How Has London, The Industrial Revolution Had Changed The City For Worse?

“London” By
Usan Hlaing
“According to William Blake, “London” the Industrial Revolution had changed the city for worse” (Bloom, Harold). The city is fallen on great depression. He uses dark portrait of a London to reveal the theme of people misery and hard times. He paints a misery of people and darkness of city life and human suffering derived from the Industrial Revolution. The language of the poem on how the poem was written and emotion of people are inevitable in this poem.
William Blake wrote the poem in such a way that readers can be more express full and involved. Blake uses the word “charter’d” which describes the condition of London as harsh condition. According to E.P. Thompson, “William Blake shows us how some seemingly simple changes have a major impact on the images and meaning of the work. The word “charter’d” arose in Blake’s mind in association with cheating” and with the ‘little blasts of fear’ of the ‘hireling’” (Thompson E.P.). “Charter’d” suggests the privilege of those who can use the river Thames itself for their use and whose
lives contrast with the misery of the poor. In line 3 and 4, “And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe” (Greenblatt, Stephen), means people are in bad condition and they fallen on hard times. According to Gavin Edwards, “The words in the poem- “Charter’d”, “ban”, and “curse”, Blake uses this word to relate with human power relationship” (Edwards, Gavin). Blake use of this words is the foundation of chartered to build Blake's vision of fallen London. His idea here is that the streets and the rivers have been heavily influenced by people.
In the poem line 5-9, “In every cry of every Man, In every Infant’s cry of fear, In every voice, in every ban, the mind-forge’d manacles I hear” the phrase “Every Man” includes the Londoners William Blake, whose voice must betray the clanking sound of “min-forg’d manacles,” where the mind belongs to every man, including William Blake (Greenblatt, Stephen). The infant is voiceless and crying with fear maybe because he is hungry and thirsty.
Blake observant of the faces he sees or the face of society reveals the feelings of misery in the population. One of the interesting thing about Blake’s poetry is the layers of meaning his words signifies.
Through his eyes, Blake shows us his experience, hopes and fears with passionate metaphors and images of streets of London creating a complex emotional against oppression of the people of London. The suffering of innocent person and dying of people with diseased, that’s the image he paints us in our mind. His words are very powerful and it comes alive and ask for changes in society. He reminds us that in order for us to start over or rebuild society it begins with new creative ideas and imagination in every aspect of area of human experience.
In line 9 - 12, “How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry Every blackning Church appalls, and the hapless Soldiers sigh, Runs in blood down palace walls” Blake seems to acknowledge the church seems to be ignoring the cry of the poor chimney-sweep (Greenblatt, Stephen).
Blake is telling us that their life experience and their pain, the meanings that these experiences have for their lives. Maybe the author wanted to give those kids a voice. The author wanted tells a story about events that connect in such a way to provide a chain of events that will connect to the readers. Blake maybe saying the kids were sold off when they were young to work hard and clean chimney. They work hard with no compensation other than food and shelter, also Blake portrays a horrific image in our imagination of how soldier’s dead bodies lay by palace wall. People of London are emotionally tired and drained and they are running out of will to
survive.
The phrase "The mind-forg’d manacles I hear:" represents “Blake believes Londoners are shackled to an unpleasant life and that the worst of it is that the Londoners imprisonment is of their own conception” (Bloom, Harold). This is a very bold statement. He is saying the shackled chains are what is holding them down in society. It seems that people already surrendered to life and their mind is on stagnant state. The fact that they are "mind-forged" means that they are of the people's own making. Blake suggest that people are forming the manacles by feeling sorry for themselves. The institution may be oppressing people but it is their responsibility to pick themselves up and responsible for taking care of their own family.
William Blake ultimately saying that the people are ultimately responsible for themselves. People are not finding any comfort in prayer and England is losing its people to the Industrial revolution and people are losing hope and their way of life. William Blake language of the poem seems try to tell us that people themselves cause their own misfortune. . Blake informative nature is clearly evident in “London” as he points the finger and exposes powerful institutions. “Blake frames the union of woman and man in terms of crisis and death, and the last word of the poem is hearse. Indeed, this may be the only place in which a citizen in Blake’s "London" can find rest. The hard life is finally over: a beaten spirit can leave the misery of the streets” ((Bloom, Harold). For Blake, the late 18th century is in London is no place to live because of its terrible time.