Snaith // London - CAMELS and Analysis

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Poem

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 

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Quotes Analysis - Pt 1

"Thro' each charter'd street"
Suggests they've been imposed upon man (chartered - laws)
Imposed - society and government taking over

"The charterd'd Thames does flow"
Charter'd, no one allowed to bathe/put certain things in

"And mark in ... / Marks of weakness, marks of woe"
Greyish skin, bruises, boils, no teeth, may have rickets
Can't make choices - to weak
No enjoyment - woe
Repition shows everyone was dealing with problems

"In every cry of every man / in every infant's cry"
Everyone, not just one person
Repition illustrates size of problem

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Quotes Analysis - Pt 2

"The mind-forg'd manacles I hear"
Manacles - Freedom of speech/movement
Trapped in the cycle - Can't escape
Are Blake's questions still relevant today?

"The chimney-sweeper's cry"
Chimney sweepers - usually young boys, from the age of 4 until they were too big to fit 
Often starved, with fires lit beneath them them to make them faster
Cry - perhaps for mother or metaphor for the pain they were feeling?

"Every black'ning Church appalls"
Black'ning - maybe literally due to lack of upkeep, black due to dense fog
Black'ning - due to lack of morals, vereing from purity

"The hapless Soldiers sigh"
Hapless - hopeless/desolate
No support for them after wars

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Quotes Analysis - Pt 3

"Runs in blood down Palace walls"
Palace causing wars and problems
Words now running the walls

"The youthful Harlot's curse"
Youthful Harlot - young prostitutes
Curse - poverty/illnesses they can't escape from
Can't escape their poverty

"The new born Infants tear"
Young girls child
Capital I implies there are lots of them

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CAMELS - Pt 1

Content

Life in poverty in Victorian London
Songs of Experience
Judging palace on how it is handling the country's needs

Attitude

Judgmental
Woeful
Hopeless/Helpless

Mood & Emotion

Dark
Weak
Bitter
Pessimistic
Somber

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CAMELS - Pt 2

Language

Enjambement - Blake has too much to say, he can't fit it all in just one poem
Metaphors - Multiple meanings for lots of different lines
Repetition - Illustrates the size of problems throughout, implies everyone is suffering

Self

How does Blake make you image Victorian England?
How does he show the reader his views, how did they make you feel?

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