London by William Blake - Full Poem + Explanation
Read Blake’s political poem about the hypocrisy of London, which appears to be one of the most civlised and advanced cities in the world yet it allows many of its people to live in dire poverty.
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I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear
How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse
VOCABULARY
Wander - walk aimlessly, without purpose or clear direction
Thro’ - through
Charter’d - chartered
Thames - the river Thames that flows through London
To mark something - to notice
Woe - sadness
Ban - an archaic word meaning ‘curse’
Mind-forg’d - created by the mind
Manacles - chained arm or ankle bands that signify slavery or capture
Chimney sweepers - people whose job it was to clean the soot and dirt out of chimneys
Blackning - blackening
Appalls - horrifies / terrifies
Hapless - unfortunate
Sigh - a breath of air, an expression of sadness, tiredness, depression or defeat
Harlot - a prostitute
Blights - ruins / afflicts
Plague - highly infectious disease
Hearse - a carriage or car that carries bodies at a Funeral
Translation:
I wander through each mapped street, near where the mapped river Thames flows; I notice that every face I meet has signs of weakness, and expressions of sadness. In every shout of every man, in every child’s cry of fear, in every voice, in every curse, I hear the oppression of these people’s own minds. How the blackening Church is horrified by the cries of the chimney sweeper, and the sigh of the unfortunate soldier runs in blood down palace walls. But most of all, through the streets at midnight I hear how the curse of the young prostitute blasts the newborn child’s ears, and ruins marriage with disease, making the carriage seem like a funeral hearse.
Thanks for reading!
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