Search results
- That final image – the oxymoron of the ‘Marriage hearse’ (hearses are for funerals, not weddings) – appears to mean that the young unmarried mother’s unwanted child, and the misery of both mother and infant alike, is the final nail in the coffin of the idea of marriage as a sacred union which is associated not only with bliss but with blessing (because it is, or was solely in Blake’s time, a holy ceremony; but also because people talk of a marriage being ‘blessed’ with a child).
interestingliterature.com › 2016 › 12
People also ask
Why is Marriage 'Hearse' a symbol of death?
What does Marriage Hearse mean?
Can a shouted curse blast a tear?
What blights the marriage coach and turns it into a hearse?
Dec 29, 2016 · In summary, Blake describes the things he sees when he wanders through the streets of London: signs of misery and weakness can be discerned on everyone’s face, it seems. Every man’s voice – even the cry of every infant, a child who hasn’t even learnt to talk yet – conveys this sense of oppression.
The Full Text of “London”. 1 I wander thro' each charter'd street, 2 Near where the charter'd Thames does flow. 3 And mark in every face I meet. 4 Marks of weakness, marks of woe. 5 In every cry of every Man, 6 In every Infants cry of fear, 7 In every voice: in every ban, 8 The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.
- Summary
- Context/Background
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Themes
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Similar Poetry
‘London’ by William Blakeis a dark and dreary poem in which the speaker describes the difficulties of life in London through the structure of a walk. The speaker travels to the River Thames and looks around him. He takes note of the resigned faces of his fellow Londoners. The speaker also hears and feels the sorrow in the streets; this is the focus...
One biographer said of Blake: These people, like Blake, believed in free thinking and were not the kind to conform to society’s standards. This poem particularly condemns the stringent rules of society. Blake experienced some of this firsthand. At one point in his life, he was accused of speaking against the king. The penalty for this was severe an...
‘London’ by William Blake is a four-stanza poem that is separated into sets of four lines, known as quatrains. These quatrains follow a rhyme scheme of ABAB throughout. The first stanza explores the sights around the city of London while the following three focus more on the sounds the speaker can hear. Close readers might notice that the third sta...
In ‘London,’ William Blake makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited to examples of caesura, metaphor, and enjambment. The first of these, enjambment, is a common formal device that occurs when the poet cuts off a line before the conclusion of a sentence or phrase. For example, the transitionbetween lines three and fo...
In ‘London,’ Blake engages with themes of urban life, childhood, and corruption. The latter relates to both childhood and the broader nature of life in the city. It’s clear from the first lines of the poem that Blake has a widely negative view of what it’s like to live and work in London. He is surrounded by misery, mostly due to the way the adult ...
Stanza One
In the first stanza, the speaker provides the setting and tone. The setting can of course be derived from the title, but the first stanza also reveals that the speaker is walking down a street. He says that he “wander[s] down each chartered street”. The term “wander” gives some insight into the speaker as well. He appears to be not quite sure of himself, and a bit misguided, if not entirely lost. The use of the term “chartered” also suggests that the streets he walks are controlled and rigid....
Stanza Two
While the first stanza sets up the tone of ‘London’, the second stanza gives some insight into the speaker’s melancholy feelings toward the people he watches pass him by. The speaker reveals that from the cry of the newborn infant to the cry of the full-grown man, he hears the “mind forg’d manacles”. This gives insight into his despairing view of mankind. The “manacles” are shackles or some kind of chain that keeps a person imprisoned. The fact that these chains are “mind forg’d” reveals that...
Stanza Three
In this stanza of ‘London’, the speaker digs even deeper into the reasons for his feelings toward humanity. He implies that the shackles worn by the people and inflicted by society have some disastrous results. He begins with the Chimney sweeper. The Chimney sweeper was one of the poorest in society. His life expectancy was threatened because of his line of work. He was consistently dirty and sick. Those of the lowest class were forced into this kind of work toprovide for their families. Then...
Readers who enjoyed ‘London’ should also consider reading some other William Blake poems. These include ‘The Tyger,’ ‘A Poison Tree,’ and ‘The Sick Rose.’ The latter contains an extended metaphor in which the speaker compares a rose to a woman’s innocence or virginity. If the rose is sick, then it has lost its virginity. ‘A Poison Tree’ was include...
“Hear” in this sense means “understand the manner in which . . . ”: it does not refer to a literal hearing. The speaker, walking through the midnight streets, becomes aware of the conditions and effects of the “Harlots curse,” how it ruins (“blasts”) and blights.
Jun 12, 2020 · The ‘Harlots curse’ also damages the act of marriage – the religious commitment of which is totally at odds with the practice of prostitution (considered a sin by the bible). ‘Marriage hearse’ is evidently oxymoronic, with hearses being a symbol for death at funerals, completely at odds with the supposed love and happiness of a wedding.
How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse Summary. The speaker wanders through the streets of London and comments on his observations. He sees despair in the faces of the people he meets and hears fear and repression in their voices.
Sep 28, 2023 · Summary of "London". In "London", Blake gets political. The outbreak of the French Revolution focused his attention on the appalling evils of contemporary English society, above all the horror, mystery and defilement of childhood in the London streets. Blake harshly critiques the corruption of the Church, Body and Love.
