Living space vs london

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  • Created by: Jjgtyhj
  • Created on: 03-03-19 18:44

Living space vs london

Similarities

  • both poets explore the suffering in certain places but they explore different places and the suffering within.Blake explores London and the damage industrialisation has done. Whereas, Imtiaz explores the slums in Mumbai.
  • Both poems comment on the unfair distribution of wealth. Blake explores how the uneven distribution causes children to become "chimney-sweepers", a job that is physically demanding and has many risks associated with it. Whilst, the wealthy simply impose "mind-forg'd manacles" that further add to the burden of the poor. The compound adjective "mind-forg'd"creates an image of mental control whilst the noun "manacles" means restriction which shows that everyone is trapped by their own thoughts and attitudes. Blake is emphasizing that those in power are choosing to allow such  conditions to exist and it is ruining the natural order of things. In addition the end-stopped stanzas may reflect the segregation of the rich and the poor. In the poem "Living Space", Dharker comments on a "slanted universe". The adjective "slanted" suggests that it isn't fair and could be a reference to the uneven division in wealth. The people in the slums can't even afford the necessities, where as, the wealthy overindulge with luxuries.  Dharker uses the contrast of life and dark to clearly show the difference in quality of life between the social classes..
  • They both use imagery. In LS imtiaz uses enjambment "There are just not enough straight lines". This imagery allows the reader to imagine the lack of structure in the Mumbai slums that Imtiaz describes. It also emphasises the fact that while there is not enough stability in the structures built, there is also not enough of anything for the amount of people who live there. The lack of "straight lines" in the buildings is also highlighted by the ragged, uneven structure of the poem itself. In L, Blake uses imagery to describe what he sees as he walks through the streets of London,"marks of weakness, marks of woe". The syntactic parallelism depicts the extent of the negative sights being witnessed by Blake. The abstract nouns "weakness" and "woe" create a semantic field of sadness which is carried on throughout the poem. The use of "marks" also suggests that the images depicted are here to stay as there is connotations of permanence and scarring.
  • They both have religious connotations. In L, Blake uses "black'ning church appalls" to show how even the institutions that are meant to be pure and clean are tarnished and corrupt by the industrial revolution which is a relevant event that happened, connecting to the reader. It represents that Blake is angry at all forms of power. Dharker uses religion in a slightly different way, to represent hope. The one long line "the whole structure leans dangerously towards the miraculous", this juts out beyond the rest of the poem , mirroring the way that parts of buildings hand over one another.Personification is used to describe the angle of the building leaning – as if in prayer or giving thanks to God, reflecting Dharker's faith. The juxtaposition of the adverb"dangerously" and  "miraculous" is a contrasting description of the buildings as they are going to collapse but it is a miracle that they are still standing, showing that God is there to provide hope.

Differences

  • Dharker portrays some positive images in living space but Blake focuses on all the negative aspects.To start off the poem Blake uses "each charter'd street", which sounds purposeful and the word "each" shows how the whole city is affected. The word "charter'd" means mapped out and planned thus connoting to the idea that the scenes described are controlled and regimented by higher authorities suggesting that the speaker feels powerless ti change what is happening.This is later paired with "charter'd thames" which shows that even the natural processes are under human control. This shows how bad the situation is and because Blake is a romantic it emphasizes how he disliked urban life because it was disrupting nature.Where as, in living space there are some positive images such as "eggs in a wire basket", this is a metaphor for life and hope. The "eggs" could fall off at any moment just like the people in the densely populated high-rise buildings in the slums. To place the eggs there you must have faith so it suggests the people living there are bold and daring. This image of positivity and hope is also shown in "the bright, thin walls of faith", there is a contrast between "bright" implying positivity and "faith" suggesting fragility. This could suggest that faith,like the shells of the eggs is easy to break but if you still keep faith then there is hope that the situation won't last forever.

Overall comparison

To conclude, I think both poems address the issue of power very well. In living space, the poem opens up with a factual explanation of the situation. The speaker describes the physical features of the buildings to show what the place is like without being overly emotional to get straight to the point which I like because it addresses the reader to tell them that this is a problem that can be helped. This is emphasized by the "eggs" which is a metaphor suggesting hope for improvement and inspires the reader to help those "squeezed" into a living space. The poem London helps to convey an image of what life was like in 1794, when the poem was written. The regular rhyme scheme suggests that what Blake sees is a regular occurrence and this makes me feel involved in what he sees. Overall, both poems convey similar emotions.  

Comments

Siddykitty

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thank you sooooo much for this