The poem London is an expression of his sadness, anger and despair for the population of London, he tells us of the prostitutes and the children which are chimneysweepers. Blake tells us of the goings on in London where as Wordsworth only tells us what he can see. William Wordsworth's poem is written as a sonnet, the octave is an elaborate description of his surroundings and what he can see. The sestet is an expression of his feelings; he describes how all the beauty makes him feel and how he has never felt like this before. Blake's poem is written in quatrains and has four verses.
He creates a woeful and miserable impression of the capital city of England. "I wander thro' charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow" Looking at the first two lines of the first stanza, he brings the negative theme to life by repeating the word 'charter'd' which suggests a feeling of restriction among the people, as if they are bound by the government or new laws. He uses the first person as if he is miserably strolling through 'each charter'd street' beside the flowing river. The marks of woe he describes in line four of this stanza could actually be referring to facial scars as most people at this time in history suffered from various diseases. "And mark in every face I meet, Marks of weakness, marks of woe" The second stanza continues the idea of restriction and being controlled.
Blake considers the onlooker’s emotions and the actual streets and dark side to the city compared to Wordsworth who focuses on the beauty and natural side to London. Blake blames all of the poverty and damage in London on the authorities and the “black’ning church,” he thinks it’s because of their lack of awareness and care to London’s citizens that it has got this way. He uses logical and considered tone in the structure of “London.” Wordsworth’s sonnet is a very, romantic and optimistic poem about London. To Wordsworth, London is beautiful, as beautiful as the countryside or a more natural landscape; he doesn’t see all of the urban buildings and busy streets. Unlike Blake, Wordsworth sees the natural splendour of the capital “the beauty of the morning” rather than the dreary way of life Blake focuses on.
Blake takes a very negative and hopeless view of the city and the lives of those living within it. He hated the way London was becoming, looking negatively on business and materialism. Blake felt himself as free, and the poem is a comment on others living in London. In the first line of the first stanza, he creates immediate effect as he contrasts the words ‘wander’ with ‘charter’d’, which he goes on to use to describe the Thames River in the following line. Wander suggests a sense of naturally meandering in an open expanse, contrasting greatly with the latter, which referring to the city itself, suggests a sense of narrow enclosed in space.
It is also shown that every person in London is unhappy, or is suffering. He says that in "every face" he meets he sees "marks of weakness, marks of woe." This makes the reader believe that it is an easy thing to notice, and London has in some way affected the way in which people look. This is used to show how bad London is that it can actually affect people in that ... ... middle of paper ... ...on of death, blood or plagues, so there is nothing to disrupt the peaceful image. These two poems, both about London are complete contrasts to each other.
During the late 18thcentury and early 19thcentury when William Blake was living in London, he showed that London was indeed a terrible place to live and the living standard was devastating and he expressed his personal passionate anger towards the underlying problems in the society despite the fact that London was a cosmopolitan city at the time and certainly the one of the busiest commercial centres in the world. His poem had great meaning and targeted those who were in the higher class who knew how to read. He showed how different people in London were linked together within one depressing society. Nevertheless in, “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth, he presented the other side of the arguments. First it was a sonnet and the poem was certainly positive and showed the adoration of London from the use of language.
Death has reared himself a throne In a strange city lying alone Far down within the dim West, Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best Have gone to their eternal rest (Poe, "The City"). From this quote, it shows how the rest of the poem was going to be dark and dim. At the time Poe had written this poem, he had already faced a lot of tragedy throughout his life. it was easy to see how the poem actually reflected a lot about Poe the troubles he faced in... ... middle of paper ... ... are commonly used in “The City” in order to really get a good image of the city and the land and water around it. On line 37, Poe says “Along that wilderness of glass” He is comapring the sea surface to glass because of how calm and melancholy it is.
The mood of sorrow reflected in the poem by the previous line could be a visual description of closed up shops or rundown buildings looking worse for wear in the nighttime, deserted, and empty; it must be bad as it is not just sad but described as saddest. No mention of persons around the city lane, which adds to the solitude and emptiness of the night. The brooding by the speaker gives way to melancholy, as he... ... middle of paper ... ... alone at night. Although not mentioned in poem, there is an overture of a burden or “sigh” by the speakers tone. The symbolism of the night conveys a sense of fear.
The beauty of... ... middle of paper ... ...y emphasizing the dreary bondage of the London citizens in "London." Wordsworth's use of imagery and rhythm places the reader in a calm and peaceful situation. Blake's use of imagery and rhythm places the reader in an angry tension filled situation. Wordsworth's readers have the wonders of a sunrise unfold before them and beauty is seen everywhere. Blake's readers become angry at the ugliness and unfairness of life and bondage and resignation are seen everywhere.
The speaker in William Blake’s “London” experiences firsthand the painful hardships that plague the city of London and conveys this message to readers through the use of symbols, diction, and syntax. He creates a gloomy mood throughout the poem and uses rich language that effectively shows the suffering of all aspects of the city, from the people to the buildings to the monarchy. This poem dismisses any ideas of grandeur that readers may have previously imagined for London and certainly turns the city into a destination that no reader would ever wish to