London - William Blake (1757-1827)
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Power & Conflict, topic 17.1.2
Key Quotations in London
Here are key quotations to remember for your exam:
“Chartered street…chartered Thames…”
- Trapped imagery.
- Something that is chartered is listed and regulated.
- Repetition of “chartered” highlights the extent of government authority: they even have control over rivers, which are usually associated with nature and freedom.
“Marks of weakness, marks of woe”
- Emotive language.
- The emotive language expresses not only the extent of the suffering but also Blake’s anger at the institutions that fail to help.
“In every cry of every Man / In every Infant’s cry of fear…”
- Emotive language.
- The emotive language expresses not only the extent of the suffering but also Blake’s anger at the institutions that fail to help.
- Repetition of “every” throughout heightens the sense that the problem is widespread.
“Every black’ning church appalls”
- Colour imagery.
- “Black’ning church” is associated with ideas of corruption and even death.
“Runs in blood down palace walls”
- Metaphor.
- This metaphor emphasises that the monarchy is guilty of living in luxury while doing nothing to help the struggles of the city.
Test yourself on London - William Blake (1757-1827)
What 2 literary techniques are being used in this quote:
“chartered street…chartered Thames…”?
Which of these quotes from London are examples of emotive language?