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READ THIS
While wandering through the depressing streets of London, the poet is acutely aware of the
signs of pain,
misery and sorrow in the faces of the people.
In the poem, which is a good example of Blake's social criticism, he refers to the reasons for
their
suffering and the social injustices.
Worst of all is the young prostitute, cursing the newborn baby, and the effect she has on
marriage.
ABOUT THE POET
William Blake was born in London in November 1757. He lived most of his life in that city.
When he was 10 years of age, he attended a drawing school and thereafter made engraving
his
profession, graduating from the Royal Academy at the age of 22.
He was then employed as an engraver to a bookseller and publisher, where he was responsible
for
creating the metal picture plates for making illustrations in books.
In 1783, Blake published his first volume of poems and thereafter established his own engraving
business.
This enabled him to publish poetry in a way in which no other poet was doing: by incorporating
his text
into engraved picture plates.
This would have remarkable consequences. First, the pictures were artistic renditions of the
theme and
were not meant to be accurate. Second, each and every picture appeared in a slightly different
shade of
colour so that it is difficult today to determine which colour was the original.
Move your mouse over the picture below to see an example of his engraving for
"London".
Blake's best poems are found in just two collections: Songs of Innocence which he
published in
1789; and Songs of Experience although this was not published on its own.
Indeed, his complete works was published in 1794 and was called Songs of Innocence and
Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.
Blake was regarded in his time as very eccentric, if not somewhat mad. In fact, his ideas make
more
sense to us today than they did to his contemporaries.
He was an unorthodox Christian who was heavily influenced by mystical groups. He felt that the
state was
abandoning the needy. Indeed, it is this disillusionment with the suffering he saw in London that
comes
through in this poem.
But what is he trying to tell us? Is it, in the words of his anthology in which this poem was
published,
something about "the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul"?
Blake died in August 1827. He was then 70 years of age.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe."
- Explain the differences in the meanings of the word "mark". (2)
[Need help?]
"And mark in every face I meet" means that the poet becomes aware of their sorrow, of
their
suffering.
"Marks of weakness, marks of woe", on the other hand, refers to the outward, physical
signs of their
plight, such as frowns, wrinkles, hollow eyes and pale faces.
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- What are the conditions responsible for these signs of
"weakness"? (10)
[Need help?]
The picture Blake paints of Londoners' lives is very bleak. Their strength has been sapped by
the
restrictions they face, social injustices and the appalling conditions in which they live.
The young chimney-sweeper's face reveals a miserable existence of cleaning chimneys in
cramped, dark,
dangerous conditions.
The ideologies of the corrupt Church also places many restrictions ("bans") on people,
while the
Church does not do enough to fight the social injustices. Londoners' freedom of thought has
been stifled
("mind-forg'd manacles").
Young men, who are mere pawns, die at an early age in wars they are sent to fight on behalf
of the king
and the government. Girls turn to prostitution. They have babies at a very young age and the
cycle of
their misery is perpetuated -- what hope is there for the child of a prostitute?
Married men visit the prostitutes for illicit pleasure, thereafter infecting their own wives and
children with
sexually transmitted diseases. Marriage can thus carry a death sentence.
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"In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear."
- Why does Blake start words like "Man", "Infant", "Chimney-sweeper",
"Soldier", "Palace" with capital letters? (2)
[Need help?]
The poet uses these terms to represent all people, infants, chimney-sweepers, soldiers in
general. The
words do not refer to specific individuals or places. The part represents the whole -- an
example
therefore of SYNECDOCHE.
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- Account for the poet's use of HYPERBOLE throughout stanza two. (2)
[Need help?]
HYPERBOLE is a deliberate exaggeration to heighten the effect or to emphasise something.
Blake repeatedly uses the word "every" to express how wide-spread the problems are.
No one is
able to escape the misery of his situation.
He therefore emphasises the depressing situations from which there is no escape.
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"How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every black'ning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls."
- Why, do you think, does Blake specifically refer to the chimney-sweepers in his
poem? (4)
[Need help?]
The chimney-sweepers represent the social injustices that Blake was so critical of. They come
from a
very underprivileged background, forced at a young age to become chimney-sweepers to earn
money to
help their families survive.
Very young boys were used since only they were small enough to climb up the chimneys. Their
lungs
became contaminated with soot. This clearly illustrates the appalling misery and poverty of
people born
into inferior social classes.
It also serves as a reproach against the Church itself because it did not speak out against these
forms
of social abuse. Vulnerable members of society needed to be protected, not exploited by the
rich and
privileged.
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- What is the literal and figurative meaning of "blackening"? (3)
[Need help?]
The church walls are literally being stained black by the smoke from domestic chimneys and the
pollution
from the factories.
Figuratively, the word refers to the corruption of the Church. The Church leaders were more
concerned
with lining their own pockets and maintaining their power than with helping the poor.
They were tools in the hands of the king and government and did little to speak out against or
try to
improve the lot of the poor.
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- Why are the soldiers described as "hapless"? Discuss how these lines illustrate the
plight of
the underprivileged. (5)
[Need help?]
The soldiers are "hapless" since their situation is hopeless: there is nothing they can do
to improve
their lot. The word also means "unfortunate" or "unlucky".
This conveys the idea that the soldiers are unfortunate to be in the position they are in. It is not
of their
own choosing. They are conscripted to fight wars on behalf of the king and the government,
thus they
have no say in matters which affect their futures.
The word supports the allusions to the restrictions and constraints with which the
underprivileged are
confronted.
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- Examine the points Blake makes in the words"the hapless Soldier's sigh | Runs in blood
down
Palace walls". (5)
[Need help?]
The words can literally refer to a violent uprising by the soldiers against their situation. On a
figurative
level, it is a shocking image which conveys the terrible bloodshed and loss of young lives during
wars.
The fact that the blood "runs" effectively conveys the extent of the violence and
bloodshed.
The reference to "Palace walls" makes it clear that the King is to blame for the
bloodshed. He,
together with the government, is responsible for declaring the wars which cause the loss of lives.
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"But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse."
- What are the meanings of "blasts", "blights" and "plagues" within the
context of
the poem? (4)
[Need help?]
"Blasts" means "to shout at" or "to infect". The prostitute is shouting at her
own
new-born baby for crying.
Since married men become infected with sexual diseases carried by the prostitutes, these
diseases also
infect their wives and their children.
"Blights" means "to infect with disease; to spoil; to harm or destroy". Again, this
is a
reference to the sexual diseases.
"Plagues" also refers to sexual diseases. The word conveys how wide-spread and
destructive
these diseases were.
Blake has used extremely strong words to describe this social problem.
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- Explain the double meaning of the word "curse". (2)
[Need help?]
The prostitute is irritated by the baby's crying and is swearing at it. It also refers to the
"curse" of
a sexual disease with which she infects her married customers and, through them, their wives
and their
babies.
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