English GCSE AQA: Comprehensive Analysis of the Power and Conflict Poems

London (1794) - William Blake

Précis: The poem is making an account of dangerous industrial conditions, child labour, prostitution and poverty in contemporary London.

Context: William Blake was a poet in Victorian/Georgian England, he wrote a selection of poems in his anthologies songs of innocence from experience, most of those poems had a counterpart. The experience poems were often more bitter and cynical whereas the innocence poems were often naïve and simple. London is one of few without a counterpart. William Blake specialised in illuminated texts, often of a religious nature. He rejected established religion for various reasons. One of the main ones was the failure of the established Church to help children in London who were forced to work. Blake lived and worked in the capital, so was arguably well placed to write clearly about the conditions people who lived there faced.

He was born near London in the late 1700's, which means that he lived in the 1800's when the ideals of society were restrictive and often overwhelming. He did not conform to these patterns, but rather found himself among other radical thinkers. One biographer explains, "Blake was a nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft." 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 first hand. At one point in his life, he was accused of speaking against the king. The penalty for this was severe, and Blake was distraught over the issue until he was finally acquitted. It is not surprising that he should revile such a strict government. The words of this poem condemn every kind of organised religion and government while it reveals the human heart's longing for freedom.  

The poem is set during a time in England where there was poverty, child labour and a horrific war with France. Women had no rights, death rates from disease and malnutrition were high and the industrial revolution has resulted in many large oppressive factories. Blake's poems often railed against these and how London, arguably the greatest city in the world at that time, was so dirty and corrupt.

This poem reveals the author's feelings toward the society that he lived in. To endure 1800s England was to know the most restrictive of societies, where laws were broken only on penalty of death, and people followed a specific societal protocol. It reveals Blake's true thoughts about the society in which he lived. It is still universal and timeless, as every society has restrictions which it has placed on human lives. The speaker makes it very clear that he believes the government to have too much control and society to be too stringent.  

During this time, France had thrown off and executed their king. The People's revolution was meant to show that all men are equal and have power. In Britain, a country with an old monarchy and aristocracy, this was scary. Blake is perhaps supporting the revolution, asking people to throw off the "manacles" of their belief that they should be told what to do. Many saw the French Revolution as inspirational - a model for how ordinary, disadvantaged people could seize power. Blake alludes to the revolution in London, arguably suggesting that the experience of living there could encourage a revolution on the streets of the capital. 

Theme: Looking at power and conflict this is a poem which is more about the lack of power and abuse of power. The poem is set in the capital of the most powerful country in the world and yet words like "manacles" suggest slavery while the soldier's sigh "runs in blood down palace walls" a clear contrast between those with power and those without.   

Structure: The poem is written in four stanzas with a regular alternate scheme (there is a strict abab rhyme scheme in each of the four stanzas), or Quatrains. This may reflect the regular walking pace of the narrator as he walks around London. The last line of each stanza tends to deliver a powerful statement which sums up the rest of the stanza.