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- The speaker wanders through the streets of London and comments on his observations.
- He sees despair in the faces of the people he meets and hears fear and repression in their voices.
- The speaker openly criticizes the church, the monarchy and the government. Blake blames these institutions for the treatment of the poor people.
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- The opening “I wander thro’” shows the poem is structured as a journey.
- Repetition of “charter’d” suggests London is owned and people have been robbed of their rights.
- In stanza two, the repetition of “every” suggests the enormity of poverty from children through to adults.
- Blake places blame on the church and state – “black’ning Church” and “Runs in blood down Palace walls”.
- Final words – “blights with plagues” suggests everything good is destroyed. “Plagues” implies decay and pestilence.
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- Blake uses a lot of repetition which could imply the cycle of poverty and that there is no escape for the lower social classes.
- Blake begins the poem London by just observing the streets.
- However, as the poem progresses, it is evident he is angry about the institutions that should support the poor people such as the church, the monarchy and the government.
- The poem ends negatively with implications of death.
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- Published as part of ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’. This poem is one of the songs of Experience reflecting the more negative aspects of life.
- Blake lived and worked in London during the Victorian era, a time of great poverty and industrial change.
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