London

William Blake’s poem “London” appeared in his 1794 collection Songs of Experience. Among the other poems in the collection, “London” is one of the few that has no corresponding poem in the preceding collection Songs of Innocence. As a resident of London, Blake experienced the city differently than a visitor, and “London” reflects Blake’s thoughts about the city. During Blake’s time, England, and especially London, had become an oppressive environment filled with child labor, horrendous industrial conditions, poverty, and forced sex work. Like the other poems in Blake’s collection, “London” reflects on modernity’s effects on people and nature. Politically, over fears about the French Revolution, England had also become very strict and restricted individual freedoms. “London” begins with the speaker walking through the city, and it concludes with their criticizing what London has become—industrially, economically, and socially.

Poet Biography

An English poet, painter, and printmaker, William Blake was largely unrecognized throughout his lifetime. He was born on 28 November 1757 in Soho, London. He was the third of seven children, and two of his siblings died during their infancy. His father was a hosier. Blake attended school only long enough to learn to read and to write. His family were English Dissenters, Protestant Christians separated from the Church of England. The Bible heavily influenced Blake not only in his early life but throughout his adult life.

Blake practiced engraving from an early age. He would copy pictures from Greek antiquity bought for him by his father. Blake discovered classical forms by exploring Michelangelo, Raphael, and Albrecht Dürer. At age 10, his parents enrolled him in drawing classes rather than sending him for traditional schooling. Blake’s talent for engraving followed him through his life. His relief etchings earned him notice, but he mostly focused on intaglio engraving for his commercial work. His engravings would become integral to his poetry. One of Blake’s most famous engravings is “Europe Supported by Africa and America,” an engraving which appeared in John Gabriel Stedman’s book The Narrative of a Five Years Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam. The engraving was controversial for its time, as it depicted three attractive women representing Africa, Europe, and America. Black Africa and Europe hold hands, and Africa and America wear slave chains. Blake used the intaglio engraving style in his own work. Blake’s wife, Catherine, helped Blake color his printed poems.

Blake spent his final years in a flat located off the Strand. On the day of his death, he had worked on his Dante series. Blake died on August 12, 1827. His wife buried his body in the same graveyard of his parents’ burial. At the time of his death, he had sold fewer than 30 copies of Songs of Innocence and of Experience. He is now considered a seminal figure in poetry and visual art.

Poem Text

Blake, William. “London.” 1794. Poetry Foundation.

Summary

The poem opens with the speaker walking through London’s streets. The speaker acknowledges that the streets have names, but they do not list the names. They walk along the Thames River, observing that the city dictates the river’s course, not vice versa. As they walk, the speaker observes those they pass. The passers-by are unhappy.

The speaker then listens to what is happening around them. They hear “every cry of every Man” (Line 5) and hear “every Infants cry of fear” (Line 6). The speaker observes that pain is universally experienced by everyone in the city because of the oppression in the city. The oppression alludes to the restrictive laws the English government placed on citizens at this time.

In the third stanza, the speaker observes the city’s chimney sweeps. The chimney sweeps have the dirtiest job in the city, and their existence is miserable. The speaker asserts that the existence brings shame on the Church. The speaker develops a more critical tone, imagining “the hapless Soldiers” (Line 11) and their blood running down the walls of government buildings, which they refer to as “the Palace walls” (Line 12).

In the final stanza, the speaker alludes to the sex workers in London, whom they refer to as “the youthful Harlots” (Line 14). These young women swear and curse at their situation, and their crying and swearing upsets the newborn infants. The speaker also imagines “the Marriage hearse” (Line 16), an imaginary vehicle which they imply carries love and death through the city.