
The poem “London” is one of the poems that was published in Songs of Experiences, written by William Blake.  Blake wrote this poem from the perspective of a pedestrian wandering the streets of London during the late 18th Century, noting what he sees on his walks.   The poem shows through the observations of a random pedestrian the dark side of London, including how controlling the government is, the corruptness of the church, and how unethical the people of London are during the late 18th Century.

The speaker of the poem shows how the British government exploits its soldiers, and also controls what their people think and say. The speaker shows how the government has the minds of the people of London under its control, and how they control what they think when he says, “In every voice, in every ban/ The mind-forged manacles” (lines 7-8).   The first line shows how the government created restrictions on what the people of London can say, and how they are not able to talk freely. The second line shows how the government controls the thoughts of the people, and how the government makes the people of London think it wants them to think.  The speaker shows how the government exploits its people when the he says, “And the hapless soldier’s sigh/ Runs in blood down Palace walls” (11-12).   These lines illustrate how the country was not built by the monarch’s sacrifices and bloodshed, but from the soldier’s bloodshed.  The soldiers are the ones that made sacrifices and in some cases gave their lives just for the prosperity of the monarchy.   While the monarch and society’s elite did not make any sacrifices themselves, instead, they were the ones who ordering the soldiers to make those sacrifices.  The speaker illustrates how the people of London felt about the government exploiting its soldiers and how the government controlled what the people thought and said when he says, “A mark in every face I meet/ Marks of Weakness, marks of woe” (3-4).  These two lines illustrate the unhappiness of the people of London because of the controlling nature of the government.  However, the government was not the only contributor to people’s unhappiness, the church also played a role.

During this time the Church of England was one of the most powerful establishments in England.  While the main role of any church is to help people in need the Church of England did the exact opposite of the late 18th Century.  The church did not help the needy, but instead exploited the needy. The speaker illustrates that when he says, “How the Chimney-Sweeper’s cry” (9).  During these time chimney sweepers were children who usually belonged to poor families, or in some cases were orphans.  Instead of helping these unfortunate children the church would exploit them for cheap labor.  The speaker is so disgusted by the church he says, “Every blackening church appalls” (10).  The speaker shows how that church has become so wicked and evil that it has become disgusting to him.  While the speaker shows how the government and church have been inflicting pain on the people of London, he also shows how the people cannot only blame those two establishments for all of their pain.  They also have to blame themselves.

The speaker shows in the poem that the people of the London were not good, but instead very unethical people.  The speaker shows this when he says, “How the youthful Harlot’s curse/ Blasts the new-born infant’s tears” (14-15).  In this line he shows how young girls had to become prostitutes, and because of their line of work ultimately became pregnant.  Often times, the babies of the prostitutes would be diseased.  During this time in London, syphilis was a disease that infected many prostitutes, and when these prostitutes would have babies those babies would have birth defects due to syphilis.  The speaker discusses how disease affected the men who were with the prostitute when he says, “And blights with plagues the marriage hearse” (16).  He shows how the disease was carried marriages, and how it infected the wives of these men.  He conveys that this disease would ultimately destroy marriages. What the speaker shows through this is that the people are evil too, and cannot blame the government and the church for all of their misfortune.

   Blake’s poem, “London”, shows the dark side of London through the observations of a random pedestrian.  He offers a view on the controlling nature of the government, the corrupt nature of the church, and the unethical lives of the people of London during the late 18th Century.  Through the speaker, he shows the church’s abuse of the needy and the monarchy’s abuse of the people and military.  However, he also shows that the people themselves were partially to blame for their situation.  Blake’s poem offers a window into the dirty, sad lives of the people of London in the late 18th Century. 

