London (poem)
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London is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Experience in 1794. It is the only poem in Songs of Experience which does not have a corresponding poem in Songs of Innocence.
The poem was published during the aftermath of the French revolution. William Blake was an unorthodox Christian of the dissenting tradition, who felt that the state was abandoning those in need. He was heavily influenced by mystical groups, and believed he had conversations with his dead brother[1]. The poem reflects Blake's extreme disillusionment with the suffering he saw in London[2].
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[edit] Text of the Poem
I wandered through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every man,
In every infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear:
How the chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackening church appals,
And the hapless soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down palace-walls.
But most, through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the marriage-hearse.
[edit] Trivia
The Verve's 1995 hit single, "History", is an uncredited paraphrase of the first two verses of this poem.
Tangerine Dream's 1987 album, "Tyger" is built around a number of William Blake's poems, including this one.
[edit] References
- ^ BBC: Blake's 'London'
- ^ Edexcel GCE English Language and Language and Literature Poetry Anthology Teachers' Guidance, pg 4.
[edit] External links
"London" on Wikisource.
