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London
- ‘mind-forged manacles appear’- Blake expresses how the minds of people in London are controlled and manipulated by society, they are made to do things they don’t want to, they are without the free will Blake believed we should each have.
- ‘a mark in every face I meet’- Blake explains how everyone in London is affected in some way by society, they are also each labelled and divided to social groups and classes- An effect of the Industrial Revolution which influenced Blake
- ‘a hapless soldiers sigh/ Runs in blood down palace walls’- Blake shows his anger against war and how the bloodshed is caused by those in power, the government
- ‘blackening church appals’- The church and society condones the awfulness of child labour, here the image makes the church seem as if it is covered in black and darkness, an evil representation and also it is covered in the soot of the chimney sweepers.
- ‘the youthful harlot’s curse/ Blasts a new born infant’s tear’ - Blake shows how the ugliness of cursing and position hides the innocence of a child and therefore corrupts it. - Links to Plato’s theory which Blake believed- that the soul exists before birth and when a child is born it becomes trapped within it and then becomes corrupt by society.
- ‘And blights with plague the marriage hearse’- Blake uses juxtaposition the compare a happy image of marriage with that or death. He is almost implying that this marriage will fail, the couple will both inevitably die soon as a result of venereal disease.
The Schoolboy
- ’how can a bird that is born for joy/ Sit in a cage and sing?’- Blake explains his anger at how an innocent and joyful child can be placed in the confinement to school, the child is not allowed to express his happiness, everything expected of youth.
- ’forget his youthful spring?’ Blake again questions the awfulness of a child being made to repress his joy and happiness, soon the boy’s youth will fade away and we never have chance to get it back.
- ’blasts of winter’- The winter symbolises old age, the boy will soon become old without ever having experienced the joy of youth.
Holy Thursday (Experience)
- ’is this a holy thing to see?’ Rhetorical questions, the audience know the awfulness of starvation and hunger, Blake plays with our emotions.
- ’in a rich and fruitful land’- Blake mentions the wealth of England and how awful it is to have poverty still exist. The world is full of food and yet we are too selfish to share it.
- ‘a babe reduced to misery’- Blake uses an innocent child to express the horrors of poverty in our world, how can something that is born so happy be reduced to pain and suffering.
- ‘eternal winter’- Contrasting with Blake’s references to nature in the ‘Innocence’ section, Blake here reacts more coldly towards it. Blake creates a link with the child and nature- during nature they both suffer from the cold and lack of food around.
Comments
These notes are aimed at A Level English Literature students at A2 level.
Originally written by Ostentatious on TSR Forums.
