London (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Blake
- First Published: 1794
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Marriage, Sin or Original sin, Prostitution or prostitutes, Poverty or poor people, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Christianity, London, Venereal diseases
The Poem
“London” is a sixteen-line poem composed of four stanzas of alternatively rhyming short lines. “London” is included in the “Songs of Experience” section of William Blake’s larger work, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) and contributes to Blake’s portrait of fallen human nature.
Blake focuses his attention on the condition of London, England, the capital not only of the country but also of “culture,” yet, as the four stanzas make abundantly clear, Blake does not share the opinion that this city sets a positive example. Each...
[The entire page is 1486 words long]
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