قـُـــروْبـــ طـَــآلبــَـآتــْ مُقدمَــة فيْ الأدَبــــ ...2011

[عوالي95]

London
Subject:
The poem’s title denotes a specific geographic space, not the archetypal locales in which many of the other Songs are set.
Theme:
In this poem Blake describes the condition of London city and relates it with downfall of the society.
This is one of the strong themes present in this poem. It is the narrator throughout the poem which is incredulous to the pain and suffering that is clearly visible on the streets.
Innocence in the poem is another important central theme. How??? ( Not only is the emphasis to directed to the "infant's cry" and "infant's tear" but the reference to the chimney sweeper also hints at the darkness of child labour. The reality is that many children would die each year with injuries directly relating to the work they had to endure just to earn a pittance. This is the silent rage in this poem about the use of children in such labour and the related state use of the soldier who is left out on the street with nothing, a rejection of the state. The "palace" walls (and the blood which runs down them) is a particularly strong and moral counterpoint to the use of the poor as exploited property. With it the realization that somebody somewhere is benefiting from the suffering of others. It is not only the men and children which are to suffer at the hands of this early capitalist exploitation, but women who are also forced to turn to prostitution. It is the curse which "blights" the marriage hearse at the end of the poem which is also a bleak reference to the pox, with the overt suggestion that the married couple will soon be infected by this black disease themselves.)
Image
Thus Blake's final image is the "Marriage hearse," a vehicle in which love and desire combine with death and destruction.
Language:

In the first stanza of the poem Blake narrates that he is walking on the streets of city of London near the Thames River. Blake initially crafts an uncomfortable jarring effect, created with the idea of the repeated "charted" in contrast with the wandering through something that is structured and contained. This at once feels odd. It would seem that Blake would feel outrage at this imposing force upon human nature. You can't "wander" through streets that are lined with an imposed will upon the individual, you can only follow the preset direction. This could also be seen as symbolic of the course of life which the new industrial process would have on the lives on human beings forever after. The repetitive use of the word "charter'd" stresses Blake's anger at the political times and his feeling towards the ruling classes with their controlling laws and oppressive ways. He taunts in the poem to say that it is not only every street they want to control but even the River Thames which should normally be free for all but in this case it too is "charter'd".
In the line, "A mark in.........of woe." In this line he describes his view for the people of this city. He finds everyone sad and miserable. Within the poem "London", it is simple repetition which draws the eye to "marks" inflicted upon the faces of the people all around "every" corner which the narrator is led.
This is extremely emotive stuff. The technique is very simple as already expressed, repetition which helps to include the masses in the day-to-day suffering and pain of the poor upon the streets of London. The people of London are described as being weak and full of woe as the marks on their faces reveal. There is a repetition on the word "marks" which again stresses the despair and tiredness that they seem to be going through because of their oppressed way of life. Through their silence, he can still hear all that they want to say but cannot, because of fear of authority.
This stanza gives the picture of tough life of cities like London where people have to struggle for their every need of life. This struggle takes away the real happiness from their lives.


In the second stanza he uses the word every in first three lines of the poem. Here, he symbolizes the disappointment and depression spread in the society. He also explained that how people deceive themselves by running after mirage of growth and prosperity by using the "mind forged manacles". The cry of the babies in pain is particularly effective, grown men feeling the pain of poverty is one thing, but to see and feel it happening to children is another. This is powerful stuff. The incredibly high infant mortality rate at this time in British history proves that this is not just poetic license, but a harsh fact of life. there is lack of free expression and he uses the word "ban" which is quite clear in its meaning and reveals how people were unable to voice their criticisms on how the country was being ruled. No one dared to speak out for fear of being imprisoned.
However it is the last line in this stanza which is most important.
The mind forged manacles is really what this stanza, and even the whole poem, is about. Mind forged manacles directly link to the idea of self-policing. The individual by the very nature of conformity brought about, largely, by the industrial processes of the time, mean that an individual's self will becomes so tied to the whole. Life has become something which has been structured by outside factors, by the need to conform to the rule of those in power. The self has become mind forged just like the charted streets. The words "fear", "cry", "ban", and "mind-forg'd manacles" describe a people who are suffering and frightened and their feelings are imprisoned in their own minds. There is repetition of words like "every" on the first three verses to stress these feelings of being imprisoned and trapped

In the third stanza he portrays the sorrow of people of London. In the first line, "How the chimney sweepers cry", he symbolizes the ugly part of the city such as crime, corruption, prostitution, etc, which are creating smoke and ashes on the image of city of London. In the next line he uses "blackening church" for symbolizing the drop in religious faiths among the people. "The hapless Soldiers", symbolizes the dictatorship of government and ruling authorities who use the helpless poor soldiers for their cruel decisions. . The word "appals", "sigh" and "runs in blood" show authority being immune to its common people who are in distress but there seems to be no comfort coming their way. The chimney sweep represents the destitute children while the soldier represents the anguish of those who had to serve in the army under difficult conditions. Their blood is being spilt down the palace walls while the cries of the suffering children are blacking the Church which should bring light to its people. The combination of the helpless on one side and the unhearing authority on the other is both stark and accusatory in its tone.

In the last stanza of the poem, he explains that how wrong and corrupt activities of current generation can ruin the future of coming generations. He symbolizes this fact in phrases like "youth harlots curse" and "new-born infants tear". Blake's takes on an even more foreboding tone as he talks about the young girl who is out in the darkness of the night walking the streets. Young women had to resort to prostitution because of poverty and he can hear her curses for what she has to be put through. Her grief affects the new born child and he uses powerful words like "blasts" which is a contrast to the gentleness one would use for a new born child.

It is as if he can foresee the difficulties the child will have to suffer just like his mother is doing. In contrast a rich woman getting married in a carriage will be blighted by this curse and her carriage might turn out to be a hearse. Blake is pointing a finger at the rich men who might use the services of a prostitute and then get married and pass on disease to their wives. He uses the word "plagues" to signify the goings on of the rich and how their actions affect the lives of all the innocent people involved.

. Tone: Throughout this impressionable poem the tone is steady and downcast as the narrator observes the misery inflicted upon the poor.