Social Background of London in 1794

During the 1790’s London was going through a period where social gap was visually seen. There were the very wealthy and the very poor. London had grown as much as it was going to at this point and things began to settle down. The poor often lived in the East end of the city while the rich lived in the west. The East end of the city became widely known for its textile factories and violent protest due to the difficult jobs having to be done by the poor. The west end however started to grow again in response to the increasing importance of the rich persons role in society. The streets here were decorated by fine shops and elite craftsman making the East end again fall into the shadows.

Political Climate

William Blake, A significant english poet during the French Revolution
era was an outside the box thinker writing about many non traditional
ideas that were not always respected by others. In 1794 Blake published, “London”
which embodied a sense of rebellion which coheres to his beliefs in politics.
During this time The United Kingdom was led by George William Frederick III.
The 1790s were full of anti government cartoons which often times referenced King
George III. Many citizens during this decade were unpleased with the royal and
aristocratic government. In 1794 the year london was published, radical political leaders
showing rebellion could be arrested without trial.

Background Info

William Blake (1757 - 1827)

William Blake was born in London and lived through the American and French Revolutions. The horrors and chaos that ensued are a major influence on his writings: for example his poem London tells of the conditions in which he was living in during the time. He wrote the poem to bring light to the problems that society was facing and to influence change. During his childhood William had an artistic imagination and on one occasion he told his parents a story about a tree filled with angels, who's wings were as bright as stars. In response to this William's father was going to beat him, but was stopped by his mother. Later his parents encouraged William's artistic abilities and enrolled him in Pars' drawing school. His parents could not afford to keep him enrolled past the age of fourteen so they apprenticed him to a master engraver. After working as an engraver William enrolled himself in the Royal Academy at the age of 21 and later became a journeyman engraver. During this time he engraved illustrations for Don Quixote and Ladies' Magazine. After William's father died he used the money to open his own print seller shop and to move next door to his family's home. His shop ended up being unsuccessful and his closet brother Robert died, this was one of the hardest parts of his life and a was a changing point in his writing career. He later developed "illuminated writing" and said that he brother Robert was the one who taught him. One of the biggest influences of William's life was the time he was caught up in a riot and ended up being at the front of the mob when the Newgate Prison was burned. William had seen many tragedies in his life and compared the conditions that people had to life in with those in France which led to the French Revolution. He wanted the poem to spark change and to prevent what happened in France from happening in London.

Read more at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-blake