Poem and Annotations

Seth Lapriore

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. 

Wander:  walk or move in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way. 
Charter: a written grant by a country's legislative power

"charter'd street" could mean that all of the streets are regulated, under watch, are not free pathways, because they have been involved in laws. Same thing with "charter'd Thames" this could mean there is no free/unrestricted travel in London. As he "wanders" around London, he sees people who look beaten down, and who have sorrow and distress. Could this be from the sovereign power controlling everything?

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 

"In every" is an anaphora which adds rhythmic emphasis to reinforce meaning. The first three lines really show how awful and grueling it is to live in oppressive, dystopian, London. "Mind-forg'd manacles" can mean something that is self-created mentally, that disturbs people, that William Blake can actually hear, recognize as he is walking around observing society

How the Chimney-sweepers cry 

Every blackning Church appalls, 

And the hapless Soldiers sigh 

Runs in blood down Palace walls 

Being a chimney-sweeper means you were involved in a dangerous and exploitative  employment. Saying that the church was blackening after the mention of chimney sweepers could mean metaphorically that the church's morals were backwards and the church was metaphorically blackening with its abuses and exploitation.

      Hapless: unfortunate         In this line, "hapless soldiers" could be those being used by the state, which is a common theme in this poem: the overreaching abuse of state powers. 
The last line could be a vision for counterattacking the oppressive abuses in the form of a revolution. "blood down Palace walls" is significant because only aristocrats and higher-ups reside in palaces, they must be the ones being abusive.

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 

Even in the middle of the night the weary people of the streets are seen. Harlot here means prostitute. Young people resorting to prostitution in a society where they cant get ahead as a result of a broken system is what Blake is emphasizing.  
Blight: To infect, destroy        "Infants tear" can mean that out of the womb children and babies can seemingly sense the despair and and sorrow around  them. "Marriage hearse" is a ceremonial oxy-moron which indicated that the two may go hand in hand in such a terrible society. Plague is a very negative word to use to describe the breakdown of tradition and 'death of marriage' in an oppressive society

William Blake

Thesis/Summary

This poem by William Blake is all about the city of London at his time and how oppressive, abusive, and exploitative the system was. In essence, this a social protest with subliminal ideas of revolution and protest. He describes many results of the bureaucratic system that are unhealthy, inhuman, and awful. His use of many literary devices such as assonance, anaphoras, and repetition add emphasis to the points he raises about the city conditions. The rhetoric and diction he uses within stanzas is really impactful and generates anger and other emotional responses. This poem is really descriptive about the side of history a lot may seem to forget about or ignore, and matches up with the era and setting in dark but accurate ways.

Questions:

1. What do you feel reading this poem? What mood does this poem display?

2. Is there a reason for writing this poem that is clear? What is it?

3. What is the setting, and how is it described in this poem?

4. What did you not know about London circa 19th century?

5. Is this more of a politically inspired poem? Or emotionally inspired?


Picture taken from poets.org