects of the city, almost like snapshots seen by the speaker during his "wander thro'" the streets.
The four stanzas offer a glimpse of different aspects of the city, almost like snapshots seen by the speaker during his "wander thro'" the streets.
Structure and language
1. Language
The tone of the poem is at times biblical, reflecting Blake's strong interest in religion. It is as if the speaker is offering a prophesy of the terrible consequences unless changes are made in the city.
In the first stanza, Blake uses repetition twice, firstly using the word "charter'd". This is a reference to the charters that allocated ownership and rights to specific people. Many, including Blake, saw this as robbing ordinary people of their rights and freedoms.
The second use of repetition is with the word "marks". This has a dual meaning: it refers to the physical marks carried by people as a result of the conditions they endure, and is also suggestive of the speaker recording evidence during his walk through the city streets.
In the first three lines of stanza two, the speaker makes it clear that "every" sound he hears is evidence of the "mind-forg'd manacles". Manacles are like handcuffs. The speaker is suggesting that people's minds are restricted and confined - that the city has robbed them of the ability to think.
In the first stanza, Blake uses repetition twice, firstly using the word "charter'd". This is a reference to the charters that allocated ownership and rights to specific people. Many, including Blake, saw this as robbing ordinary people of their rights and freedoms.
The second use of repetition is with the word "marks". This has a dual meaning: it refers to the physical marks carried by people as a result of the conditions they endure, and is also suggestive of the speaker recording evidence during his walk through the city streets.
In the first three lines of stanza two, the speaker makes it clear that "every" sound he hears is evidence of the "mind-forg'd manacles". Manacles are like handcuffs. The speaker is suggesting that people's minds are restricted and confined - that the city has robbed them of the ability to think.
The poem is full of negative words: "weakness", "woe", "cry", "fear", "appals", "blood", "blights", "plagues" and "hearse" are just some of them.
The poem ends with a startling contrast in the language chosen: "marriage hearse". To Blake, marriage should be a celebration of love and the beginning of new life. Yet here it is combined with the word "hearse" - a vehicle associated with funerals. To the speaker of the poem, the future brings nothing but death and decay.
Attitudes and ideas
Blake's speaker has a very negative view of the city. For Blake, the conditions faced by people caused them to decay physically, morally and spiritually.
Blake's speaker has a very negative view of the city. For Blake, the conditions faced by people caused them to decay physically, morally and spiritually.
For Blake, buildings, especially church buildings, often symbolized confinement, restriction and failure. In this poem, the lines "the Chimney-sweeper's cry / Every blackening church appals"provide an association which reveals the speaker's attitude. Money is spent on church buildings while children live in poverty, forced to clean chimneys - the soot from which blackens the church walls. To Blake, this makes a mockery of the love and care that should characterize the Christian religion.
The "blackening" church walls are also linked to the running of "blood down Palace walls" - a clear allusion to the French Revolution. The speaker is perhaps arguing that, unless conditions change, the people will be forced to revolt.
The poem as a whole suggests Blake sees the rapid urbanization in Britain at the time as a dangerous force. Children are no longer free to enjoy childhood; instead working in dangerous conditions. Charters restrict freedoms, ultimately resulting in the restriction of thinking.
The poem is pessimistic. It is without hope for the future.
• The speaker repeats the word "charter'd", indicating his dismay at the fact that everything in the city is owned, even the river.
• Blake uses a caesura in line 4 to reinforce the impact of city life on the people living there.
• The poem is full of negative language, which reveals the speaker's attitude to the city.
• There are several references to violence, suggesting the speaker views the city as a danger to all who inhabit it. There is the "cry of fear", the sigh of a soldier "Runs in blood down Palace walls", new-born infants are blasted, and marriage is blighted.
• The speaker makes reference to the dirty conditions, which spoil everything, from churches to children.
• Sounds are an important element in the poem, representing the great noise the city produces as the speaker "wander[s] thro" it. There are cries, the sound of "mind-forg'd manacles" and curses. These sounds are all the result of anguish and pain, caused by conditions in the city.
• The city is presented as a place where the usual morality is ignored, with negative consequences. Prostitution, which is prevalent, is seen as damaging the future of the family, both physically and spiritually.
• Blake uses a caesura in line 4 to reinforce the impact of city life on the people living there.
• The poem is full of negative language, which reveals the speaker's attitude to the city.
• There are several references to violence, suggesting the speaker views the city as a danger to all who inhabit it. There is the "cry of fear", the sigh of a soldier "Runs in blood down Palace walls", new-born infants are blasted, and marriage is blighted.
• The speaker makes reference to the dirty conditions, which spoil everything, from churches to children.
• Sounds are an important element in the poem, representing the great noise the city produces as the speaker "wander[s] thro" it. There are cries, the sound of "mind-forg'd manacles" and curses. These sounds are all the result of anguish and pain, caused by conditions in the city.
• The city is presented as a place where the usual morality is ignored, with negative consequences. Prostitution, which is prevalent, is seen as damaging the future of the family, both physically and spiritually.
Themes
The effects of ‘fallenness' on repression of sexuality and other emotions
Blake believed that inhibitions lie primarily within the mind, rather than in external factors. Society makes its fears, guilt and shame into rules and laws which are then enshrined in social institutions such as the authority of parents, the Church and the State or Monarchy. These institutions oppress the people and maintain repressive social hierarchies.
The vulnerability of innocence
Innocence is especially endangered when it is ignorant of the ‘woe' in life and of the possibility of failure and betrayal. This poem links exposure of the social evil of the child chimney-sweep and adolescent prostitute with the theme of the exploitation and vulnerability of innocence. The innocence of the young bride is also devastated by the disease her promiscuous husband will infect her with.
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